Thanksgiving weekend

This weekend is Thanksgiving in Canada. Monday is also Onyx's birthday. Thanksgiving weekend is also my dad's birthday. There's a family lunch planned on Monday to celebrate the holiday as well as my dad's birthday. I'd like to go because I've not seen my family since all of this began with Oreo. At the same time I am super worried. Being gone a few hours will mean that I can't watch him. I have a pet camera that I can use when I am out of the house, but it's not the same as being home. Thankfully, my family lives less than 10 minutes away in Ontario. I kind of need to get out and change my thoughts for a little while too. I feel awful feeling that, but it's been very heavy on my heart and mind and my brain feels like mush. I am thinking to maybe just go for an hour and eat with them and skip desert. Hopefully the cats will sleep during that time. 

​I brought down Oreo's dose of Phenobarbital last evening. I already see small changes this morning. Every morning when I get up, Oreo usually always follows me into the bathroom and sits by the toilet and sticks his face in my feet. Then he normally goes to sit on the bath mat while I wash my face and proceeds to clean his legs. This morning he did that, so I was happy. He only cleaned one leg, but one is much better than none! While I was getting ready for classes, I found him with a ball in his mouth. As many of you know, this is an Oreo staple. I've not seen him do it since all of this started so I was really happy to see him with a ball in his mouth this morning!

Pudding got him to run around a little bit once again  this morning as well. I thank God for this little orange fuzz ball. Without him around I think Oreo would sleep all day. Pudding forces him to get up and move around even if he doesn't want to. Yesterday afternoon Pudding chased him around for a good 20 minutes and the the two of them fell asleep together on top of the kitchen table afterwards. I was floored when I walked into the kitchen to see them both lying there snuggled next to one other. 

I've been getting some comments on Oreo's social media asking me to "bring Oreo back". As much as I appreciate how fond everyone is of him, I hope everyone can understand that he is unable to make videos like we normally do at the moment. I am having a hard time with it also and I miss working with him, but I feel it's best right now to let him rest. He has been very aggressive this past week and it's just not the time to have him pose in front of the camera. I have been doing my best to get him in on the action in any way that I can, but I don't feel right having him act for the time being. When he is ready, I know he will show me in his own way. Pudding has been fantastic! I am floored at how easy it is to work with him already. I don't even have to use treats, but just a few toys with ribbons and bells. He doesn't seem to mind the camera at all either. I have a feeling he will probably be able to do many of the things that Oreo can do and I am excited and eager to work more with him. 

I've also gotten a lot of comments about the use of CBD Oil. I will definitely ask the neurologist about this product at Oreo's appointment on Tuesday and see what she thinks. If this is something that she feels would be helpful, I am sure we will be able to get a prescription for the appropriate dose. I don't want to give him anything without the OK of the vet for the time being. This also goes for food and diet changes. Although I appreciate the opinions and insight I have been receiving, I think it's important to stick to the instructions from Oreo's veterinarian as far as what he should and should not eat. Every cat is different and we cannot make assumptions that one food brand is bad or good. We also need to be weary of things we read online. Not everything we read is truthful and unfortunately, people can sometimes be dishonest. In a case like Oreo's, I feel the smartest thing to do is to follow the advice of his doctor.

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I want to thank all of you once again for all of the love and support we've received through social media in the past couple of weeks. I am so grateful to have all of you. Your kindness, love and generosity is unsurpassed and may God bless you all!