We started Cory on CBD oil on Monday morning.
Dosing is a minor problem. It comes with a built-in dropper and says 1 dropper is 1ml, which is the appropriate dose for a 5kg pet. The dropper has no markings to indicate what level exactly is “full”. The salmon oil base makes it too thick to work well in a 1cc syringe. We’ll work on this. This bottle is 75mg/100ml of CBD in salmon oil, lower concentration than the variety at Pet Valu, which is the pet store I’m in several times a month anyway so that’s incredibly convenient, but it’ll suffice to see if/how it works. Starting off treating him at a 5kg level, which gives us room to increase a bit and also to make sure he tolerates it.
Cory, a few hours after his first CBD – and just after a bit of brushing
Monday:
Watched him closely, but zero apparent negative effects. No increased drowsiness, no agitation, behaviour normal. Early afternoon, he wanted water via syringe. For the first time in several days, he went through 3 syringes full – and there wasn’t a single wince to suggest that he was in discomfort but too thirsty to care. His appetite increased somewhat: instead of averaging about 1 to 1.5 tbs per sitting (less than 1, on inadequate meds), it increased to around 2 tbs, and he prefers that it be a mix of 3 flavours, not only one. This might just mean that he was more comfortable while eating. The frequency hasn’t increased, he still asks for it sporadically. (Kibble left out for long in this weather gets soggy and inedible quickly, and I’m monitoring his intake besides.) He was interested in kitty treats, a corn-and-wheat-free variety, for the first time in several days.
Monday evening, while I was doing the evening supper-and-meds routine in the kitchen, he more or less destroyed the treat bag from earlier, carelessly left in reach. He did this quickly and thoroughly, in a very few minutes. This is very much a normal behaviour for him (we learned fast to keep treats and even bags of food out of his reach) but we haven’t seen it for a while.
He asked for food a couple of times overnight, which he didn’t do over the weekend.
Tuesday:
He was relaxed and not at all stressed while getting 7cc of slightly-diluted pumpkin, 10cc of Fancy Feast, his buprenorphine injection (at 0.07cc), his allergy pill (cetirizine, aka generic Reactine, 5mg), 1cc of CBD salmon oil, and some warm water to wash it all down. In fact, unlike some recent mornings, I didn’t have to wipe pumpkin and food off his face. He was entirely alert and engaged, not spaced out or dozy, he just didn’t seem bothered by any of it.
Late morning, he had a drink in the shower. When he finished, he made a superb leap from the ledge into my arms, and from there into Jackie’s so she could take him to my room to lick off the spray. It was absolutely controlled and precise, energetic and agile, and it’s hard to imagine him doing it if his mind was at all clouded by pain or med side effects.
Since then, he’s come bouncing into sight a couple of times to demand food, eaten a reasonable amount enthusiastically, and wandered off. After a litter box trip, he headed to the bathroom and yelled for my attention – when I responded, we spent a couple of minutes with him responding with vigourous purring and nuzzling to having his chin and jaw and cheeks rubbed, before he indicated that he wanted water as well. Again, he went through 2.5 syringes of warm water with no discomfort, and left unhurriedly when he’d had enough.
During his evening meds, he was again calm, although he had no hesitation about letting me know he dislikes pumpkin.
Nearer bedtime, he wanted headbonks and mutual cheekrubs – enthusiastically and rather forcefully. Sometimes he does this briefly as a lead-up to wanting water, but in this case, he kept it up for several minutes with Jackie and I both alternately, ignoring offers of turning on the shower. He purred loudly the whole time. There was nothing manic or frantic about it, just high spirits and affection. When he did decide he wanted water, it wasn’t all that much, after which he lingered in the window to look around before wanting down.
Not long after, he wanted a second, briefer session, which was followed by vigourous scratching at a foam kneeling pad and a short but fierce bout of attacking a long shoelace toy. Afterwards, he wanted up into a couple of high places, just for a moment each, before coming back down into my arms easily for another snuggly moment (and my ponytail got pushed to one side again by the nuzzling) before he went down for some kibble. We questioned at first whether he might be feeling odd and looking for reassurance, but nothing suggested that, and the playing pretty much disproves that.
Overall, he seems quite calm and unshakable right now. Startling noises provoke more curiosity than alarm, wanting to find a window to see, whereas before he would have had at best very little reaction or possibly a nervous one depending on the sound, the volume, and the proximity. It doesn’t seem at all disconnected, or drowsy, or sedated. He’s very much interacting and engaged, and letting his feelings and wishes be known as clearly as ever. He’s just not being bothered by things that otherwise might. He’s focussing very well, too, not being easily distracted when he’s doing something, even by his favourite toy, Freya, strolling by.
It took him a bit to get settled – again, not manic, just energetic. When he did finally have a final kibble snack and head for one of his many beds to sleep, he appears to have slept through the night. At least, no one woke me.
So far so good!!! Wednesday report won’t be posted until Thursday morning, but it’s already growing – he’s having a very good day!
