Our Ollie is Back!

Good news on Oliver! He had his feeding tube taken out on Monday and he is doing great! He even went through the cat door yesterday! I was so thrilled that I almost cried watching him. I thought we would have to keep a litter box in the bathroom for the rest of his life. But he managed much easier than before his surgery because he is a little thinner now and fits without as much resistance. I soon moved the other box back to the garage and bleached the bathroom floor. I moved his food back in there too, but I put it down on the floor since he still hasn't regained all of his leaping ability and can't get up onto the desk we use for kitty feedings. He now moves around much faster and steadier. He can almost run to the kitchen for mushy food time without stumbling. He has an enormous appetite now and that is without taking the appetite stimulant we had been giving him. He is still mostly deaf and we are thinking that may never change, but he is adapting to it. At least he won't have to hear the vacuum or hair dryer anymore! He is even getting along with Poe. Yesterday they exchanged headbutts and the encounter didn't end with a fur-flying hissing match. It is so great to have our fat boy back. I can't believe it really. I was pretty sure that we were going to have to say good-bye to our "first-born". Hopefully we will have him for another 10 years. Thank you to everyone who was praying for this important member of our family.

This picture was taken shortly after he first came home from the hospital. The red bandage is hiding his feeding tube. This was when he jumped into the tub on his own, a sight we thought we would never get to see again.

If you click to enlarge this picture you should be able to see his third eye-lids better. They now fully open which is a sign that he is less disoriented.