Phenobarb does not seem to be any less safe or problematic in cats than it is in dogs, though some cats are notoriously harder to pill and may need their phenobarb compounded. It is a far superior drug for seizure control than is valium, but he may seem doped up at first with phenobarb, too... but it will only be temporary! Starting a pet on phenobarb does not mean they have to be on it their whole lives, but more often than not, seizures come back if you stop seizure meds in epileptic pets. But before you get to that point, blood work is pretty important, particularly an Felv test. Seizures are less common in cats than they are in dogs, and sometimes are NOT epileptic in nature... leukemia virus, FIP and some other brain infections can lead to seizures as well. Testing for Felv is usually straight forward (though rare cats will still be positive for Felv but test negative every time... makes diagnosis very difficult unless you get a bone marrow sample, though I am not suggesting you go that far at this time... pretty expensive!). FIP testing, on the other hand, is not straight forward... and so hard to interpret that most just hope that is not what is going on... not treatable anyway. Brain tumors can only be picked up on MRIs and cat scans, but are not common in 5 year old cats. Toxoplasmosis and a few other much rarer parasitic infections can lead to seizures, so that might be a test your vet will recommend (have yet in 27 years seen one, though). And rarely liver disease can lead to seizures, but most cats 5 years old would be ill and showing other symptoms... Good luck with treatment! Get off the valium though... not a good way to control seizures, as you have already discovered.

Stepup: The normal human tendency is to blame someone else for our misfortune. If it is not about the rain, then it is about the sun. I am sure I have been there before, perhaps you have too. Enlightment and the path to happiness are when we realize that we can only control what we have control and let go of what we don't. Your SS is trying to set you up in triangulation between his father, you and him. The best is to avoid that situation. Just let your H deal with his own son in terms of discipline and such. But destruction of your property should not be tolerated and dealt w by the police. I hope your SS will only be invited back for a thanksgiving meal or christmad but that is about it. He should not be welcomed back to live.

MizLizzie....Macy's, Martha Stewart Whim collection. Not the highest quality, but they were on sale for almost 50% off. They are fun. I do not expect them to last very long, but not a big deal...our son loved picking them out for our bed!

Sir Thor just turned 14 and is at that with awkward growth stage. Little Miss is now 11, but looks 17 in build, stature, voice and height. It's genetic. About 2 months ago they arrested a local pedo middle school teacher. I thumb my nose at all those locally who dissed me for homeschooling. Both kids are safe, organic, happy, overly creative and big enough to take on responsibilities. They'll be enslaved to technology for the rest of their lives and I want to give them a chance to be free as much as possible and to continue to learn simple wisdom from the garden. From the garden, not me. LOL Thank you everyone for satisfying my curiosity and helping me focus on our climatic challenges. The only other pervasive thought I had was, "I bet Dawn is having a great cool crop season!" Sure nuf. You present an excellent argument for row covers and other protective measures. With my memory of struggles, bug problems and more compared to your wealth of gardening knowledge, you infer to me that my focus should be on symmetry, irrigation, protection and cleanliness. I have my Big Red Bucket sitting in my kitchen right now. She's all clean and shiny and ready for her tools. I fired up the second frig and its freezer is already full from processed for-sale groceries. The compost bucket is back in use and the mated pile is fortified. I continued my compost obsession for almost a year after cessation of gardening. I found that using a tarp over a moist pile surrounded by CMU blocks to bring the most satisfying results. The bigger the pile becomes, the less I need a tarp. We are far too windy here. Last year a 3rd of my back yard was a blanket of black eyed susans. Was hard to mow some of it down. Here's to potential A+ gardens in 2019!