CBD For Cats—Is It Safe?
Your cat is a beloved member of your family, so in addition to feeding them high-quality cat food—you may be considering CBD as a nutritional supplement. CBD for cats is something you should discuss with your veterinarian but is an option many pet parents turn to for their cats, dogs, and other pets.
Is CBD Safe For Cats?
Many veterinarians and pet practitioners agree that CBD, not marijuana, is safe for cats. Unlike marijuana, CBD is farmed to contain 0.3% THC or less—so it won’t get your cat high. Not that cats don’t enjoy a good catnip high, but even a small amount of marijuana can be toxic to your cat. So, if anxiety or calming your cat down isn’t your objective consider making your own CBD catnip treats.
How To Turn Any Pet Treat Into A CBD Treat?
If baking’s not your thing or your cat has never enjoyed homemade cat treats, you can easily add CBD to their favorite treats. Simply:
- Purchase a bag or two of their preferred cat treats.
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
- Line a baking sheet with foil and spread the treats out evenly.
- Add 1 to 2 drops of Holmes Organics CBD oil to each treat, manually rubbing it on all sides.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes so that the oil gets absorbed.
- Cool and serve to your cat, keeping in mind that the serving will be a bit diluted with the baking process.
Can You Give A Cat Too Much CBD?
While we provide a suggested serving size of CBD for adults, how much CBD you give your cat is something you should discuss with your vet. Cats weigh much less than we do, so they don’t need as much per serving. Veterinarians and pet practitioners often suggest somewhere between 1 to 4 milligrams per 10 pounds every 8 hours or so.
Giving your cat too much CBD can result in vomiting, lethargy, inappetence, and diarrhea Ataxia can occasionally occur with large ingestions.
Why Use CBD Oil for Cats?
When the Farm Bill of 2018 made CBD legal to farm, sell, and consume, CBD cat treats were a popular option. However, the serving size of pet treats is challenging to adjust, which is why many pet parents made the transition to oil. Not only is oil easier to control the serving size, but if your finicky kitty won’t eat the CBD treats you’ve purchased, you can mix CBD oil into their wet food or tuna juice.
Oil is also more versatile as you can give it to them orally or apply it topically to areas you know are inflamed. That is if you can apply it under the fluff of their fur.
How Can CBD Help My Cat?
Now that you understand why CBD for cats is a popular option, you may be wondering why or when to consider giving it to them. Discuss CBD as an option with your veterinarian for the following:
Stress and Anxiety
Consider CBD for cats with anxiety as a way to bring their nerves down a notch or two. For example, if your cat is stressed or aggressive while you are moving to a new home, at the veterinarian, during thunderstorms, or when you are out of town. Maybe even when there’s a lot of company over or when a new baby comes home.
Pain And Aging
If your cat is aging or has been in a cat fight, accident, or injury they are likely to be experiencing inflammation, sore muscles, arthritis, or pain. They won’t be able to tell you they are hurting so keep your eyes open for any behavioral changes or changes in how they walk, move, or play. CBD for your cat’s joint pain may help to soothe their symptoms, as CBD activates the pain and inflammation receptors, helping their body to naturally soothe their symptoms
CBD Oil For Cats Peeing
Inappropriate urination is either behavioral or medical. See your vet to ensure what the cause is. If it’s behavioral, CBD may help to minimize their stress and anxiety. Top behavioral reasons include moving to a new home, switching their litter or litter box, moving their litter box, bringing a new person or pet into the house, and territorial marking—which your cat may not do until you introduce a second cat to your home.
The Side Effects Of Cancer
Cannabis can be used to help alleviate the pain of cancer treatments, stimulate appetite, suppress nausea, and reduce the rate at which cancer metastasizes. Since THC is not pet-safe without strict veterinarian oversight (and may not be legal in your state), hemp CBD products are an easy alternative. Just order your products online as CBD is legal in all 50 states.
What Are the Benefits of CBD Oil for Cats?
As you can see in the section above, the benefits of CBD for cats are in line with the benefits of CBD for humans. It’s a safe and effective way to optimize your cat’s well-being. Your cat can’t tell you exactly what is troubling them, but you know when they aren’t behaving like themselves.
Pet owners who choose CBD for their cats typically do so because it is a natural alternative to prescription medications. It’s also easy to administer, can be purchased without a prescription, and provides you with a versatile way to calm and soothe your sick, stressed, or anxious cat.
The Quality Of Your CBD Matters
Your final consideration is which CBD brand to choose for your cat. Ignore the bells and whistles of cute and creative marketing when shopping for CBD and focus on quality and transparency. Holmes Organics Oil Tincture is USDA-Certified Organic. Our tincture contains just two ingredients, organic olive oil as a carrier oil and CBD extracted from US-grown hemp flowers. We are fully transparent about our processing, sharing our third-party lab results for every batch, because you deserve to know what you are purchasing for yourself or your precious pet.