CBD Oil for Cats – An Alternative Treatment for Managing Pain and Chronic Illnesses

CBD oil is marijuana without the hallucinogenic stuff (THC). There is a convincing and cogent story by a veterinarian, Dr Andrew Jones DVM, on the internet about the use of this drug.

He used CBD oil to treat his dog who died of cancer of the mouth and eye. His dog was in a lot of pain and could not eat. He tried the strong narcotic Fentanyl and a strong NSAID both of which did little or nothing to help. He tried CBD oil and his dog responded well. He started to eat and showed clear signs of being without the pain he had suffered from. Dr Andrews had four more quality weeks with his dog.

****There are 7 more articles on CBD oil as a treatment for cats in the middle of the article****

It seems that vets and pet owners are becoming more interested in using medical marijuana as an alternative medication to manage pain and chronic illness.

CBD is short for ‘cannabinoids’. They are found in the cannabis plant. They are non-psychoactive which means there is no associated ‘high’. Dr Andrews says that they are a form of therapy “without the unwanted side effects of typical drugs”.

Specifically, CBD oil has been used to treat:

• Arthritis in pets. CBD has a “potent anti-arthritic therapeutic action, resulting in both joint protection and clinical symptom improvement”. Long term use of CBD does not, it is claimed, “elicit negative effects and does not induce tolerance”. In other words long term use is acceptable and the medication goes on working with no downsides.
• Cancer.
• Anxiety – research indicates that it reduces subjective anxiety significantly.
• Seizures – CBD may inhibit seizures and the severity if seizures. It may (I think this is work in progress) help with epilepsy.
• Nausea – research found that CBD to be effective in preventing and suppressing nausea in pets due to disease or medication.

I think I’ll leave it there because I am not a vet but I am sure that concerned cat owners might like to discuss CBD oil as an alternative treatment under the right circumstances. It is another string in the bow of treatments especially when conventional treatments have failed.

Does anyone have first-hand experience of their cat being treated with this medication?

Source: Dr Andrews who has referred to six other sources: research studies.

Associated: CBD Oil for Cats – this link is broken and has been deleted accordingly.

Some more information on CBD oil for cat treatments

This information comes from Sebastiano Battaglia for which I thank him – Giand Win website. There is a link to his article at the end of this section.

He says that “the fewer ingredients, the better”. It should be a straightforward formula containing just CBD and a “carrier oil like human-grade medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil. Sebastiano says that some CPD oils contain omega-3 fatty acids and if so you should make sure that it comes from fish rather than a chemical process. He advises to avoid “human-formulated CBD products”.

As to the strength of the oil, he recommends that as a rule of thumb smaller cats should be okay with lower potency oils and the cats requiring more CBD a higher concentration version is better.

What can CBD oil do for cats in terms of medical treatment? Well, it is known to be good to reduce pain based upon two studies. In one the pain from very poor oral health was reduced from 22% to more than 50% and the same in respect of pain due to chronic osteoarthritis.

CBD are can also be used as a treatment for anxiety although there are no research papers on this in respect of cats. Although there have been studies on dogs. Sebastiano says that when he has administered CBD to his cats, they appeared to be much calmer. They were more relaxed when visiting a veterinary clinic.

CBD oil can also be used as a treatment for inflammation. It changes the way “immune cells release pro-inflammatory molecules”. There have been studies which confirm its use in reducing inflammation due to arthritis, colitis, osteoarthritis, spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis. The studies concern people.

When buying CBD oil, you should purchase broad-spectrum CBD oil to ensure that it doesn’t contain any THC which is the hallucinogenic element of cannabis. It’s important that your cat does not receive any THC which is the psychoactive molecule in the hemp plant.

Sebastiano says that it is very important that the CBD oil pets must be lab tested. It should be lab tested for potency which confirms that what you are buying is what you are actually getting and that the oil is free from contaminants. Comment: I presume that the labelling will confirm that the product has been lab tested.

Sebastiano provides a chart telling cat owners how much CBD oil caregivers should give their cats if they have decided upon a treatment. Please click on this link to see that chart as it takes you to his page which is the source of this article.

How you give CBD oil to cats? There are two ways. By dropper or mixing with food. CBD oil is provided in a small bottle with a measuring dropper. Some cats will accept it by dropper. It can be flavoured with fish oil which makes it easier to administer. Or if the cat is resistant to this method it can be added to wet cat food.

How quickly does CBD oil work on cats as a treatment? Studies tell us that, “if you give CBD oil to your cat, peak absorption will take a couple of hours, and it will take nine hours to cut that in half.”

CBD oil remained in circulation for about 12 to 37 hours and it is then cleared from the body.

There are minimal side-effects. If you give too much CBD oil to your cat there may be transient side-effects which disappear after one day. Side-effects include fatigue, dry mouth and nausea. Comment: I think anybody who gives CBD oil to their cat should consult a veterinarian. I am not a veterinarian. I’m relying upon Sebastiano because he is a specialist in this area.

Sebastiano’s website sells CBD oil and there is a link to their online shop on the webpage I referred to.