Guide To Giving Your Cat CBD Oil
Cats are their own individuals, they do what they want when they want. It’s easy to have a love hate relationship with cats but we mostly love them for their strong personalities and laid back attitudes. So it’s important we take care of their health to make sure they live a long and healthy life. Like any pet, cats can get sick or slow down as they get older and finding a natural remedy that can keep them healthy and active has become a lot easier with the introduction of CBD. Millions of Americans are turning to CBD to help deal with a variety of ailments and many are also using CBD to help their cats as well.
What is CBD?
Cannibidiol (CBD) is a chemical compound found in the cannabis plant. Along with THC, CBD is the most common compound found in the cannabis plant. The biggest difference between CBD and THC is that CBD does NOT provide any psychoactive effects when consumed. All CBD products sold in the United States are required by law to contain only 0.3% of THC. CBD has shown to provide benefits like reducing inflammation, anxiety, pain and much much more.
How Does CBD Work For Cats?
CBD effects all mammals the same way. this is due to the fact that all mammals have a complex system known as the Endocannabinoid System (ECS). The ECS serves as one of the body’s largest neurotransmitter networks throughout the body. The ECS is comprised of cannabinoid receptors helping regulate functions such as digestive and immune system of the body. CBD responds directly to two main receptors CB1 and CB2, these receptors respond really well to CBD where they work together to regulate inflammations, which causes the development of most chronic health issues and diseases, such as arthritis. Cannabinoid receptors are found throughout the body including the brain, nervous system and immune system, when CBD is consumed it binds with these receptors helping provide positive change.
CBD can help cats with a variety of issues they may be dealing with. Here we look some common medical problems cats encounter and how CBD helps reduce or eliminate those problems.
Cats are known to experience arthritis especially as they get into the later stages of their lives. Studies have shown that 61% of cats six years or older have some form of arthritis in at least one joint and 82% of cats 14 years or older suffer from arthritis. Arthritis is the chronic inflammation and pain in joints, which is caused by a reduction of cartilage in the joints causing bones in the affected joint area to rub against each other. This can lead to symptoms such as inflammation and chronic pain, effecting a cats ability to run, jump and walk. Arthritis in cats joints are most commonly from old age, injury and being overweight which leads to more pressure on the joints. CBD is a powerful tool packed with anti-inflammatory properties, CBD is known to reduce inflammation and helping the spread of inflammation going further. CBD also helps manage pain within cats who are experiencing discomfort from arthritis symptoms.
No different to other mammals, cats are prone to experiencing stress and anxiety. Cats can become anxious and stressed for a variety of reasons such as sense of danger, changes to their environment, conflicts with other cats, poor human relationships, health issues and being left alone at home for long periods of time. If a cat is consistently moving into it’s fight and flight mindset it can create a level of consistent stress affecting their moods and quality of life. When overcoming anxiety and stress our body’s boost gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) which is a neurotransmitter that provides a calming effect on the brain and the 5-HTIA receptor in the serotonin system which also helps reduce anxiety. CBD is known to influence both the GABA and 5-HTIA, helping enhance the anxiety reducing effects, helping regulate moods and moderating neurological activity. CBD has also shown that it can alleviate stress and anxiety by influencing cortisol which is known as the stress hormone. By doing so, CBD has shown to help reduce stress levels while improving our brain’s “Fight or Flight” response, or how the brain responds to stress signals.
Keeping your cats weight to an appropriate level is important to maintain their overall health, but for some cat owners it can be difficult for their cats to eat enough in the day. Decreased appetite in cats can come from a number of reasons such a dental problems, mood disorders and other health issues. When your cat isn’t eating enough it’s a clear indicator that they are not feeling well. CBD can help stimulate a cats appetite and can help influence things that effect decreased appetite such as mood disorders, hormonal imbalance, inflamed bowel syndrome and stress.
Tips & tricks To Give Your Cat CBD Oil
It can be difficult to get a cat to sit still, let alone getting them to sit still and trying to administer them something foreign , cats have been known to be fussy from time to time if you hadn’t already noticed. Today we see a wide variety of ways to administer CBD to your cat.
Tinctures
CBD Oil is most likely going to be your go to for getting your cat to try CBD and every CBD oil bottles comes with a very handy tincture. CBD oil tinctures are the liquid form of CBD that comes in a small bottle with a dropper, you can use this dropper to apply the CBD to your cats food or into their drinking water. There is a chance it will change the flavor of their food and water which could cause them to hesitate, if you find your cant unresponsive to the new smell and flavor, you can mix it into their canned food which should mask any noticeable new smells or tastes.
You may also need to administer the CBD oil directly into the mouth of your cat. This can be tricky with some cats, especially those who don’t love the idea of being handled. Following these steps can help you get your cat to swallow the THC oil when directly applied through the tincture:
- Make sure your dropper has been properly cleaned and sterilized
- Get the dropped ready by making sure the exact amount of CBD is ready to go in the dropper
- Position your cat at a high enough level when you are in full control of its movements
- Use one hand to pet your cat and keep the cat in control while your other hand grabs the CBD oil
- Continue to pet the cat while slightly tilting its head up to the sky, then use the dropper to apply the CBD oil near the back corner of their mouth
- Proceed to squirt the CBD oil into the cat’s mouth
Make sure to reward your cat with a treat afterwards to they will associate this treatment with something it enjoys. If you find your cat is being too stubborn and none of the above methods are working, you can try applying the CBD oil to the paws of the cat. Cats do not like when their paws get dirty or wet so they will clean their paws off with their tongue. This is of course a last resort as it doesn’t guarantee the proper dosage will be consumed by the cat. Start your cat on Wild Thing Pets Pet CBD Oil, it contains a perfect balance of CBD and nutrients and is our most popular CBD oil for the cat owners out there.
CBD Chewables
CBD for pets can come in a chewable form, whether It’s a chewable capsule or treat these are great options to get your cat to take their CBD. Most cats love treats so it should be easy enough to get your cat to consume the chewable, but as we all know cats are their own individual and might not want to eat it.
CBD Topicals
Some cat owners use CBD to help their cats with irritated or itchy skin. Using a CBD topical can be the most effective way to deal with irritated skin, but it’s important to remember that you should not apply any CBD topicals to an open wound. It’s best to wait for the wound to heal then apply around the nearby areas to avoid any irritation or open sores.
What You Need To Know: Dosing CBD Oil for Cats
Cats are small animals and require smaller doses of pretty much everything in comparison to a human or even a dog. When purchasing CBD for your cat it’s important to choose one that is specifically designed for cats, this is because they usually come with important dosing instructions for how much you should provide to your cats. You can use CBD for humans but the dosing instructions won’t be accurate for your cat.
When starting off it’s always important to start off low and slow, for every kilogram your cat weights it’s recommended you provide 0.1-0.5 mg of CBD. Depending on your cats ailments it might be worth it do give them more but it’s best to start slow so you can monitor how your cat responds to taking CBD for the first time. It’s important to remember that it takes time to see long-term benefits for your cat when they start using CBD, every cat is different, some might feel better in a matter of hours and some might take longer.
CBD Side Effects For Cats
There are very few negative side effects when cats take CBD Oil, your cat may become sedated if they consume too much CBD, but that is still totally safe. It’s not like cats don’t love to sleep.
When giving your cat CBD you should make sure you are aware of what the ingredients are in the CBD oil you’ve purchased. If there are larger traces of THC then the regulated amount of 0.3% then you should avoid that product. Cats and most pets in general do not enjoy the experience of THC and mostly find it unpleasant.
There is still a lot of room for research on CBD for your pets, but as time goes on that will become more and more available. So far all signs point to CBD being a great option to help your pets with a variety of ailments.
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