Did you know that from 300 to 600 million cats live across the globe? Over 220 million of them are home-owned. What does that mean? People love cats and regularly take care of their health and well-being. Thus, it is not surprising that 8% of cat owners give their felines cannabis supplements and treats.
But how do you administer CBD oil to your cat to make it get its fair share of CBD benefits? This guide contains all the details. You may also find more valuable information about this subject at https://askgrowers.com/cbd/cbd-oil-for-cats. Keep reading to learn more about it.
What Is CBD, and How Does It Work for Cats?
Let’s start by giving some background information about CBD before examining how to administer CBD oil to your cat. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a naturally derived active component of cannabis. This substance belongs to a chemical category called cannabinoids interacting with a biological system called the endocannabinoid system (ECS). This system is found in all mammals.
This system comprises receptors, enzymes, and messengers communicating throughout the central and peripheral nervous systems. Its operations maintain body balance. CBD’s interaction with the ECS increases its messenger(endocannabinoids) levels and improves receptor sensitivity. This way, the ECS optimally balances the body’s essential systems. These vital functions include metabolism, stress response, pain reception, and sleep-wake cycle.
Since cats have ECS systems, you can expect them to reap similar benefits when CBD interacts with them. While more conclusive research is still underway on this subject, stating that CBD benefits your cat’s overall well-being isn’t premature. Many cat owners have recorded evidence that CBD oil has rejuvenated and improved their felines’ health. Moreover, the current research also confirms that CBD is safe and benefits cats.
Understanding CBD’s Benefits for Cats
It’s prudent to examine CBD’s benefits for cats before delving into the details of administering it. The reason is that you shouldn’t only spend your time, energy, and money serving a remedy that benefits your pet. Fortunately, preliminary studies have shown promising results in animals treated with CBD oil to improve their quality of life. These studies have indicated that CBD improves animal joint mobility and relieves stress.
Additionally, CBD is highly potent in reducing inflammation and chronic pain in mammals. No wonder researchers at Cornell University found that CBD oil effectively treats pain by targeting the vanilloid receptor and preventing it from turning on. CBD is also an excellent neuroprotector, making it valuable for treating neurological disorders like seizures and epilepsy. Other ways CBD can benefit cats include helping with their:
- Anxiety
- Pain
- Inflammation
- Seizures/epilepsy
- Arthritis
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Urinary tract
- Overall wellness
Which Dosage Is Correct?
Now, let’s discuss dosage matters because too much of anything is poisonous. Likewise, giving your cat lesser than it needs might not benefit it. The amount of CBD you give your cat depends on different factors. For instance, your product and your cat’s size affect how much you can give it. Thus, they need lesser dosages than their canine cousins.
Vets recommend giving your cat 1-5mg as the average CBD dose per 10 lbs. of its body weight. When administering oil, start by giving your feline 2-4 mg of CBD per 10 pounds. This dosage is higher than what you might give your dog. However, don’t worry because cats have fewer cannabinoid receptors than dogs. Therefore, they require twice the amount to experience the same CBD benefits. When treating your cat for cancer or convulsions, begin with 4-6mg of CBD per 10 pounds. More difficult conditions require more CBD levels.
However, the rule of thumb is to always start with smaller dosages and then increase them as your feline gets used, feeling calmer and happier. Take time to monitor optimal CBD levels for tangible health results and remain on the same level until you know what works best for your feline.
When serving your pet, remember that reaching full effect in a cat’s system takes about 15-45 minutes. The impact can last 4-6 hours, depending on your cat’s breed, health condition, activity levels, and personal chemistry.
When administering CBD oil for treatment reasons, your cat’s CBD oil dosage levels will depend more on the disease you are treating than the pet’s size. For instance, a cat with cancer will need a higher CBD oil dosage than one suffering from anxiety. While people generally believe dogs are less sensitive to CBD than cats, research shows that the opposite is true.
How Do I Administer the Dosage?
So, how do you serve CBD oil to your cat? Fortunately, you have five great ways of giving your furry pet its deserved CBD share.
Place CBD in ithe cat’s empty food bowl
All pets love and always look forward to their favorite meal times. Therefore, placing CBD oil in the food bowl is one of the best ways of serving it. Place the cat’s recommended CBD dosage in an empty bowl alongside the scents relating to its mealtimes to help it start licking.
Put it on the cat’s favorite treat
Cats differ. Some don’t allow anything down their throat that doesn’t taste like their favorite treat. You can use your cat’s favorite bite to administer CBD oil. You may place the recommended dosage levels on the bite and give the feline to eat.
Mix the oil with a little fish oil or tuna juice
You may also make your cat take CBD oil more easily by mixing it with fish-based oil to give it an irresistible taste.
Place the CBD oil on a teaser amount of food
Some pets are stubborn and smart. Thus, you can’t fool them easily. Is your cat that type? Then you can make it take CBD by placing CBD oil on a teaser amount of food. In this case, we recommend increasing the dosage a little bit to compensate for the food you give it with.
Let the cat lick the dropper
You may also administer CBD oil using a dropper. Cats are curious and like sniffing everything. This way, you can easily trick them into licking the oil. If it cooperates well, you can ease administration by placing the dropper over the cat’s gums to allow the oil to drop into the gums. This way, it gets absorbed into the body system directly through the mount membrane, bypassing the digestive system.
Parting Shot
The legalization wave has opened doors for people and their pets to benefit from CBD products. No wonder CBD oil for cats is gaining popularity among cat owners. If you’re still cautious about the health potential of CBD, hopefully, the information in this guide will help you give your cat its fair share of CBD. The ball is in your court to do what is best to meet your feline’s various health needs using CBD oil.
The author of this article is Denys Svirepchuk. Denys is working full-time at AskGrowers as a researcher and writer, so he always keeps pace with the latest weed research and clinical studies of cannabis-derived products with people and animals. He always shares his findings and updates the audience about the latest clinical data on CBD product choice, use, and dosage.
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