Cats and Marijuana… What You Need to Know!
By Emily Bruer “Pawedin” https://blog.pawedin.com/cats/cats-and-marijuana/
With all the controversy surrounding
marijuana it was only a matter of time before
marijuana advocates around the world started
asking if pot was okay for their four legged
friends.
Instead of letting marijuana curiosity kill your
cat, let’s take a look at what some people are
saying about kitties and weed.
What does that mean for you and your kitty?
That depends. If you have a happy, healthy cat
at home and are considering marijuana
because you think your cat may enjoy the
buzz, play it safe and stick to catnip.
It elicits the same response in the brain as
smoking marijuana does for people, and it’s
legal to grow fresh in your own backyard!
However, if you have a cat that is suffering
from a painful or terminal medical condition,
Cannabis may be the way to go.
Dr. Doug Kramer was one of the first
veterinarians to open the discussion on pets
and medical marijuana.
He used the drug on his own dog when she
was battling cancer, and believed that it gave
her several weeks of life that traditional drugs
couldn’t.
He went on to offer medicinal marijuana to
hundreds of his client’s pets, with very few
negative results and encouraged other vets to
try the same.
Why the discrepancy?
Many vets are afraid of what such a
controversial drug would do to their
practices. Medicinal marijuana is new to the
human sector and even newer in the pet
sector, so there isn’t much research out there
to support or refute its positive use in
companion animals.
This is causing most vets to play it safe; until
it has been proven that weed can help, they
don’t want to endorse it publicly and risk
losing clients due to the stigma.
Healthy alternatives are cannabis oil and
specially prepared edibles.
Finding the proper recipe and dosage for your
feline friend is best left to either a vet or a
cannabis expert, as different strains of plants
can have different levels of THC and affect
your kitty differently.
While many vets are on board with medicinal
marijuana use in pets, it’s not yet legal for
them to prescribe it.
While not all veterinarians agree, it seems like
medical marijuana may be the next big thing
in pet health. Only time will tell what the
future holds for marijuana use in cats!