Mary Allen
Hemp products for pets are trending. However, the products are not standardized and the quality can vary greatly. In addition, there are a few things to keep in mind, especially with cats.
Seven-year-old Shila is a daredevil. Again and again, she comes home with a bite or a small injury. Then there is a special treat from Beatrice Huster from Weesen SG: The favorite cookie with a drop of hemp oil. “After just a few minutes, I notice how Shila is doing better.” The cat immediately appears calmer and more relaxed. “And the wounds heal much faster.”
The cat owner discovered the droplets for herself a few years ago and took them for menstrual cramps or headaches. “When I then heard that there were also cats, I tried them straight away,” says Huster. Since then, she swears by it: “It has saved me quite a few trips to the vet.” A nice side effect: “Even Shila’s fur has shined much nicer since then.”
Hemp products for pets are all the rage right now. There is hardly a specialist shop that does not carry them. You can find them in abundance on the Internet and one or the other veterinary practice also has them on display. The products usually contain the so-called cannabidiol (CBD), an active ingredient that is obtained from the flowers of the hemp plant. The hemp products are legally freely available as long as they do not contain more than one percent THC. Because, unlike the better-known THC, CBD is not psychoactive and therefore not intoxicating. Instead, it should relax mentally as well as physically.
Frederik Nyhuis is co-owner of Hanfpfoten GmbH. The company produces CBD oil for pets from Swiss organic hemp, making it one of around two dozen suppliers in Switzerland. Nyhuis also feels the cat business picking up. Nevertheless, he says: “Although there are significantly more cats than dogs in Switzerland, we have sold more hemp oil for dogs in the past.”
Discuss with Experts
This may also be due to the fact that cats have a special position in phytotherapy, i.e. treatment with medicinal plants. Ulrike Biegel, a veterinarian at the Research Institute for Organic Farming in Frick explains: “As a pronounced carnivore, she has difficulty metabolizing plants.” That doesn’t mean that she doesn’t tolerate plants at all. “But you have to be particularly careful and cautious here.”
Experts recommend an amount of 0.5 milligrams of CBD oil per kilogram of body weight. However, dosing is not always easy. The owner of Shila knows that too. “I think I gave my cat too much of it.” She would have acted out of emotion because the animal came home limping badly. Shila would then have slept for quite a long time. “I’ve been thinking about that too.” Except for the long sleep, the cat would not have shown any side effects. “She didn’t throw up and was back to her old self afterward.”
In fact, CBD appears to have few side effects. This is the conclusion of a study by the World Health Organization (WHO). Long-term studies on the subject are lacking. But vet Biegel also says: “Unlike tea tree oil, for example, you probably can’t endanger a cat’s life with it.” But as with everything, the dose makes the poison. An overdose can at best lead to drowsiness or diarrhea. In the case of pregnant animals, the use of hemp products should be avoided entirely. Since CBD is broken down in the liver, it can also increase the effect of medications that also go to the liver – or inhibit their breakdown. Especially if the cat is already taking other medications, you should discuss the use of hemp oil with a veterinarian. Nyhuis from Hanfpfoten GmbH also advises this: “You shouldn’t simply replace medicines with CBD either.”
Ideally, a veterinary herbalist should be consulted. Because not every vet knows the effects of cannabidiol in detail. “Anyone who isn’t familiar with it doesn’t recommend it either – and that’s a good thing,” says Biegel.
According to studies, cannabidiol has an analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect, and an anxiolytic effect is also often described. The list of areas of application is correspondingly long. CBD is said to help against osteoarthritis, diabetes, depression, anxiety disorders, and cancer.