People have been using cannabis supplements following its legalization in different US states. CBD oil is one supplement that has gained popularity among consumers due to its safe, non-psychoactive effect on the body.
Cat owners aren’t lagging in the rush to benefit from weed’s medical benefits. Many owners want their cats to reap CBD benefits for various ailments, such as seizures. But does CBD oil indeed benefit cats suffering from epilepsy? This post examines this topic more profoundly. Keep reading to learn more and give your feline friend its deserved share of CBD oil.
CBD for Cats
So, where is the science in CBD’s help with cat seizures? This section examines how it relieves your cat’s seizures.
Let’s define epileptic cat seizures before examining how CBD helps cats with this condition. A seizure is an electrical outburst between different neurons (brain cells). The abnormal electrical signal distribution inflames the neurons or causes neuroinflammation.
What does the above mean? In a nutshell, your cat’s brain communicates through electrical pulses where a misfiring occurs, making these neurons work abnormally and distribute incorrectly.
Now where is the connection between seizures and CBD?
The connection exists because CBD has powerful anti-inflammatory properties, enabling it to manage neuroinflammation. The cat’s endocannabinoid system, or ECS, manages and regulates numerous essential body functions like mood, memory, pain, appetite, and metabolism.
The CBD helps relieve convulsion symptoms and severity by binding with cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptors. These receptors are mainly associated with the brain and nervous system. The receptors also extend to body organs.
Moreover, CBD’s components affect TRPV1, a vital pain receptor directly connected to epileptic activities, where the cat’s brain misfires. Cannabidiol and cannabidivarin connect to these receptors to prevent epileptic seizures because they inhibit the TRPV1 in the brain’s hippocampus section. You can get more details about it at https://askgrowers.com/cbd/cbd-oil-for-cats-with-seizures.
What Does Research Say About CBD Oil for Cat Seizures?
Do we have any credible trials and research to confirm what we just discussed about CBD’s anti-convulsion abilities? Yes. First, CBD oil restores normal nervous system functions by promoting healthy brain activity. It also supports normal nerve conduction and memory.
A study conducted in 2010 revealed that CBD has antiepileptic and anticonvulsant capabilities, thus being valuable in convulsion management. In 2019, researchers from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine proved that CBD normalizes brain rhythms in mice with Angelman syndrome. The study indicated that CBD could produce similar results in epileptic cats.
Dr. Stephanie McGrath, a neurologist at Colorado State University, has also left a mark in this field after conducting a clinical trial. Her findings revealed that 89% of the dogs that underwent CBD oil treatment experienced a significant “reduction in the frequency of seizures.”
For now, we may not authoritatively say that CBD permanently or fully cures cat epileptic seizures. Fortunately, we can confidently affirm it significantly alleviates its symptoms and positively reduces how a cat experiences convulsions. CBD helps by reducing seizure severity and frequency.
The Benefits of Using CBD Oil for Feline Seizures
So, how does CBD oil benefit your cat’s epileptic convulsions? Here are some benefits of using CBD oil to treat and manage your cat’s symptoms.
- The FDA approved a CBD-based drug (Epidiolex) to treat intractable seizures associated with Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome in humans.
- CBD oil is non-intoxicating and non-addictive. Therefore, cat owners can safely and confidently administer it to epileptic cats.
- The 2018 Farm Bill legalizes hemp-derived products in all 50 states. Consequently, you can confidently purchase and administer its products in different forms, such as tinctures, treats, capsules, and topicals.
- The FDA hasn’t received any reports complaining about adverse CBD reactions or toxicity in animals. The only reports so far are about accidental high-THC ingestions by dogs.
- CBD products don’t adversely affect your feline. All its side effects, where and if they occur, are highly tolerable.
- Administering CBD solutions is easier because you can apply them differently based on your cat’s needs.
- High-quality anti-convulsion CBD products are readily available and affordable.
What About Negative Side Effects?
Now comes one of the most critical parts of administering a CBD-containing anti-seizure solution: safety. Like all other drugs, your cat might experience tolerable side effects. The exact type and extent varies, depending on the cat. Below are some common side effects, how to detect them, and how to alleviate them.
- Headache. You can detect your cat is experiencing a headache if you see them trying to rub their head. You can deal with it by reducing dosages to allow the feline to adopt the oil slowly.
- Diarrhea. Your cat may also develop diarrhea as a reaction to CBD. If you notice this side effect, alleviate it by reducing the CBD amount you are giving it or skip a dose.
- Extreme tiredness. Your cat may also feel extremely tired after consuming CBD.
CBD and the FDA
Legality is another front you should pay attention to when serving CBD to your cat. Discussing legality and FDA approval or disapproval is important because CBD is a cannabis product. To start with, we would like to say that CBD products containing less than 0.03% THC are legal in all states.
So far, the FDA has approved hemp-derived products meeting the above THC content levels. However, it hasn’t directly approved a CBD product or drug for treating any particular animal health condition. Until now, the FDA considers all CBD animal products as supplements. No wonder you will notice that this inhibition, or hidden intentional suppression, grossly limits how manufacturers make their claims regarding CBD potency, no matter how factual.
Few vets will recommend or prescribe a CBD product as medicine based on these prevailing conditions. So, we recommend consulting a holistic vet officer if you want to try a CBD product to treat your cat’s convulsions.
But the door isn’t closed yet because its approval of anti-seizure CBD drugs in 2018 shines a ray of hope at the tunnel’s end. It’s a matter of when and not if the FDA will finally approve and recognize CBD-containing solutions as medications. The status quo compels manufacturers to do the following to their labels:
- We don’t yet have direct CBD studies on cats have been done to ascertain its health benefits for feline seizures.
- There are no studies of CBD’s long-term usage effects in cats.
- The FDA doesn’t endorse any cannabis-containing animal remedies. So far, it only acknowledges pure CBD’s benefits for epilepsy but hasn’t investigated the whole-plant extracts’ properties and their impact on canines and felines.
- Only in California are veterinarians authorized to discuss cannabis use with clients. Cat owners in other jurisdictions must consult their vets about the CBD’s benefits for convulsions.
- Like other drugs, CBD may interact with other prescription drugs your cat is taking, causing second-hand side effects from a too-low or too-high drug concentration in the cat’s body.
Conclusion
There you go with everything you need to know about CBD oil for cats with seizures. Go ahead and use this valuable information to make an informed choice that boosts your cat’s health.
The author of this article is Lana Braslavska, an experienced cannabis industry reviewer and blogger at AskGrowers. Lana researches the market of CBD products to find the best picks for people and animals with various health conditions and regularly shares her finds and safe use tips with weed consumers.
