We’ve known for a while that you can use CBD to treat your cats and dogs suffering from pain or disease. Now we have actual veterinarians supporting this cause, recommending cannabis treatments to pets to help them find relief.
Dr. Janice Huntingford is a veterinarian and a certified pain practitioner working at Essex Animal Hospital in Vancouver, Canada. Dr. Huntingford has been giving cannabis oil to some pets dealing with issues like chronic pain, arthritis, seizures and cancer.
She recommends her patients use CBD oil made from hemp because it does not contain THC, which can be toxic to animals.
“You would like to get a product that…has very little THC because dogs and cats are so susceptible to THC,” Huntingford said.
She went on to confirm it can reduce pain, decrease seizures and can shrink tumors in pets with cancer.
Dogs and cats have extreme sensitivity to THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis sativa, which is why she uses CBD (cannabidiol) for pain management.
“Cats are very sensitive to the CBD, so you have to dose them differently than dogs,” she said. “There’s not a lot of pain meds that we can use for cats, because they’re sensitive to so many things. This is one thing that we can use.”
Earlier this year, Huntingford traveled to the U.S. to take part in a short pain course at the University of California, San Diego campus. She said one afternoon was dedicated to the use of cannabis with dogs, including the use of medical marijuana and other products.
“Pain management is a huge amount of what I do,” Huntingford said.
Pet owners were traveling to another veterinarian in the U.S. to get hemp CBD oil, because Huntingford was not able to find a product in Canada. Then she found products in Vancouver, which should be available this month.
I’ve had a lot of personal success treating my 12 year old husky with CBD, for her very painful arthritis.
If you are looking for Pet CBD products keep an eye out for our annual Pets and Cannabis issue. Some great CBD products currently available for pets are Treat Well, Vet CBD, Fuller Life Remedies, Treatibles, Therabis and Mama Bear’s Biscuits.
B. Le Grand