Does CBD Help Aggressive Cats?

Sometimes there’s just nothing better than having a warm, fluffy, and cuddly pet like a kitty cat. That said, if you have an aggressive cat that likes to bite, claw, scratch, and just be a moody terror in general, life goes from being fun and happy to being very stressful, a downright nightmare.

An aggressive cat can lead you feeling very on edge and stressed out. It’s like walking on eggshells because you never know when the cat is going to scratch or bite you next. You always have to watch your actions to make sure that you don’t upset the cat.

This is not to say that your cat is aggressive just because it is evil by nature. Instead, aggression in cats is often caused by a variety of underlying causes, such as the fear of the unknown, health issues, territorial aggression, and more.

Seeing as there are a few common underlying causes of cat aggression, it serves to reason that there are also some relatively simple solutions. Yes, CBD might just be one of the solutions that you can use to make your cat a little friendlier, happier, calmer, and less aggressive. Let’s take a closer look at whether or not CBD can help aggressive cats.

Key Takeaways

Aggression in cats may be caused by a variety of issues including territoriality, fear of the unknown, overstimulation, and health issues.

CBD may be able to help relieve aggression in cats, as well as the underlying symptoms.

Cats may get up to 1 milligram of CBD per pound of body weight.

Click here to read about whether or not Delta-8 is safe for pets.

Most Common Reasons For Cat Aggression

There are a few common reasons for cats becoming aggressive, so let’s take a look at what these might be. Keep in mind that felines in general are carnivores and hunters, which means that some aggression is normal.

However, domesticated cats that you have at home should have this aggression bred and tamed out of them. If they are being aggressive, it’s probably not that they want to hunt or eat you, but one of the other problems that we’re about to look at below.

Fear Of The Unknown

Although this can often be difficult for owners to understand why cats are scared of random things, this occurs on a fairly regular basis. It has been known that cats may develop fears of the unknown.

No, here we are not talking about your cat having some kind of existential crisis about what lies beyond, but rather unknown fears, as in you don’t know what the fears are. Sometimes cats become really afraid of loud noises, random people, or random objects. This fear can then translate into aggression, simply because they don’t know how else to react.

Aggression Due To Health Issue

One of the most common causes of aggression in cats is health issues. Things like infections, toothaches, joint pains, and other such conditions may all cause your cat to become aggressive. When cats experience a lot of pain, one of their reactions is aggression.

This is not unlike human beings that often get really grumpy when they are in pain. There are also cases where cognitive decline, whether related to neurodegenerative diseases or simply due to old age, may also cause aggression. This is not unlike dementia-related aggression in old people.

Territorial Aggression

Another common type of aggression in cats is territorial aggression, which often happens when you move to a new house or location. It could also happen if you introduce a new person to the house or a new pet. Cats may feel territorial and may want to defend their territory from intruders.

Redirected Aggression

There are also cases where cats may feel angry due to other reasons and then redirect that aggression toward the human. Maybe there was a squirrel that couldn’t catch, and noise that scared them, or anything else in between. Just like us humans, sometimes cats can take their anger out on people who don’t deserve it.

Petting Aggression

There are cases where cats also get aggressive due to being pet too much. Sometimes cats just don’t like being pet all that much, and sometimes they feel overstimulated. Either way, if you’re petting your cat constantly, and then you get scratched or bit, this is likely why.

How To Calm An Aggressive Cat

If you have an aggressive cat, the first thing you should try is calming it down. This is easier said than done, mainly because you might not know why your cat is aggressive in the first place.

Being able to calm your cat down means being able to figure out what the underlying cause of the aggression is. Let’s take a look at some of the best ways that you might be able to get your cat to stop being so aggressive.

If you think that the aggression could be related to territorial issues, one thing that will help is time. Cats will get used to new pets, new people, and new locations over time. It might take a few days or even weeks. To avoid this from occurring, introducing your cat to new people or pets on a gradual basis is recommended. Furthermore, make sure that your cat has a space that it can view as its own, such as its own bed. This way, it might just try to defend its own bed instead of the whole house.

On that note, if there are multiple cats in the house, this can cause aggression between the animals. You may need to separate the animals and do anything you can to prevent fights from occurring. Giving each cat its own space is a good way to go about this.

If you think that the aggression is related to redirected aggression, or in other words, your cat is being aggressive due to another reason, the best thing you can do is to just wait and leave your cat alone for a bit. Chances are that they’ll forget all about why they were being aggressive in the first place. For instance, if a loud noise scared them, giving them some time to forget about it should do the trick. Even better is if you can ensure that the same external stimuli that caused the aggression in the first place do not occur again. Remove anything that causes aggression from the equation.

If you think that the aggression could be caused by you petting your cat too much and giving it too much love, then the simple solution is to stop paying so much attention to it. Yes, cats like attention, but not too much of it. You always want to give your cat a safe space and enough time to relax.

If you expect to calm your cat down and make it less aggressive, one of the worst things you can do is to discipline it or yell at it. An animal’s instincts, especially a carnivore such as a cat, tell it to retaliate. If you become aggressive toward the cat, it will likely become even more aggressive towards you. The worst thing you can do here is to lose your cool. Just make sure your cat knows that you are there for it, but don’t give it too much attention.

As mentioned above, one of the most common causes of aggression in cat pets is if they are suffering from a variety of health issues. Cats can’t talk, so you won’t be able to tell by asking them, which means that you have to bring them to a veterinarian. A veterinarian may be able to find some kind of physical or mental issue that is causing the aggression to occur, in which case you can then provide them with the appropriate medicine and treatment.

Does CBD Help Aggressive Cats?

Although there is still much more research required on this front, it is assumed that CBD may be able to help aggressive cats, as well as cats with various other health issues. First and foremost, there are studies that show that the endocannabinoid system that is required to intake and process cannabinoids are present in a variety of mammals, which includes cats.

There are also some basic studies that have been performed on animals that show that CBD may be able to reduce aggressive behavior, which may also be the case for dogs.

However, exactly why this is the case is not known. One assumption is that because CBD may be able to act as an anti-inflammatory agent and analgesic, it can help take care of some inflammation and pain that your cat may be suffering due to a variety of conditions. Less pain and inflammation should lead to a better mood.

Furthermore, CBD may also act as a regulator. CBD may affect a variety of neurotransmitters, which can lead to potentially decreased anxiety, stress, and even depression. Simply put, CBD may be able to help put your cat in a better state of mind, therefore reducing overall aggression.

CBD Dosage For Cats

Just to make sure that there are no adverse effects, you want to start slowly, which means that giving your cat just 1 milligram per 10 pounds of body weight is a good start. If you don’t notice any improvements, you can slowly increase the dose. Some people may provide their cat with up to 10 milligrams of CBD per 10 pounds of body weight, or about 1 milligram for every pound.

Furthermore, exactly how much you give your cat depends on the severity of the issue at hand. For instance, if there is severe pain and inflammation involved, you may want to start with a little more. Keep in mind that CBD won’t work instantly and may take up to an hour to take effect, but will only last for up to six hours. Therefore, you may have to provide your cat with doses up to two or three times every day.

How To Give CBD To Cats

Cats are notoriously hard to give medications to. Therefore, your best bet is to either purchase some CBD animal treats or mix in a CBD oil or tincture along with their regular food. Some people may also just choose to use their hands to open up their cat’s mouths, and then drop in some CBD oil or temperature.

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Final Thoughts

Although there is more research required on this front, there are some strong indications that CBD may be able to help decrease aggression in cats, and this is thanks to a variety of reasons. If you have an aggressive cat, and nothing else works, you may as well try some CBD.

CBD For Cats: Frequently Asked Questions

Let’s quickly go over some most frequently asked questions about using CBD for cats.

Is It Good To Give Cats CBD?

It would appear as though CBD has a variety of potential benefits for cats, and is not harmful, at least not in moderate doses.

How Much CBD Should I Give A Cat?

Giving your cat up to 1 milligram of CBD per pound of body weight is OK, although you may want to start out with just one milligram for every 10 pounds of body weight, just to see how your cat reacts.

Do Vets Recommend CBD For Cats?

CBD is still a very new thing, so many veterinarians may not recommend it for cats, simply because they are not overly aware of it or knowledgeable about it. However, as CBD is becoming more popular and well-researched, more and more veterinarians are recommending it to use for cats, for issues such as aggression, and more.

What Kind Of CBD Do I Give My Cat?

You should give your cat broad-spectrum CBD, but avoid full-spectrum CBD. Broad-spectrum CBD generally does not contain THC, whereas full-spectrum CBD might.