Is Marijuana Toxic to Cats?

crazyporker101 · Aug 7, 2014

Is Marijuana Toxic to Cats?

I'm not referring to second-hand smoking, I'm referring to the actual dry leaves. My home is located near a field that is growing wild marijuana and I walk one of my cats, Ace, outside, but he's always diving in the direction of the cannabis patch and starts eating and rolling in it. I've done some online research and I've been reading that cannabis can be toxic to cats and to keep them away. I've been keeping Ace away but I was hoping I would get some more reliable advice from the Cat Site on this topic. Nothing will convince me marijuana is good for my cat, but I'd like to get a little more information to know how serious keeping him away should be.

jill-e · Aug 7, 2014

From personal experience, it's very likely your cat would be drugged by eating it, or rolling in it and then licking itself, but likely it wouldn't ingest enough to kill him/her. The intoxication would wear off eventually too. It could just be hemp and not a higher THC strain growing in the field. However, unless you know the strain and THC strength of the weed growing nearby, I wouldn't risk letting your cat into the field. It could also be catnip growing, which looks very similar to marijuana, and cats react to ganja because it's so similar. However, not all cats like catnip; I've had 4 that weren't interested in it. But, if you know it's weed, I would keep your cat away, just for it's own safety.

My personal experience: I had a cat that ate all six of my 6" organically grown weed plants, back in the mid 1970s, in one go. She was around 10-11 years old when she did this. She just slept it off and never was the worse-for-wear afterwards. I don't think my personal strain of weed was nearly as powerful as many varieties that are grown today though. Yet, I never grew it again where she could get to it, just to be safe. That silly Siamese cat also loved Pringle's Potato Chips, but no other brand interested her. She ate way more Pringle's than she every had the opportunity to partake of pot in any way, and she lived to be 19 years old, with very few health problems.

There are quite a few articles on the web that discuss this issue. So if you want more technical info, Google the question.

white shadow · Aug 7, 2014

Jill-E said:
...if you want more technical info, Google the question.

Fine, but...........how do you know if........what you find.......IS RELIABLE ?

Better that you go directly to a trusted source:

Marijuana

Additional Common Names: Indian Hemp, Hashish

Scientific Name: Cannabis sativa

Family: Cannabaceae

Toxicity: Toxic to Dogs, Toxic to Cats, Toxic to Horses

Toxic Principles: Delta-9-THC (tetrahydrocannabinol)

Clinical Signs: Prolonged depression, vomiting, incoordination, sleepiness or excitation, hypersalivaton, dilated pupils, low blood pressure, low body temperature, seizure, coma, death (rare)

ASPCA - Animal Poison Control - Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants

crazyporker101 · Aug 8, 2014

Jill-E said:
From personal experience, it's very likely your cat would be drugged by eating it, or rolling in it and then licking itself, but likely it wouldn't ingest enough to kill him/her. The intoxication would wear off eventually too. It could just be hemp and not a higher THC strain growing in the field. However, unless you know the strain and THC strength of the weed growing nearby, I wouldn't risk letting your cat into the field. It could also be catnip growing, which looks very similar to marijuana, and cats react to ganja because it's so similar. However, not all cats like catnip; I've had 4 that weren't interested in it. But, if you know it's weed, I would keep your cat away, just for it's own safety.

My personal experience: I had a cat that ate all six of my 6" organically grown weed plants, back in the mid 1970s, in one go. She was around 10-11 years old when she did this. She just slept it off and never was the worse-for-wear afterwards. I don't think my personal strain of weed was nearly as powerful as many varieties that are grown today though. Yet, I never grew it again where she could get to it, just to be safe. That silly Siamese cat also loved Pringle's Potato Chips, but no other brand interested her. She ate way more Pringle's than she every had the opportunity to partake of pot in any way, and she lived to be 19 years old, with very few health problems.

There are quite a few articles on the web that discuss this issue. So if you want more technical info, Google the question.

Thank you, that broadens things. Your cat sound wonderful.

crazyporker101 · Aug 8, 2014

White Shadow said:
Fine, but...........how do you know if........what you find.......IS RELIABLE ?

Better that you go directly to a trusted source:

Thank you for the article facts, I did not know marijuana had more than one name besides Cannabis or pot.

Is Marijuana Toxic to Cats?

crazyporker101

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jill-e

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white shadow

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