CBD Oil For Inappetance

WeHave4

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So, Mirtazapine (both pill form and the gel), which was working before, stopped working for Alice, who is also on prednisolone, and the vet decided to just take her off it entirely and see what happens, I guess. Besides, she's overweight, so doesn't need it anyway, right? Wrong. She still needs to eat, just not as much. So, as of 3 days ago, I've been giving her CBD oil instead. Some initial thoughts are that it does seem to work, and fairly rapidly, but doesn't have much staying power. The extent of her inappetance varies day to day, but I seem to need to give it to her more than once daily (in the morning). She refused to eat breakfast this morning, but has eaten about 1 1/2 tbsp. dry food and treats since she had her pred. + cbd. I will give her more cbd at lunch and likely again at supper, since today started off badly. I am sticking with the recommended doseage of 3 drops (1 drop for every 5 lbs. body weight), for now anyway. Judging the exact amount in the dropper is a bit tricky.
There may be other benefits from taking cbd, so overall, I think at this point it is beneficial. How beneficial remains to be seen.
 

sivyaleah

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There's no proof CBD oil is useful except for children with seizure disorders. It has not been studied for usage in pets to any large degree as far as I'm aware.

It could be just coincidence she ate the few days you used it.

Keep in mind too, CBD oil is not regulated and it's impossible to know if it was manufactured safely or even what the right dosage is let alone, where it was made.

I'm assuming you ran this by your vet to get their opinion? If not, I'd start there and see what their opinion is - if they have seen it as helpful in other patients. I'm very leery of a lot of "holistic" ways of treating people let alone animals though from what I know CBD oil isn't harmful - just may not be the cure people assume it is.
 
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WeHave4

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It is not coincidence. I keep detailed records. It is helping some, just perhaps not enough. I'd like to give it about one week to decide. I already know what the vets' "opinion" is. He doesn't think her appetite needs to be stimulated, because, duh, she's overweight. Stupid. He makes the same "arguments" against cbd that you do, unregulated, chemicals could vary, might be harmful, blah-blah-blah. A better approach is to see if in fact it works.
 

sivyaleah

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It is not coincidence. I keep detailed records. It is helping some, just perhaps not enough. I'd like to give it about one week to decide. I already know what the vets' "opinion" is. He doesn't think her appetite needs to be stimulated, because, duh, she's overweight. Stupid. He makes the same "arguments" against cbd that you do, unregulated, chemicals could vary, might be harmful, blah-blah-blah. A better approach is to see if in fact it works.
If you think your vet is "stupid" maybe find a new one who is willing to work with you on alternate therapies so you have some guidance at minimum. Sounds like you'd prefer a holistic type of vet instead. I have nothing more to offer you in that regard so maybe someone else can address your concerns. Hopefully another member will chime in to see if they can assist you better.
 

stephanietx

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I had my cat on CBD oil and it made her itchy and then sick. I think it was the oil and not the CBD itself. Why is/was your kitty on pred and mirtzapine? I would also suggest a different vet, perhaps one more open to alternative treatments.
 
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WeHave4

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I meant the attitude that it's the weight that's important, not the inappetance which is stupid. Vets have blind spots, and too set in their ways. For years, we went to one veterinary practice 5 minutes away, and got along fine. Then they changed hands, and a new vet refused to prescribe the mirtazapine which I had been using successfully for several years, saying she would only prescribe the mirataz. She had all kinds of ridiculous "reasons" why. None were rational. Then, because I argued with her, the management told me to go elsewhere. Holistic vets are few and far between, have very limited hours, and still require you to have a primary vet.
 
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WeHave4

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I had my cat on CBD oil and it made her itchy and then sick. I think it was the oil and not the CBD itself. Why is/was your kitty on pred and mirtzapine? I would also suggest a different vet, perhaps one more open to alternative treatments.
The problem was that she was refusing to eat back in 2017, and they ran all kinds of tests including 2 ultrasounds, and x-rays. Blood work revealed raised levels in her pancreas, but there was no actual diagnosis. She had to be hospitalized a couple of times. We thought we were going to lose her. The pred was prescribed to address a possible issue with her pancreas, and the mirt. was for occasions when her appetite was still poor. Flare-ups, I guess you could say.
The cbd oil seems to work fairly well boosting her appetite so far, although it appears to be short-lived. There have been no bad reactions.
 
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Today is day #5 on the cbd oil. I am still learning about it. It seems to take about 1/2 hour for it to have full effect. Generally, I will offer her food first before giving the cbd, because I want to see for sure that it is in fact the cbd oil boosting her appetite, and not that she would have eaten anyway. I can usually tell by her behavior though when she's not interested at all. Last night, for example, she only ate perhaps 1/2 tsp. of her supper before giving her cbd. 1/2 hour later, I gave her her supper again, and she ate it all. Something else I've noticed has to do with the dropper method of giving the cbd: not all of it comes out because I have to squeeze the dropper in one quick blast, since I am forcing her mouth open. The blast of air pushes most out, but also pushes just air, leaving 2-3 drops. If I wait a few seconds, the remaining oil settles in the dropper, and I could (and have) simply repeat the procedure, expelling most of what remains. Or, I can simply have more in the dropper to begin with, to account for what remains. Since it isn't exactly fun for either of us, I think I will go for option 1. This does complicate judging the doseage however.
 
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WeHave4

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The brand is Innovet PURCBD, 125 mg total. Each drop contains 0.13 mg cbd oil.
 

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Can't you mix the CBD oil with a bite or two of food? If she will eat just a bit - like you mentioned above - with the oil in it, you can avoid the whole oral syringe ordeal altogether and get the amount administered that you want. You could even mix it with a bite or two of baby food meat or a lickable treat - if she likes them - to ensure she ingests the CBD oil.

I know, even if Feeby's Mirataz is 'wearing off' and she is much less interested in her own food, most times she will still eat those kinds of foods/teats' in a small amount.
 
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No, if she is not eating, she certainly won't eat it with anything like that in it. Even when she's hungry, she wouldn't eat it. Believe me, I've tried.
 
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WeHave4

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Day #6 on cbd. It definitely works. I am giving it to her 3x day, for now, and it is really better to give it to her about 1/2 hour before when I would normally feed her. But, I will still occasionally wait and try giving her her meal beforehand, especially if I suspect she might actually be hungry on her own. It is a trial and error process. I wish there was another way, but unfortunately with Alice, we have to give it to her by the dropper method. So, there is a bit of uncertainty as far as the exact amount, but it hasn't seemed to matter so far.
Because at 16 pounds she is overweight, I have reduced her food intake by about 17%, from around 6 tbsps. to around 5. Tomorrow will be 1 week since we last weighed her, and since she's been on a "diet", we'll probably weigh her. A loss of 2 oz. would be nice to see (the scale is an analog pet scale, and measures in increments of 2 oz.).
 

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Thanks; I have placed an order. My CKD cat has trouble eating.
 
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WeHave4

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Thanks; I have placed an order. My CKD cat has trouble eating.
Ok, good luck with it. I still think that mirtazapine or mirataz work better, but it's good to have other options. I actually did give her some mirataz last evening, as the cbd oil didn't seem to be working. I don't know what is up with that.
 
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WeHave4

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So, Mirtazapine (both pill form and the gel), which was working before, stopped working for Alice, who is also on prednisolone, and the vet decided to just take her off it entirely and see what happens, I guess. Besides, she's overweight, so doesn't need it anyway, right? Wrong. She still needs to eat, just not as much. So, as of 3 days ago, I've been giving her CBD oil instead. Some initial thoughts are that it does seem to work, and fairly rapidly, but doesn't have much staying power. The extent of her inappetance varies day to day, but I seem to need to give it to her more than once daily (in the morning). She refused to eat breakfast this morning, but has eaten about 1 1/2 tbsp. dry food and treats since she had her pred. + cbd. I will give her more cbd at lunch and likely again at supper, since today started off badly. I am sticking with the recommended doseage of 3 drops (1 drop for every 5 lbs. body weight), for now anyway. Judging the exact amount in the dropper is a bit tricky.
There may be other benefits from taking cbd, so overall, I think at this point it is beneficial. How beneficial remains to be seen.
Just an update: I still am not sure on the effectiveness of the cbd oil. It was difficult to administer, and to know how much she was getting. But the kicker is that I actually did find out eventually why the mirtazapine stopped working. It was because the STUPID and DISHONEST VET I had (we have a new one now) without our knowledge had given us prednisone instead of prednisolone. He simply wrote "pred" on the bottle. Cute, huh? He knew she was getting prednisolone. They apparently only use prednisone, and don't think there's a difference (hint, there is). So, it wasn't the fault of the mirtazapine, but rather the fact that she was getting prednisone instead of prednisolone. For a while there, we thought we might be losing her. I only found out about the switch when I tried to order it online from Chewy. Long story there as well. Suffice it to say, there are good vets and bad ones. Get a good one. Watch the "It's Our Way or the Highway" attitude, and power trips.
 

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You must be upset, and with good reason. Glad to know that you have found a good vet now and can hopefully move on. I tried liquid CBS oil and tablet form with both my dog and one cat. Like you, I was never sure it did anything. Both took other meds, and since CBD is a pathway disruptor in some cases, I stopped using it.
 
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