Learn about castor oil for cats and whether castor oil is safe to use on cats or not! Keep reading the article to know more.
Castor oil is extracted from the beans of the Ricinus communis plant. These beans are dried after harvesting, and their outer hull is removed to extract the seeds from them. This seed is then used to extract castor oil by pressing with either a hydraulic press or even manually. We use castor oil for several benefits, for skin health, hair health, nails, and even for relieving constipation. Let us see if these benefits are similar for your feline pet or not.
Is Castor oil safe for your cats?
Felines react differently to each nutrient and castor oil is one of the things which is not recommendable for cats, even though it is super-beneficial to humans.
Castor Oil for Cats
Castor oil has very strong laxative properties and is sometimes used as an alternative to treat constipation. But this high laxative nature can cause irritation to your cat’s intestines and trigger diarrhea. It is not toxic but may cause uneasiness and stomach problems for some time. This is especially a cause of concern if your cat is not very old or is below the recommended weight. If your cat ingests castor oil, monitor its health diligently and try to make it vomit within an hour.
Try adding more fiber or using wet canned food for your cat to treat constipation. Take the pet to a vet if constipation persists for a few days.
If you want to use castor oil for skin irritation and dryness in your cat’s skin, try to avoid it. Even though it is not very harmful and a little might not cause any issues, but you should try other safer and healthier alternatives such as coconut and olive oil. You can use olive oil to treat constipation by adding just half a teaspoon of it to your cats’ food.
Castor Plant at Home
If you are a pet owner, you need to be extremely careful as to what plants you have in your garden or house. Pets tend to eat plants and few plants such as lilies, tulips, sago palm can be toxic. Similarly, having castor bean plants at home is also a strict no if you have a cat.
The beans of castor plants consist of a component called Ricin, which is very toxic if ingested. This component is present in the hull of the beans. Castor oil is not toxic in nature since it is extracted from seeds after removing the toxic hull. But if your cat eats even a little bit of these beans, it can cause severe health problems and could be fatal as well.
