If your cat or dog may have eaten cannabis, a THC edible, or cannabis oil, or may have breathed marijuana smoke, contact a veterinarian or an emergency veterinary hospital right away. Do not wait to see whether symptoms appear. Veterinary guidance from VCA states there is no official safe level of exposure for pets, so a small amount should not be assumed to be harmless.
Being candid and specific with the veterinary team makes the biggest difference. Tell them what the product was, how your pet was exposed, roughly how much was involved and when, and what else was in the product or food. The details below explain what to gather, what the signs look like, and what to avoid at home.
Call a veterinarian first, and have these details ready
Your first call should go to your regular veterinarian or to a nearby emergency veterinary hospital. If the clinic is closed, or you want a poison-specific service, the two animal poison hotlines below are commonly used. Confirm the numbers and fees on each organization’s website before you need them, because both can change.
| Service | Phone number | Cost and notes |
|---|---|---|
| ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center | (888) 426-4435 | Listed in the ASPCA’s published guidance on marijuana and THC exposure. The ASPCA directs owners to contact their local veterinarian or call this line immediately if exposure is suspected. |
| Pet Poison Helpline | (855) 764-7661 | Its website lists a $89 incident fee. The helpline directs people with suspected poisoning to call or to seek immediate veterinary treatment. |
Have the following information ready before you call. Keep the packaging if you can, because the ingredient list is often the fastest way to identify co-ingestants.
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- The product name, brand, and packaging, or a photo of the label.
- The form: plant material or bud, a baked good or candy, an oil or tincture, a concentrate, or smoke.
- The estimated amount, and the time you think the exposure happened. If you are unsure, say so.
- Other ingredients, especially chocolate, xylitol, raisins, or high-fat foods.
- Your pet’s species, approximate weight, age, and any known health conditions or medications.
- Any symptoms you have seen, and when they started.
What counts as an exposure
VCA describes two main routes: eating cannabis itself or cannabis-containing foods, and breathing second-hand smoke. Cats and dogs may find cannabis in several forms, including the plant, baked goods, candy, chocolate products, or other edibles.
Eating plant material or edibles
An edible can present more than one hazard. VCA’s example is a brownie, which may require care for both cannabis toxicity and chocolate toxicity. For that reason, the cannabis content is only part of the picture. Ask the veterinary team to consider everything in the food, not just the THC.
Second-hand smoke
Smoke is a separate exposure route, and it is easy to overlook. A pet that lives with someone who smokes marijuana indoors can be exposed without ever touching a product. Smoke exposure should be reported to the veterinarian in the same way as ingestion.
Other ingredients that change the picture
VCA names xylitol, raisins, and high-fat foods as co-ingestants that may need additional care. Xylitol is a sweetener found in some sugar-free baked goods, candies, and gums. Raisins and high-fat foods can be present in the same products as cannabis, so check the ingredient list and tell the clinic what you find.
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VCA states that there is no official safe level of exposure. Individual risk varies with factors such as body size, age, and health, which means an amount that seems minor for one animal may not be minor for another. Pet Poison Helpline makes a similar point, stating there is no safe dose of psychoactive marijuana for companion animals.
VCA also notes that dogs have more cannabinoid receptors in the brain and may show more dramatic effects. That observation does not mean cats are protected. The ASPCA identifies marijuana as toxic to dogs, cats, and horses. None of these sources offers a dose threshold, so do not use a guess about how much is “enough” to cause harm as a reason to wait or to skip a call.
Signs to watch for
The signs reported across veterinary and poison-control sources include:
- Wobbliness, poor coordination, or stumbling
- Disorientation, unusual sleepiness, or unusual excitement
- Dilated pupils
- Excessive drooling
- Vomiting
- Dribbling urine or loss of bladder control
- Sensitivity to sound or touch
- Changes in heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, or body temperature
More serious signs include tremors, seizures, collapse, coma, or difficulty breathing. These need emergency care immediately.
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What the veterinary team will do
Diagnosis rests on an accurate exposure history and the animal’s clinical signs. Urine THC testing takes time, and VCA notes that a human urine drug screen is not dependable in pets. A test result is therefore not a substitute for a clear history from you.
Please do not hold back information about cannabis because of concern about consequences. The veterinary pages cited here do not address legal or privacy questions, so they cannot offer assurances on those points. What they do make clear is that the clinic needs the full picture to treat your pet safely.
Treatment is generally supportive while the effects wear off. VCA lists the following:
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- Monitoring and support for heart rate, breathing, and body temperature
- Intravenous fluids
- Medication for agitation or gastrointestinal signs
- A safe, quiet place for a disoriented or uncoordinated pet, to reduce injury and stimulation
Decontamination may be considered by a veterinarian after a recent ingestion. That decision depends on timing, the route of exposure, the animal, its symptoms, and any co-ingestants. It is a clinician’s decision, not something to attempt at home.
How THC leaves the body
VCA’s article, last updated June 12, 2026, reports that 65% to 90% of THC is excreted in feces and 10% to 35% through the kidneys. These are pharmacokinetic figures describing where THC goes. They do not predict how long an individual pet will take to recover, so they should not be used to judge whether a pet is safe to leave unmonitored.
What not to do at home
Do not induce vomiting, give activated charcoal, or try a home remedy. Each of these can cause harm, and none is a substitute for a veterinary assessment. While you are arranging transport, keep your pet in a safe, quiet space where it cannot fall or injure itself, and call the clinic on the way.
Preventing exposure
Treat cannabis and THC products the way you would treat medications, whether they are medical or recreational. Keep them out of reach of pets at all times, including edibles, which the ASPCA specifically flags as the item to secure.
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- Use a high cabinet that pets cannot climb to, or a drawer that locks.
- Keep products in their original packaging, which makes ingredient information available if an exposure happens.
- A lockable medication storage box can be an optional household aid. No source establishes that a particular storage product is pet-proof, so treat it as one layer of protection, not a guarantee.
Keep pets away from smoke
Keep pets in a separate, well-ventilated room away from second-hand smoke. Opening a window in the room where someone smokes does not remove the risk to a pet in that space, so smoke should be kept out of rooms your pet uses.
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