To think that second hand cannabis smoke killed our cat?

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Well, being run over killed our cat, but by all accounts he seemed wound up and confused immediately before hand. I didn't see that myself, but a local woman tried to pick him up, and he reacted strangely, so she came to fetch me, but he had been run over before we found him again.

He had been sitting on the shed roof right by our neighbours fence and they were smoking heavily.

Could this have contributed? I often wonder about the effect of second hand cannabis smoke drifting in through our doors and windows, but have been assured by a drug expert that it won't be measurable in DC, but what about cats? And he ws "in the firing line" longer than any human in the family would be?

Cat out in the open air? Very much doubt it got stoned off second hand fumes.

A 'Drug expert' ?

I'm sorry for your loss though, it's very sad to lose a loved household pet.

I don't think it would have contributed. Chill out & smoke a joint ;)

Seriously though, sorry to hear about your cat x

I also doubt it had any effect, even on a cat.

Years ago I spent many a night in enclosed rooms with 4 or 5 people smoking joint after joint and it never did anything to me second hand.

I think it was probably just a coincidence, the cat being confused and disorientated could have been down to anything.

Sorry about your cat

yes, a drug expert, employed by a lab that does employee drug testing. he is an expert in detecting levels of drugs in human samples, and deciding the probable origins, and has told me, re neighbours cannabis smoke coming in through our ventilation, that yes, it is likely to be detectable in DC and me, but not in quantities that would indicate we had been actively smoking it.

Many years ago my flatmate put my kitten in a polybag and blew spliff smoke into it. (I was out at work at the time, flatmate told me about it. He thought it was funny, grr) The cat just curled up and purred happily, didn't get wound up or confused.

My cat didn't much care for this flatmate most of the time, but he crawled all over him whenever he had spliff in hand, so I guess he rather liked it.

I doubt whether a cat in the ooen air would have been affected by the smoke. Sorry for your loss, though.

Thanks for your input. I would hate to think this happened because I didn't bring him down from the shed roof.

Aw, please don't make yourself to blame for the cat getting run over. It happens all the time. What ifs is never a good game to play.

Being wound up and confused sounds much more like the side effects of the nip - do you or any of your neighbours have a catnip plant or toys?

Could it have been a stranger trying to pick him up that caused him to be wound up? And do you trust her assessment of being 'wound up and confused'? How would you tell if a cat was confused?

I am sorry that you've lost your pet though.

No, she isn't a stranger, he often visited her garden and enjoyed getting fussed. She said he looked uncoordinated, and hissed when she approached, which he had never done in his life before. It wasn't just her though, other people was him too

So sorry to hear about your much-loved pet.

It is possible that the cat may have been hit by another car already, and injured or stunned, which might explain the strange behaviour.

Poor cat.

Was he very old? He could have just been ill or had an underlying condition that made him go a bit wobbly and confused. Cats can get a dementia type illness when they get older.

Sorry for you loss, OP

It's much more likely that he fumbled the shed roof descent and knocked his head or sustained an injury that the neighbour accidentally hurt when she picked him up and making him much more likely to succumb to an unexpected car. Very sad that it happened.
Very, very unlikely to be anything to do with any cannabis.

He was 4, so not old. It's quite possible he had banged his head.

Dojo, do you think catnip is harmful? he liked it. I always put a little bit in his basket after I had washed the blanket, because he didn't like the smell of clean washing, and wouldn't go back in, but if I put catnip in, then he went in straight away and settled down.

Thanks for the input and sympathy.

I'm still not sure.

I'm going to put something up to stop the other cat sitting there on the shed.

I appreciate the opinions given, but would still like to hear from maybe a vet or veterinary nurse who has knowledge.

Thank you

Poor cat, what a shame.

Doubt cannabis had anything to do with it, though. It's fruitless trying to find someone/something to blame - hope you can come to terms with it soon.

I don't think catnip is harmful, but it can make otherwise docile and loving cats go a bit doolally. It might have been this that your neighbour witnessed, and that could have been completely unrelated to the accident. Honestly, I don't think there's anything you could have done - you just need to let yourself grieve for your cat and be thankful that he obviously had a happy life with you where he was well loved and cared for.

I am a veterinary nurse.
I've seen my fair share of animals on drugs for many and various reasons.

I still think he had a head or other injury.
I'm still sorry for your loss.

Thank you Bernard. That is helpful

sunstroke? is it a wooden shed? sometimes the creosote vaping off (if its been painted recently and its warm) makes cats feel sick and wobbly

my cat ate cannabis he went a bit nuts wobbled home ate loads of food and fell over he was out for a fair few hours the vet said to leave him just monitor him (it was not my cannabis i should point out it was the druggie from a street away he actually came to complain to me that my cat ate his illegal cannabis plant )

sorry for your loss xx