Vitamin C for Pets

Vitamin C - Editor's Choice

Deirdre Layne | Modified on Aug 18, 2023

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While healthy dogs and cats produce vitamin c in their bodies, Vitamin C supplements are often helpful for our pets, just as they are for us. Vitamin C supplements can help pets overcome infections, reduce symptoms of arthritis and eliminate allergy.

Stress uses up vitamin C stores quickly. Pets experience all sorts of stresses, making them good candidates for vitamin C supplementation. The bodies of our pets experience stress when they are sick, recovering from vaccinations, dealing with allergies or healing from wounds. Environmental stresses include pesticides and changes in living situations. Poor quality food can also put undue stress on pets.

Vitamin C supports the immune system and also collagen production. This makes it a broad spectrum supplement for pets, helping with a wide range of health problems including the following:

Arthritis
Hip Dysplasia
Urinary Tract Infections
Slow Healing Wounds
Ear Infections
Respiratory Infections
Allergies
Feline Leukemia
Cancer
Tumors

How Much Vitamin C Should I Give My Dog?

Small dogs: 500mg - 1,000mg
Medium - Large dogs: 1,000mg - 2,000mg
Giant dogs: 2,000mg - 4,000mg

How Much Vitamin C Should I Give My Cat?

3-7 pound cat – 200-400 mg
7-11 pound cat 400-700mg
11-16 pound cat 700-1000mg

These are starting points for dosing your pets. Ideally, you will divide the dose in half and give vitamin C twice a day. Vitamin C is water soluble and used up quickly in the body, making frequent dosing helpful.

You will know if your pet is getting too much vitamin C if he has loose stools. If diarrhea develops, cut back the amount you give. Start with the lowest suggested dose to avoid the risk of diarrhea.

During severe stress or acute illness, you pet may need much more than the suggested amount above. You can increase the dose during these times until your pet begins to experience diarrhea, then cut back a bit. It would not be unusual for a pet to need as much as four times the usual amount of vitamin C during an illness.

If you are giving your pet vitamin C on a daily basis, it is a good idea to re-evaluate the amount you give once or twice a year. You can increase a bit to see if your pet is needing more as he ages. Again, watch for loose stools and cut back if you reach that point.

What Kind of Vitamin C Should I Use for My Pet?

Some kinds of vitamin C are highly acidic (like the ascorbic acid form.) These types are more likely to cause digestive distress. Sodium ascorbate is more gentle to the system. Ester-C is another gentle form of C that many of our readers give their pets.

Have you used a Vitamin C supplement for your pet? Let us know how much you give, the size of your pet, and why you give your pet vitamin C. Keep reading to learn how our readers used vitamin C for their cats and dogs!

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.

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Pets and Vitamin C

Posted by Arnold (Kenmore) on 09/21/2022 20 posts
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

Everyone knows that most animals produce their own vitamin C, except that isn't necessarily true.

In the wild that probably works, but our pets eat dry food that has been processed at high temps and is devoid of probiotics and enzymes. Their ability to make vitamin C is impaired.

All dogs need a distemper shot - don't do it. Distemper is canine scurvy, and a dose of C cures it.

My friends had a little dog they were going to put down because he had arthritis so bad he could barely crawl. I watched him drag himself to his water dish and I felt so bad for him. On a shelf above the dish was a jar of chewable vitamin C tablets. I crumbled one into the water.

Next day, the day they were going to put him down, they called me, "What did you do to our dog? He is running around like a puppy! "

Now I regularly give my pets a little C powder and ACV in their water.

Where to Buy

Posted by Marcia Kirschbaum (Costa Mesa. Ca) on 02/19/2015
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

The vitamin C I used is a whole food type by Healthforce Nutritionals. It's a complete form of VC, not an isolate like ascorbic acid is so the body can make use of it without having to rob the body of rutin, bioflavonoids and such, to remake a complete, useable molecule.

My 2 yr old, 80 lb Dogo Argentino gets 325 mg 3 times a day to combat arthritis and chronic ear infections.

https://healthforce.com/education/white-papers/truly-natural-vitamin-c/

As an afterthought ~ vitamin C works in conjunction with other nutrients for it's activation. If you aren't doing a raw diet, where they get their calcium and magnesium (along with so many other nutrients) from eating raw bones, you should supplement. If you are using ascorbic acid or some other isolate form of vitamin c you should also supplement bioflavonoids.

Lastly, Steroids medication deplete vitamin C, so you'll need higher dosage till you wean off the drugs and heat destroys VC so don't do that :o)

Lethargy in Cats

Posted by Thax (Seattle, Wa) on 02/06/2012
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

My cat was lethargic, drinking extra water, and his coat lacked shine. I had great luck using powdered ascorbic acid (vitamin C) mixed with water for this condition. I put a half teaspoon into a small cup, added water, then used a plastic syringe (available at drugstores) to give to my cat orally.

The next morning after giving vitamin C, he was plumper, healthier, and happy. I will continue to give him 250 mg a day for now to take care of any problems he mght be experiencing with his kidneys. Apparently the max dose is 250 a day for cats.

I was getting worried about my kitty and am so happy to see him improving so rapidly! High dose vitamin C therapy prevents all kinds of human diseases as well!

Broad Benefits

Posted by Grace (Auckland, New Zealand) on 02/04/2009
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

I wonder if folk realise that dogs & cats don't make as much vitamin C as most other animals do?

I gave a home to a stray cat who possibly had a poor start in life. When he became very poorly, I gave him 1/4 tsp powdered sodium ascorbate dissolved in 2ml warm water, used an old syringe [no needle]to inject it into his mouth. I did this at least 2 hourly during waking hours. The effect was wonderful!

He has a tendency to get discharging eyes. I use 1tsp sodium ascorbate in 1/2 metric cup warm water & swab both eyes 3-4 times/day with great clear up. [I drink the left-over solution.]

A friend who breeds rottweilers has a prize dog that's asthmatic. The asthma cleared up with ascorbic acid several times/day. The dog came off all its meds.

Vitamin C
Health Benefits

Vitamin C - Editor's Choice

How Much Vitamin C Should I Give My Dog?

How Much Vitamin C Should I Give My Cat?