ideheights
Jr. Member
Posts: 43
Butter and Stan - Brothers in Arms
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« on: June 22, 2008, 10:42:06 PM » |
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Here in Japan there seem to be a lot of catnip products - scratching boards are infused with them, and there are lots of little packets and bottles of catnip powder. You can also buy catnip sticks of various sizes.
Has anyone ever done a study about catnip - as in whether it has any positive or adverse effects on cats? It makes Stan and Butter sneeze and drool (verrrry pretty), so we don't give it to them very often.
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Cats are smarter than dogs. You can't get eight cats to pull a sled through snow. (Jeff Valdez)
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catwoods
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« Reply #1 on: June 22, 2008, 11:12:48 PM » |
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That's an interesting question - and i don't know the answer. Drooling is one of the effects I think, that is commonly seen - not my favorite either  . I've never heard of adverse effects but that doesn't mean there aren't any, although they may be few in number. We had a cat that would get so overstimulated by catnip that we became concerned. In comparision with our three others she became very agitated, and would roll vigorously for a REALLY long time after the effect had worn off the others. This was from a very small amount of 'nip. Because of that we stopped the catnip sessions. Especially when she became older, we felt the overexcitment might have a negative impact on an aging system. To us that seemed the sensible thing to do. We may be a little overcautious with our kitties but we are more comfortable being that way. And she lived to seventeen. Each cat is different so watching their reactions carefully, as you are doing, is probably the best measure of how well they handle it. Some things I've read say to only give them catnip about once a week or they build up a tolerance and don't react. I wouldn't hesitate to start catnip sessions again with the cats we now have, once I get a moment of spare time again, although I'd watch 'em closely. |
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« Last Edit: June 25, 2008, 01:00:18 AM by catwoods »
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Meowli
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« Reply #2 on: June 23, 2008, 04:14:00 AM » |
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I've noticed that there is a big difference between brands of packaged catnip. I don't like the big name brands or the cheap stuff - big twigs and sharp things and who-knows-what. I try to get catnip grown organically and locally if possible. It's a lot fresher, too. My cats like the stuff, haven't had a cat yet that didn't. PS I have tried to grow it on a windowsill but the cats wouldn't leave it alone.  Meowli |
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Meowli
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« Reply #3 on: June 23, 2008, 04:29:15 AM » |
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Another PS - I recommend securing the supply of catnip so the little darlings don't get into it when nobody is around to supervise. We have to hide ours in the fridge. Many years ago DH and I came home from work to find that our three little angels had broken into a wooden cabinet drawer, and pulled out the whole bag of catnip. We walked into a kitchen of wall-to-wall catnip and wall-to-wall sprawled cats. They were wasted. I was panicked. DH was grumpy. They were ok after awhile, but got NO 'nip again for months. Meowli |
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catbird
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Torti Goddess
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« Reply #4 on: June 23, 2008, 06:44:27 AM » |
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Some cats will actually eat the catnip, others just roll and rub and smell, so I'd check carefully, as Meowli said, and watch out for the cheap stuff or anything with additives. I grow my own outdoors, and find that they really love it fresh. This is one plant material that I have never seen any of my cats vomit back up when it is eaten. (Makes sense, because catnip tea is a remedy for upset stomachs for people.) We only give it to them about once per month, but we do marinate their toy mice in it (put toys in sealed plastic bag with catnip for a couple of days--got this idea from another poster here.) We have to store our dried catnip in the freezer to prevent scenes like Meowli describes. They haven't figured out how to open that yet. Individual cats do react differently. I've heard there are some who don't react at all, but I've never actually seen it. We've had some who just get a little mellow and roll around, and some who go bonkers. The difficult trick here is to hand the catnip to every cat present at exactly the same moment. We've had fights break out over a sprig of catnip. |
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August
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« Reply #6 on: June 23, 2008, 06:47:38 PM » |
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I did have one strange happening with catnip. A lot (if not all?) the catnip I've found in Japan comes in powder form, to be sprinkled on scratch pads or on toys. One day I thought I'd let the kitties get a nip of the Nip, and I started to sprinkle the powder onto the scratch pad and mouse toys I always use. Mooch came over as usual, but I'm thinking maybe he got a bit of the dust as I was sprinkling, which made him take a few uncharacteristic swats at me. Then suddenly he started backing up and acting like he had something stuck in his mouth, sticking his tongue in and out, and shaking his head back and forth, so I immediately went to him to gently hold his jaw so I could take whatever was in there out -- Mooch started drooling GOBS of very sticky saliva to the point of where it really freaked me out. About five, ten seconds later, all was back to normal (except me  ). I can only guess that I wasn't holding the powder close enough to the board and that a good waft of it landed directly in Mooch's mouth to make him react like that.  It took me a while to let them have catnip again, but I sure learned my lesson, and now when I get the stuff out, I'm VERY careful about rubbing the powder into the toys, rather than sprinkling it!  |
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Orange Fuzzball
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« Reply #7 on: June 23, 2008, 07:27:10 PM » |
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Some cats are more sensitive than others, that's for sure. KD loves the smell of catnip and gets very interested when she catches a whiff, but sniffing or eating it doesn't have much effect on her.
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kaffe
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« Reply #8 on: June 23, 2008, 08:36:51 PM » |
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my only issue with catnip is that my cats are not affected by it at all  They show no interest in catnip - dry, fresh, bargain bin, eepensive... nada... I've quit trying --- they both like the scent of mint though |
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ideheights
Jr. Member
Posts: 43
Butter and Stan - Brothers in Arms
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« Reply #9 on: June 23, 2008, 09:03:14 PM » |
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August - That sounds like a really intense reaction to the catnip! Both Stan and Butter lick powdered catnip off our cat tower and they haven't reacted so strongly...
Kaffe - checking the sources I included in my last post, I learned that reacting to catnip is actdually a genetic thing! Most domestic cats respond, as long as they're over 6 months old. Oddly, the cat gene pool in Australia is pretty small, for example, and very few cats there respond at all to catnip.
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Cats are smarter than dogs. You can't get eight cats to pull a sled through snow. (Jeff Valdez)
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alleycat
Jr. Member
Posts: 7
Live Fast,Die young,leave a beautiful corpse
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« Reply #10 on: July 25, 2008, 12:53:09 AM » |
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I hear catnip is like marijauna for humans,same effect.I call it sometimes the love drug for my cats.They luv the stuff.
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ShellysMom
Jr. Member
Posts: 14
My sweet Shelly Belle 1993-2003
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« Reply #11 on: August 11, 2008, 06:11:34 PM » |
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I've got three cats....they all love it.
We keep their "stash" up high where they can't reach. They love eating it and rolling in it.
Like stated earlier, not all brands are created equal...Bought some that looked like mostly unopened blooms and twigs - very few leaves. It also was not well received.
For store bought - Whitney, Jake and PorchKitty seem to prefer cosmic catnip.
I've tried growing it, but did not get the same reaction out of them. How should the fresh be prepared? Should it be dried?
That powdered stuff in Japan sounds a little scary!
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Mom to fur babies Whitney, Jake, and Timmy (aka Porch Kitty) too!
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