Turn a sour puss into a playful
kitten with safe, organically-grown dry milled
catnip. Catnip is a great way to jump start a play
session.
Use this special organically
grown catnip to recharge toys or scatter around
scratching posts to encourage kitty to scratch on
his furniture and not yours.
Dry milled catnip looks like
dried oregano but its effect on your kitty is
priceless. Kitties love catnip and yours will
love this brand.
Learn More about Catnip
What is catnip, anyway? Is it a
drug?
Catnip is a perennial herb belonging
to the mint family Labiatae. Catnip
is known in scientific nomenclature
as "Nepeta cataria".
How does catnip work?
The active ingredient in catnip is
called Nepetalactone. The response
to this chemical is mediated through
the olfactory system (their nose) that cats have
a special receptor for. This
chemical is thought to mimic the
effects of a pheromone which can cause a variety of
behaviors.
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Milled Organic Catnip can be
purchased from CityCats.biz. By
clicking the buy now button you will
be taken to the CityCats.biz website for more information
about
Catnip
and Kitty Grass
and about how to order. |
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I bought a catnip toy for my new
kitten, she didn't seem to care. Is
this normal?
Sometimes, particularly if your
kitten is less than 3 months old.
Very young and senior cats do not
respond as much, or at all, to
catnip. It is estimated that, 10-30%
of the cat population do
not respond to catnip at all, at any
age. This is due to genetics --
reactions to catnip are hereditary.
Some cats are genetically
"programmed" to respond to catnip,
some aren't.
My cat really goes crazy over
catnip, is it dangerous?
Cats are unique in their response to
catnip, and the response can be very
dramatic in some cats - rolling,
licking, rubbing, drooling, jumping,
running, kicking, growling. Other
cats appear to become very sedate
after exposure. And, as mentioned
above, up to 30% of the cat
population does not respond at all
to catnip. In any case, for all of
the (sometimes entertaining)
behaviors seen, catnip is completely
nontoxic to cats. If a large
quantity of fresh catnip is
consumed, you may see some vomiting
or diarrhea, but this is rare and
self-limiting. If your cat
experiences this, limit or withhold
catnip.
Is catnip hard to grow?
Generally no. If you plant
it in a garden, it could take
over. Catnip is a perennial. If you
live in the northern United States or Canada it should be easy to find
at your local nursery. Some
gardeners advise
to plant it in a buried 5 gallon
bucket to prevent it from taking
over the garden. However, we live in
the Pacific Northwest and plant it
as normal, and it is grows fine returning each year.
More
resources for
catnip
are found at the following:
Catnip, Cat nip |