Is catnip necessary???

Question

Do you give your cat catnip? What is it and why is it so appealing to cats? My cat is rather lazy...would catnip make her more energetic?

Answer 1

Catnip is the same as catmint, and the latin name is Nepeta. It's a perennial herb which is very easy to grow.

It basically works on a cat's pheromone reception, however not all cats are sensitive to it, so not all respond to it. Those who do respond differently.

For the majority of cats who react to catnip, the usual response is to become hyper: rolling over, rubbing into the catnip, jumping around. However, there are some cats, including one of our's, who react in the opposite way. Our's gets glazed-over eyes and nods off.

A cat is either born with this reaction or not, although kittens tend not to display any symptoms until they're older. I think it's hereditary too.

To be honest, the effects of catnip are short-lived, only lasing a couple of minutes. Once there's been an effect, the cat quickly acclimatises to it and it will be a few hours before its senses react to it again.

You might try it if your cat is lazy, but I doubt it will make much difference because the effect is so short lived. The best thing you could do is get a good toy and play with her. My 4 all love a feather on a string tied to a stick. They'll play for hours and not get bored. :-)

Answer 2

Catnip is by no means necessary. It's pretty much a drug for cats. Some cats are really allergic to it and get sick when they have it. Some cats act high when they get any. Other cats act more playful. Others act aggressive. And some have no response to it at all.

In my opinion, catnip is not healthy for cats. It has no lasting effects, and most of the effect that it has on a cat (with the exceptions of aggressiveness and allergic reactions) goes away very shortly after the catnip. The possibility of a cat becoming sick or aggressive from it is enough to keep me from giving it to my cat.

Answer 3

Some cats will play with or even cuddle with Catnip toys. But it makes other cats sick. So start with something small that has the Catnip inside. Raw Catnip is sold but I think it is too much for most cats systems.
To make her more energetic try doing short [like 15min] play times during the day, trying different games to see what clicks. Contrary to legend, most cats love attention.

Answer 4

Well I give our cat catnip but he won't really do anything I'm not really sure why.. but I think you should get your cat to play more. I mean like get her more toys I mean first of all if you have a pipe cleaner give it to her and throw it farther away from her. If she doesn't do anything then maybe you should give her some catnip. I'm not really sure what would happen because I only have one cat and of course everyone knows that cats are different. So I the answer is..: yes.

Answer 5

I asked the other day "How to get my cat to use it's scratching post?"
and people answered telling me to put catnip on it.
I went out and bought some. It looks like herbs or shake if you will. I put it on it's post and it uses it now instead of my couch.

It will give your cat energy. It makes them more playful.
http://www.hdw-inc.com/catnip.htm

Answer 6

Catnip isn't necessary, but it can make them more playful. With two of our cats (both males) they would guard the pile and eat it, and try to fight everything. Our two females just got really playful. To each his own, I guess.

Answer 7

Catnip is an herb. It's not necessary, but it is fun for them! They get so excited when they smell it and will play with toys stuffed with it until they drool and get worn out.