Guidelines for giving cats catnip?

Question

How much? How frequently/infrequently? What form? (I have leaves), any thing else I should know? Web sources are appreciated.

Answer 1

Give as a treat. I put some in a paper grocery bag and watch the fun. Sometimes I sprinkle it in their beds. I give some every few days. Too much and they get immune to it and lose interest. You can store soft toys in the bag with the catnip and they will take up the scent and are fun to play with. It is not rocket science so you don't need a web site.

Answer 2

LOL!

Ok, if you get it fresh, only give a few leaves (fresh meaning just picked). If they eat more than that they'll usually barf it up.

If it's dry, and there's long stems in it, take the stems out. They can eat the leaves and flowers but stems splinter and are like needles.

If it's commercially bought--Cosmic Catnip is one I recommend--then just put down an amount they can clean up in 15 minutes. About a tablespoon at most. If you put it on a carpet they'll be digging at that area so use a linoleum floor or wood floor area instead.

You can get live plants at a plant nursery, but get the catnip not the decorative catmint--that doesn't have the smell the cats like if it's the decorative plant. You can also plant seeds you get from wild growing catnip in your area.

The plant usually grows for two years then dies, but spreads enough seed to perpetuate itself. I grow it here and pick it wild, make toys from it and have turned that into a good enough regular paycheck to make my car payment with every month. The Great Lakes region has some great smelling nip.

You can give it as much as you want, but if they're always exposed to it, they respond less and less. My cats smell it all the time (I've got boxes of the dry leaves in the computer room) so they barely respond. Twice a week is good if yours likes it.

About 20% of cats don't respond to catnip. The rest do like it. But if the catnip is too old, it won't be turning them on. Hartz sells catnip but that stuff is warehoused for up to 2-3 years, it's long lost it's potency. If you get catnip that's gray, then the oils are all out of it. The leaves should be green for best freshness. REAL fresh catnip will make most cats aware of itself from a room away.

Answer 3

I actually did a science project on the effects of catnip in college. lol. I bought a couple different brands of catnip and only tried one brand per day. The background on catnip is that it is equivalent to PCP for humans, (I guess how a human would feel on PCP is how a cat feels on catnip) but is perfectly safe to the cat, and basically gets him 'high.' I tried a brand of catnip on each day, with a toy and alone (my cats just chow down on it without a toy or anything). Eating it doesn't hurt them either, and still gets them crazy. Experiment with your cat, see if he likes it with a toy, with food, or alone. Try different brands because some are better to your cat than others. Usually their 'high' only lasts a few minutes, but cats take it differently. Actually, some don't react to it. Apparently it's a hereditary trait to liking it or not! But if he does react, he'll either be very chill or wide open and running amuck. It's funny either way. It will only work on a cat once every several hours. If anything, give him some in the morning and some at night. If you just keep giving it to him, it will not affect him after a certain point. When I give it to my cats, I usually give about a tablespoon per cat. If it's not too fine, crush it up a bit for your kitty or rub it all over a sock or something. He'll have a ball. It's fun and safe!

Answer 4

I give my cat catnip usually no more than twice a month. He has toys with catnip scent that he plays with all the time but the real potent stuff I only give him once and a while. We have a jar of it from the pet store and I usually just sprinkle it on the carpet and he rolls around in it and tries to eat it. The reason I don't give it to him all the time is I think it would lose it's appeal if he was overly exposed to it and it also tends to cause my cat to become more hyper which is funny to watch but not something you'd want to do every day. It's ok if your cat eats some of it too, they like it. Think of it as a "special treat" for your kitty.

Answer 5

According to this video, just don't give them too much! It's in German, but it says that they respond to all parts of the plant: leaves, stems, and flowers. The aromatic oils, similar to chemicals found in cat urine, make them horny and the more they have, the more crazy they get.

The cardboard products my sis has always bought are nowhere near as potent as fresh stuff or the garden in this vid. So just don't plant a garden!

Answer 6

When your cats had enough it will just leave it alone.
But dont get your hopes up 70% of cats dont react to Catnip at all........including mine :(
If she does react, film it and stick it on youtube, its bound to be popular and it does no harm at all. Your cat will love it.

No cat has ever died from a Catnip overdose.

Answer 7

I give my cat little toy mice full of catnip he loves them.