[sophiam]

I bought my 17 week kitten some new toys this morning, but when I got home and looked at them all they all have catnip in them. I've never heard of catnip before so I searched online and got different opinions on it, but what I didn't see if it was safe to give a kitten something with catnip in it. Is it safe or should I wait until he's a little older?

 

[ownedby4cats]

As far as I know catnip is safe for kittens. My cats all love catnip and get "high" after I spread it on the scratcher board.

 

[Susan]

It's perfectly safe, although most kittens don't have any reaction to catnip...that usually starts when they're older, although some cats never have any reaction. My Muffs loves catnip, but it has no effect on Abby.

 

[Ragdoll_Joy]

Joy is 4 months old, we have not exposed her to catnip yet.....when do you think we should introduce her to the wonder-plant?

 

[Susan]

Ragdoll Joy: You could try anytime. I don't think there's any sort of "typical" age when cats magically become affected. As I recall, Muffs was only around 6 months old when she reacted positively to it. I imagine some cats might react earlier and some later.

 

[Ragdoll_Joy]

Thanks Susan! Always look forward to hearing from a fellow ragdoll owner! Muffs is a beautiful looking cat

 

[sophiam]

Tried my kitten with his new toy. We first thought he was cuddling the little bear but he went into a full attack and fought with it for about five minutes and then went back to playing with a pair of my rolled up bed socks. Guess he wasn't that interested in catnip.

 

[Lynxy]

Tried my kitten with his new toy. We first thought he was cuddling the little bear but he went into a full attack and fought with it for about five minutes and then went back to playing with a pair of my rolled up bed socks. Guess he wasn't that interested in catnip.

Hi lolacola,

Cats get desensitised to catnip after about 10 minutes of playing with it, then they usually go back to it a few hours later... They do say that if you offer it too often they can become desensitised completely but I don't know how true that is.

I put mine around the scratching post, and he goes crazy for about 10 minutes and then has a nap... ha ha :]

 

[hoofmaiden]

I avoid actual toys w/ catnip b/c they just get desensitized, as Lynxy said. Instead, I invest in very high quality leaf catnip and throw "catnip parties" a few times a month--sprinkling it on the floor so the cats can roll in it, eat it, and revel in it. When they're done I sweep it up.

If you have more than one kitty, make sure there is catnip in multiple locations, spread out, and keep an eye on things. I had one cat, Loki, who was just a mean drunk! He loved catnip, but I locked him in a room when I handed it out b/c otherwise he beat up his sisters.

 

[sophiam]

According to what I read, cats don't usually respond to catnip until they're around 8-9 months of age. Furthermore, not all cats respond to catnip, about 1/3 of them don't. It's a genetic thing.

Yeah, he threw it around for about five minutes and walked away from it. He hasn't went near it since.

 

[MowMow]

The catnip first started attracting Book @ about 6 months, a tiny bit less. Now he's a complete addict.