Catnip = mean, nasty and aggressive

@jpharn, I'm so very glad to hear your kitty has recovered.

I going to necropost this thread because I just had an incident of catnip induced major aggression.  

I live in a SUPER multi-cat household.  I just keep taking in strays to rehome them, and the unadoptable ones end up staying with me.  I've got two in my (large) bedroom, a brother and sister set of ferals (picked up from behind a loblaws at about 1.5 yrs of age), and newly a momma and her two kittens (mom is super sketchy with everyone but me, and the kittens just came back from a potential adopters house after a week long hunger strike when they were removed from my house).

The feral brother and sister were the ones that had the aggression incident.  Rosalie, the sister, has always loved catnip and experiences no negative side effects.  Carlisle, her larger, much stronger brother, can sometimes be a bit of a jerk to her, but mostly they are quite close.  

Two nights ago, I was careless with the catnip I left out for the 7 month old kittens, and Carlisle found one on the floor.  He looked so happy with it, I didn't have the heart to take it away.

An hour or so later, I came running out of my room in a panic when I heard Rosalie giving a bloodcurdling SCREAM.  By the time I made it downstairs, the two cats weren't anywhere near each other and Rosie seemed fine, so I wasn't sure what had happened.  I went back to bed.  Ten minutes later, Rosie started screaming even louder - a horrible, pained, panicked sound.  Again I bolted out of bed and came running, but this time I found Rosie on her side, prone, and Carlisle was on top of her, holding her down and mauling her belly.  I of course yelled in horror and ran towards him, and he got off her and dove behind a couch for cover.  I'm guessing I looked and sounded pretty crazy.    Rosie didn't get up though, she lay on her side breathing heavily and I realized she was pooping.  She was so scared, I felt horrible for her.  Once she finished pooping she took off running, and ended up hiding behind the couch.  When I found Carlisle, his eyes looked super spacey and dilated.  It was creepy.

He is normally a gentle cat, and although he's feral, he has never EVER intentionally hurt me Or his sister.  They are truly feral - I can't pick them up, give them meds, inspect any part of them that may be injured, trim their nails, or get them in a carrier.  It's basically like living with small wild animals that seem to like me.  They lived without human contact until they met me, and they come from a long line of feral cats that live in the area I picked them up from.  I suspect the first real illness they have, I'll have to euthanize them, because it will be impossible for the vet to examine them, and impossible for me to administer any medication.  And frankly, impossible for me to get them to the vet in the first place.  Therefore, I work EXTREMELY hard to proactively keep them healthy.  

At any rate, the incident really threw me for a loop, until I remembered one previous, similar incident a year ago where catnip = insane aggression in Carlisle.  I now consider it a pattern, and although the other cats love it, I'm going to make sure that whenever they are done playing with it, I pick it up and put it away, so Carlisle can never get ahold of it again.  My poor Rosie!

I should mention that Rosie and Carlisle are in the main area of the house, not in my bedroom.  

Rosalie and Carlisle look gorgeous @saskiamadding  and no way would I have thought they were feral from your photographs:  they look so calm and relaxed in your home, and in lovely condition.  How sad to think of Carlisle attacking his sister when they are usually close like they are in your pictures - they look to have a very special bond together.  

I do think cat nip can have a strong effect on some cats, not necessarily every kind or every time they encounter it but when it does it can be extreme.  Poor Rosalie, it is lucky that you were there and able to respond or she might have been badly injured.  Mouse has only reacted badly to cat nip twice and it was so different to his usual mishcief making and attention seeking behaviours.  With Carlisle your plan to keep cat nip away from him sounds wise, for him, your other cats and for you.  

You mention your worries about getting this pair to the vet if you need to:  I hope you find some helpful information on this site, and there will certainly be advice for you if you need it as many members care for feral cats and colonies here.  I have never cared for a feral but did have a cat who had a serious vet phobia to the extent she was exempt from vaccinations, my vets offered phone consultation where possible, and we had an agreement I only take her in if she was seriously ill.   Getting her in to her crate was usually easy but when she was sick it was like she knew where she was going and it was a nightmare until I worked out a way to con her in to thinking I was settled in and no plan to go out.  She watched everything I did so I'd have to change in to night clothes, make a cup of tea and something to eat and do everything I would for staying in, then when she was somewhere close to her carrier which was kept out all the time I would suddenly pick her up and in she'd go.  I had to have a full top opening crush basket which the vets could fully sedate her in before attempting to handle her at all.    I selected the vet by checking out who treated the local rescue / feral cats for animal charities in my area and then asked if they were happy to take my cat on - we then agreed a care plan for her as described above and they advised me on the type of basket to get.

By the way, welcome to TCS. It's very nice on here and you'll find plenty about how to work with feral.

My Fiancee and I adopted two sibling cats when they were 10 weeks old, they are loving, very affectionate big cats (half Maine coon and half american Shorthair tabby) when we finally got around to giving them catnip (When they were like 2 years old; they are 4 now) they got super hyper and playful but then like a switch got VERY aggressive to each other, our Dog and us. So we never give them catnip anymore. Well Earlier this evening I bought Spanish Olives (I love them) and after finishing some and putting the container away, our female cat (Alaise) came up on the table and began sniffing in earnest at my finger tips (Some of the olive juice was still on my finger tips as I ate them with my fingers) she started licking them then trying to naw on them then got that mean look on her face and began to aggressively bat/swipe at my hand. I shooed her away in confusion as when she bats at me it is usually because she wants pets and to light play; usually nothing major. Then about 10 minutes goes by and she comes up again and is super affectionate and began to roll on the table and turns around and begins to rub my hand; again she starts to lick my fingers and then in a split second I see the 'mean' look again and had no time to react. Then my world was pain and blood. (I actually bled pretty severely) She got my face pretty bad. 
I was seen by ER (it was just before 10 pm) and treated and thankfully don't need stitches. So very thankful I wear glasses.  While at the ER after noting it was after smelling my fingers which had touched the olives, is when she went ape ***t on my face,  I looked it up; SOME cats react to Olives the same as they do Catnip and so for the owners whose cats react funny, etc to Catnip it is funny; well mine become homicidal maniacs with catnip and ergo apparently to the smell of Olives too; something about Olfactory overload. So heads up!  If your cat is super aggressive with Catnip; if you Eat olives: Immediately wash your hands and don't let them smell them!.

Yikes, that's a really bad attack. I hope you heal ok. My cat Robin use to become really aggressive when she had catnip. She already sort of bullied the other cats, but when exposed to potent catnip she would chase them and become violent. I would have to separate them, and I'm really lucky her aggression didn't become people-oriented or she would have been uncontrollable.

Thank you, I was given some pain meds as nearly immediately after the bleeding was stopped (and my fiancee did freak a bit at first at the sight of my face after she heard me scream; I didn't get a good look until a few minutes after applying pressure but felt that warm gush feeling so i knew it wasn't just a light scrape let alone the pain)  my face began to throb and stings like a ***********. The meds are kicked in and my hands are thoroughly cleaned and Alaise seems to have calmed down but I will admit I am being leary at least until a day or so goes by lol. I am also now on antibiotics as they (the docs) were concerned about cat scratch fever (which I have had before; not fun) that and the punctures being so close to my eyes, bacteria etc. (She caught a mouse literally yesterday evening) it's been about 4 hours since it happened so I will be cleaning my face of the goopy antibacterial cream before I go to bed. Alaise seems to be back to normal (thank god).  And so glad I was wearing my glasses as it could have easily been much worse. I have been swatted by a cat like once before (a childhood friends cat named Ozzy who was a spaz) but that was in the leg. Never gotten it in the face like this before. I am hoping should any of it scar that it likely won't be too big lol.

One year, three months--necroposting like a boss! Alright, so I got this little black-n-white kitty Beeper (cuz of her silly meow.) Got her about two weeks ago when we found her under our porch stairs. She was thin as a twig and has a seriously nasty gash all up and down her front foreleg, but now she's well-fed and the gash has already totally closed up, kept it clean so no infection, thank God... doesn't look like the fur's growing back so she's prolly gonna have a kicka** scar from whatever awfulness she went thru before we found her.

She went from lethargic (shock) to a happy, playful, and incredibly lovey kitty in a matter of days! I haven't gotten her anything but a litterbox yet b/c I'm saving money to take her to the vet, but today I see these cute little mousey catnip toys at Kroger for real cheap (3 for $5) so I figure why not?

I set one on the ground, grab the laser pointer, and run Beeperbutt around for a minute before guiding her over. She gives it a few curious sniffs... then latches onto it! Success! Until she darts off to a corner with it and starts growling. I hadn't seen her act like that at all until just then! I gave her a few minutes to see if she'd do anything else but she kept darting around the room, low to the ground, and growling, so I decided to take the mouse-toy away from her.

Yeah, she didn't like that. She actually tried to scratch me! I grabbed some gardening gloves and tried again with better results, but man, she did NOT wanna let that toy go! I think the only reason she didn't try to bite is her jaws were practically locked around the d**n thing. I was scared I broke one of her teeth when I finally tugged it loose but it looks like she's okay.

So now she's acting super-hyper and playful but not mean. She's purring, and biting at like shoes and stuff. She's a lot more nibbly than usual but she's not broken skin, She did nip at my cheeks and neck though when she got the chance, which she's never done before! I guess my question here is, do you think it's the catnip that's bad for her, or the mouse toy? Maybe after so long of not knowing if or when she was gonna eat, it's life-or-death force-of-habit to hang onto food for dear life?

Should I try again with a different catnip toy, or maybe loose catnip? I saw a a few people say the smelling catnip and ingesting catnip have separate effects. I mean, if she does get aggressive and mean, it's not like I can't just grab the gardening gloves again and chuck her in the guest room 'til she chills, she's super-tiny for her (probable?) age.

KiffyBee said:

One year, three months--necroposting like a boss! Alright, so I got this little black-n-white kitty Beeper (cuz of her silly meow.) Got her about two weeks ago when we found her under our porch stairs. She was thin as a twig and has a seriously nasty gash all up and down her front foreleg, but now she's well-fed and the gash has already totally closed up, kept it clean so no infection, thank God... doesn't look like the fur's growing back so she's prolly gonna have a kicka** scar from whatever awfulness she went thru before we found her.

She went from lethargic (shock) to a happy, playful, and incredibly lovey kitty in a matter of days! I haven't gotten her anything but a litterbox yet b/c I'm saving money to take her to the vet, but today I see these cute little mousey catnip toys at Kroger for real cheap (3 for $5) so I figure why not?



I set one on the ground, grab the laser pointer, and run Beeperbutt around for a minute before guiding her over. She gives it a few curious sniffs... then latches onto it! Success! Until she darts off to a corner with it and starts growling. I hadn't seen her act like that at all until just then! I gave her a few minutes to see if she'd do anything else but she kept darting around the room, low to the ground, and growling, so I decided to take the mouse-toy away from her.

Yeah, she didn't like that. She actually tried to scratch me! I grabbed some gardening gloves and tried again with better results, but man, she did NOT wanna let that toy go! I think the only reason she didn't try to bite is her jaws were practically locked around the d**n thing. I was scared I broke one of her teeth when I finally tugged it loose but it looks like she's okay.

So now she's acting super-hyper and playful but not mean. She's purring, and biting at like shoes and stuff. She's a lot more nibbly than usual but she's not broken skin, She did nip at my cheeks and neck though when she got the chance, which she's never done before! I guess my question here is, do you think it's the catnip that's bad for her, or the mouse toy? Maybe after so long of not knowing if or when she was gonna eat, it's life-or-death force-of-habit to hang onto food for dear life?

Should I try again with a different catnip toy, or maybe loose catnip? I saw a a few people say the smelling catnip and ingesting catnip have separate effects. I mean, if she does get aggressive and mean, it's not like I can't just grab the gardening gloves again and chuck her in the guest room 'til she chills, she's super-tiny for her (probable?) age.

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She was growling because she LOVED that catnip toy and was no way going to give it up. Get her some more and just don't try to take them away. Once she knows you aren't trying to get between her and her catnip, she will relax. One brand of catnip toys by the way that cats love is Yeoww brand, especially the banana.

Just one other thing about your girl and her behavior. Kittens who survived outdoors may have had to fight to get and keep every morsel of food. So she may get mean and aggressive if you get near her when she is eating or attempt to take away something she has. Just be mindful of her past and don't take it personally if she guards her stuff.

susanm9006 said:

She was growling because she LOVED that catnip toy and was no way going to give it up. Get her some more and just don't try to take them away. Once she knows you aren't trying to get between her and her catnip, she will relax. One brand of catnip toys by the way that cats love is Yeoww brand, especially the banana.

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Oh, no! Poor Beeper... well, she's purring and cuddling with me again so I guess there's no hard feelings.

Just gave the toy back to her again and she's showing the same behaviors so I'll let her be 'til she approaches me. I also read some articles while waiting and she stopped growling after I stopped gawking at her and doing the squinty cat-eye thing, so that was neat!

Thanks for your time!!