Catnip Reaction

Is anyone else's cat really particular about the brand of catnip they like? I've found that Oliver will only react to one specific kind of catnip and he gets way crazy when I give it to him... I've tried various kinds of store-bought catnip, but the only kind that gets ANY reaction at all from him is CrazyKat brand... that brand makes toys (usually out of leopard prinit fabric) and grass kits too... I came across the discovery when Oliver received one of their toys from his kitty sitter for Christmas one year... it's a little fabric mouse that you open up and pour their catnip into... he went crazy! So I buy just their catnip in a bag (little more expensive then some other brands but apparently worth it) and Ollie loves it! He rubs his face/body in it and eats it and rolls around, play bites, pupils get huge, whiskers go foward haha... crazy high kitty! Anyway, I guess my question is: is it odd that he'll only react to this brand? I'm guessing this brand uses more actual leaves of the plant than stems, but I mean he has NO reaction at all to any other brand

Nope--mine are pretty indiscriminate! They even react to catnip toys that've sat in the store for ages!

Tiny has the weirdest reaction to catnip, though--he eats it!! All our catnip toys are stained green from his biting and licking.

Yeah, Oliver eats his catnip too! And he'll play bite my hand cuz I used it to take the catnip out of the bag.... the only catnip toy he reacts to is that mouse that came with this brand of catnip... it's weird

Butzie ignores catnip in any form.

I grow fresh catnip for my two girls and they will eat it and they will also roll in it with so much abandon that she falls off of her cat tree.

Trout would never know a difference..she must be a simpleton

Originally Posted by butzie

Butzie ignores catnip in any form.

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So does Zane.

I wouldn't be surprised if the difference your cat notices is simply the freshness. I wonder if you were to grow some if your cat would like that even more (as it would be super, super fresh).

My wife tried to grow some catnip out back, but it didn't last long. As soon as it was big enough to have a smell, we'd wake up each morning to see it dug in, chewed in, and generally strewn about the deck.

Maybe there are subgena of catnip--or maybe it gets a different smell if it's grown in a different area. Kinda like wine.

Hehe! Oliver's a connoisseur!

Originally Posted by Callista

Maybe there are subgena of catnip--or maybe it gets a different smell if it's grown in a different area. Kinda like wine.

Hehe! Oliver's a connoisseur!

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That's just a nice way of saying he's picky/stubborn!! haha... he is though - he's the same about wet food... the only stuff he doesnt turn his nose up to are meow mix cups and the crappy (IMO!!) 9 lives stuff my mom buys to trap the ferals with (he begs for it, so occasionally I'll let him have some of the gravy)

I grow Ollie his own grass, but not catnip (kinda broke at the momet - lookin for a job!!!) I definitely wouldnt be able to grow it outside due to the aforementioned ferals in the area - they do enough damage already... and I'd have to find a real good hiding spot in the house to grow it where the monster couldn't find it to make a mess haha

I have found that there are two different plants referred to as catnip. One is actually catnip (the girls adore this stuff) and the other is catmint (cats could care less about this stuff). The catmint was sold to me as catnip and for the actual catnip, I bought a packet of seeds and grew it in a container.

Yes. After growing catnip for several years, they don't respond to the stuff I buy, only fresh/dried fresh.

Shadow and mittens eat catnip too. Havent given any to david yet lol. Shadow ccan be a mean catnip drunk cat lol

My two love catnip & I have to keep it in a shatterproof plastic container w/a screw-on lid. I find the container on the floor sometimes in the morning when I wake up. Guess that's a hint? Don't think I've come across catmint sold as catnip though thankfully.

One of my girls likes it more than the other one though. The one who does everything in excess....big surprise there, eh?

Sorry - yes both eat it as well as roll in it.

It was funny cuz the other nite when I typed this, I had put catnip in Oliver's bumpy fleece donut bed so when he was licking the catnip to eat it, his tounge was getting stuck to the bed, haha... it was so cute cuz he looked so drunk, lol

Junior reacts to catnip depending on his mood I think. He'll always lick it off my finger but sometimes he'll just walk away and other times he'll go nuts for a minute or two before dozing off, almost as if he used up all his energy. I haven't had him long enough to experiment with different brands of catnip yet.

Mez

My cat goes nuts from cat nip. I call it "kitty crack." If I give it to him in a loose form, he'll eat it and then rub all over the spot that the cat nip was laying on the tile floor. When I give him his catnip mice (or other catnip toys) he's insane. When I first gave it to him after a few years of never giving it to him, he was psycho. He was drooling all over so that his toy was soaked and his fur on his legs, feet, neck and face were soaked. He rubs his whole body over it and throws the toys 6 feet in the air. It's so entertaining. Now, when he eats it, he's more just lovey dovey. It's now "kitty ecstasy" LOL