catnip

Does cats need to be a certain age before they like catnip? My girls dont seam to care anything about it. My pa's old cat loves it and will litterally rip your hand off if you tease her with it. In fact the girls dont care for the catgrass either, sad too because i have a huge pot of it now and they ignore it and continue to eat roman's airplane plant.

Kittens aren't stimulated by catnip like adult cats....It's weird but usually the older the more of an attraction. One thing is to not have it readily available. Periodic sprinkle on scratch post/pad or fresh stuffed toy a few times a week keeps them from becoming bored or building tolerance to it.

Originally Posted by cheylink

Kittens aren't stimulated by catnip like adult cats....It's weird but usually the older the more of an attraction. One thing is to not have it readily available. Periodic sprinkle on scratch post/pad or fresh stuffed toy a few times a week keeps them from becoming bored or building tolerance to it.

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Daphne didn't care for nip as a kitten. At about 8 months or so, she discovered it She's hooked!

Only 1 out of my three cats loves catnip, the other two dont really bother.

I've read that kittens under 3 months don't react to catnip. And those cats who do can have two reactions. One is to run around crazily and the other is to mellow them completely out. I also read that the reaction to catnip genetic and some cats have no reaction at all regardless of age.

so probably in a couple months if they are going to like it they will start i guess. i wonder why dogs dont like it?

Originally Posted by blondrebel76

so probably in a couple months if they are going to like it they will start i guess. i wonder why dogs dont like it?

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I guess it's their genetics.

Mine are 6, 9 & 12 months none of them care about catnip at all.

I also got a valerian spray at the petshop meant for cats who don't react to catnip, they didn't care about that either.

out of my 2 cats its my boy salem that goes nuts for catnip..
he literally goes a little crazy..its funny to watch though..but my little girl will just sniff it ...and walk off..she doesn't care for it all..and they are roughly the same age...
a month apart according to the humane society.

Originally Posted by blondrebel76

Does cats need to be a certain age before they like catnip?

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In my experience, the answer is yes. Persi would never have anything to do with catnip, not in the least, until he was about 8 months old, when he started going insane over it and loves it to this day.

From what Ive heard - yes : Cats need to be a "certain age" before responding to catnip. Ive heard that "certain age" as a very wide range from 6mos-2 years. Maybe they just dont need the extra stimulant as kittens?
Some cats dont respond to catnip at all ever. Most (catnip lovers or not) like honeysuckle just as much!