Catnip

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momoftwogirls

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How young is too young for catnip? I have 2 older cats and I just got 2 new kittens (8weeks old)
, and I am not sure about catnip. My older ones love it and I just need to know if I should monitor it, so the kittens can't get it. Thanks for the help
 
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goldenkitty45

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Kittens under 6 months old rarely display any interest in catnip. I've had a few show interest at 3-4 months old, but most don't. Some cats never react to it. I've heard that cats have to have a "catnip gene" in them to really respond to it.

Ling and Charlie will respond with a brand new catnip mouse, but within a day or two they don't bother with them. They like the furry mice a lot better then catnip.

It won't hurt kittens if they do, but I strongly advise you to have ALL the cats nails clipped so they don't hurt each other.
 
marianjela

marianjela

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Catnip is a perfectly safe plant! I have found that if I grow my own catnip, the kiddies respond SO much more!!! They love it fresh. It is a member of the mint family, so it is a perennial and will grow back year after year.

You can grow it from seed, or you can find it in a lot of garden centers. If you decide to get fresh catnip, be sure to make sure you get common catnip, Nepenta Cataria, and not ornamental catnip, which has no effect on kiddies at all.

Anyway... long answer to quick question. It's harmless. Have fun with your crew!!!!

~ Marian
 
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momoftwogirls

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Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Kittens under 6 months old rarely display any interest in catnip. I've had a few show interest at 3-4 months old, but most don't. Some cats never react to it. I've heard that cats have to have a "catnip gene" in them to really respond to it.

Ling and Charlie will respond with a brand new catnip mouse, but within a day or two they don't bother with them. They like the furry mice a lot better then catnip.

It won't hurt kittens if they do, but I strongly advise you to have ALL the cats nails clipped so they don't hurt each other.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the advice... My older girls have soft paws on and the younger ons are still too little to have any nails to clip.. I already tried due to the fact that I have leather furniture..
 
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momoftwogirls

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Originally Posted by Marianjela

Catnip is a perfectly safe plant! I have found that if I grow my own catnip, the kiddies respond SO much more!!! They love it fresh. It is a member of the mint family, so it is a perennial and will grow back year after year.

You can grow it from seed, or you can find it in a lot of garden centers. If you decide to get fresh catnip, be sure to make sure you get common catnip, Nepenta Cataria, and not ornamental catnip, which has no effect on kiddies at all.

Anyway... long answer to quick question. It's harmless. Have fun with your crew!!!!

~ Marian
Click to expand...
Thank you for the help
 
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lindsey88

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You can definately clip nails at 8 weeks. I have clipped nails on kittens as young as 3 weeks. Just make sure to get only the tips, you should be able to see the quick very well. I did my 8 week olds with human nail clippers and it worked great.
 
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zoethor2

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Of our 5 little ones, 4 don't think catnip is anything special, but 1 little girl went NUTS for it at around 4 weeks old. She was going crazy on mommy's scratching pad and I couldn't figure out for the life of me why, until I recalled that you dump catnip onto it to encourage the cat to scratch it! Little Frida dearest is an expert at using the scratch pad now.
 
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goldenkitty45

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I clip the tiny tips of 3-4 week old kittens. You just use a normal small fingernail clipper at that age, till they are big enough for regular can nail clippers. If you start young, they get used to it and do less fighting when you are clipping.

Check and clip the tips at least once a week (I've had to do some kittens twice a week).
 
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