Scary incident with Cat nip

Hello everyone!

I have a serious question regarding catnip and its effects. I have a container of it that i give to Zeus once in a while to roll around in or sprinkle a bit in his food. I gave a bit to zephyr about 2 months ago when he was about 3 months old and he acted really strange so i didnt give it to him agian till lastnight i had given it to zeus to roll around in and decided to let Zephyr try a bit again.

well he just went balistic again. i mean throwing his body around on the tile floor like a maniac. he litterally banged his head off the floor 3 times he was throwing himself around so violently. thats not the scariest part .. just watching his eyes they were rolling back so far into the back of his head. i really didnt like it and it was really scary....
Hes completely fine... as soon as i took it away and cleaned it up he was completely normal like nothing was wrong or anything. i just dont know but i wont be giving him that again!
anyone have a similar experience or any information why this happend?
thanks!!

YES! That's exactly how two of our family's cats respond to catnip, and I just don't use it anymore. It's SO POWERFUL! I sprinkled just a touch of it on a sofa pillow once, and for two or three months, the kitties went wacky whenever they walked across that pillow.

Now, I've never put it on their food, because I don't think they're really supposed to eat it. That may be why the reaction was so extreme. It's possible that your kitties could actually ENJOY it in smaller quantities and through scent alone, not ingestion.

My understanding is that about 25% of cats don't react to catnip at all, and that kittens don't usually respond to it until they're seven or eight months old. And of course, some cats are just physiologically more susceptible to its effects than others.

Generally, though, I think it's a matter of degree. It's like the difference between a glass of wine and a bottle of vodka -- one is harmless and pleasant, but the other will make you stupid and self-destructive.

So... as in all things, moderation is key. Good luck!

That is so interesting...I have never heardd of any stories of ill effects due to catnip......I wonder why that happens....

I am sorry that you were so scared, and I hope this action by your cat is nothing serious...

My cats are vey much nip lovers, and i have never seen anything like this.....I would be very interested to see if anyone else has experiened issues like this...

I did hear somewhere that kittens shouldnt get nip because its effects the affectiveness of it later in life....

Anyhoo i hope everything works out.........

i never put out more then a pinch just because myself i dont know much about cat nip but zues just loves it and will roll in it and look so content. i wish zephyr was that normal with it!

Thats very interesting tho carol that your kitties had similar reactions like zephyr did,
a friend of mine has Zephyrs sister..her name is Echo and she doesnt even bother with the stuff when my friends tried to give her some. no reaction at all!
now im very interested to hear of any other stories !
thanks for the replies

Aw dang, that's scary! I've never heard of any bad cat nip reactions before.

I feed my cats catnip all the time, just put a small amount of organic nip on the floor and call them over to eat it. Catnip is a great source of fiber for them. Also putting it in canned food for a cat that just doesn't want to eat, is fine as it is an appetite stimulant as well.

Cats generally do not respond to catnip until they have reached sexual maturity and some cats get aggressive, while other just get happy and roll all over the floor. I would wonder if there might be something neurologically wrong with the cat who had a type of seizure after inhaling catnip and the nip just set it off?

I have never heard of catnip causing this, I would seriously wonder about the catnip you used - is it certified organic, is it from a reputable company, was it listed as wild harvested or home grown? Wild Harvested can be contaminated I.e. wild nip harvested from near railroad tracks is less than desireable) as can home grown unless they grow it inside or are very aware of what pesticides are used near their garden etc.

Cats have to 1) have inherited the gene necessary to be a catnip responder and 2) to be the age of sexual maturity...responses vary greatly from dreamy, silly to overly hyper.

Cats can eat catnip (i.e. pawbreakers the candy for cats is predicated on this as it is both a toy and edible), but I would only suggest just a teense - some folks even use it as an appetite stimulant.

I would not give this kitty this brand of catnip, or probably any, again, and i would have him in to your vet with a full good explanation of the eyes rolling back in its head, for an exam...certainly, I'd call and ask for a call back from your vet or their vet tech so you can discuss what happened.

and frankly, I'd toss that container of 'nip.
If, since you are in Canada, the brand you were using was Kooky Kat, then I have no concerns about the catnip itself as that is a superb grower of organic catnip. If that was not the brand, it is available in many Canadian pet stores I believe, check it out.

All my indoor cats love catnip and only get it once in a while. I have never had a problem...mine just roll in it and later they all drift off to a peacful sleep.

It's like what pot does to humans, I was told..don't know???

I also grow my own catnip.

I had a cat once named Eddy and he would use his front paw to swipe the cat nip infront of his nose and snort it all up and then would spend the next hour or so staring at the wall with a spaced out look. His older brother give it a sniff and lick then wonder away. My current cat Texas will eat it then get REALLY friendly

My cat has never had that sort of reaction to cat nip. All he ever does is roll around and play with it. However I always give him cap nip in a toy, usually ones that I make myself.

Sakura is one of those cats that get aggressive. She is the sweetest thing that never hisses or growls but if she has catnip its a totaly different story.

Im sorry that your kitty doesnt do well with the catnip. I dont really have any advice for you.

Guinness is super lovable after catnip Maybe your cat is ultra sensitive to it?

I got my kitty some and i put it on a toy (the kind they bat at with the little spring and ball at the top with a bell) and the nip is still there, i dont think she cared at all (about the nip or the toy, haha). So I guess mine is one of the 25% that dont care

My kits get Kooky Kat and Lovey does get a bit aggressive (not with me but with his brother, Rocky).
Lovey will roll around and get nutty and eat it (its ok to eat) but I generally have to give Rocky some a good distance from Lovey or Lovey will growl and bat at him to get away from his "stash"...Rocky will check over his shoulder a few times to make sure his older brother isn't coming to take it away from him...

Ox loves catnip but only the plant. I have had it growing "wild" in a certain spot in my veg garden for years!! He knows exactly where that spot is-when he was much younger I swear he got "stoned" on it!!! It was a big area at the time is was laying in it all ga-ga!! Bakker and Bobber each have a fav catnip toy. Grizzly doesn't seem to do anything with it.

Both Dexter & Sadie (5 yrs old) are non-responders to catnip.