Do Kittens Need Catnip

If your cat scratches the sofa we can try to sprinkle some of this plant on your scraper to make it more attractive.

Do kittens need catnip. But of course you won t want to give a kitten too much catnip as over ingesting can lead to vomit and diarrhea and kittens have much smaller bodies and thus lower tolerances in general than full grown cats. Absolutely catnip is safe for kittens. Well according to science buffs cats react to catnip after a volatile oil in it called nepetalactone interacts with the nasal tissue. Try reintroducing the catnip then and you will probably find that your cat will greatly enjoy it.

Can kittens have catnip. Newborn kittens aren t usually responsive to catnip at all until they are about 3 months of age. Catnip s allure is in its volatile oil. It s perfectly safe to give a kitten small amounts of catnip however.

But you won t know if your kitten is one of them until sometime between ages 3 and 6 months. Kittens are fine to have catnip from time to time. About one cat in two inherits a sensitivity to the herb. While most cats do about 15 percent reportedly do not.

The study noted that kittens under 8 weeks exhibited no reaction to catnip and according to todd when kittens are given it the catnip often produces a distinct avoidance response in young kittens which is gradually replaced by indifference in non responders and by heightened curiosity in responders. When cats get a whiff of catnip they behave similarly to female cats in. Cats must possess a gene for it. If a kitten is going to be a catnip lover you usually can tell that when he is 3 to 6 months old.

Kittens whether they possess the gene or not generally do not react to catnip until they are from six to nine months old. However years of study have debunked this myth and catnip is now considered safe for kittens. In addition the catnip is not addictive or has any contradictory effect on your cat so its consumption is completely safe. Cats are receptive to a volatile oil an oil that evaporates in the air found in the stems and leaves of the catnip herb.

In the past it was thought that giving catnip to kittens when they were very young could result in behavioral imbalances. Not all felines respond to catnip. The herb s influence is genetic so not all cats respond to it according to the humane society of the united states. The catnip reaction is thought to be exhibited due to an inherited characteristic related to an autosomal dominant gene and the effect isn t just exhibited in domestic cats it s also.

It can also be used as a method of education. If he s still young give it some time. If your cat is an adult you may have one of the few adult cats that do not possess the gene.