Should Kittens Have Catnip Toys

Try reintroducing the catnip then and you will probably find that your cat will greatly enjoy it.

Should kittens have catnip toys. The herb s influence is genetic so not all cats respond to it according to the humane society of the united states. When the cat smells catnip the scent molecules travel to a receptor above the palate in the roof of the mouth known as the vomeronasal organ aka jacob s organ. You can use a catnip spray to attract cats to places you want them to go their bed carrying cage kitty condo etc and away from places you d rather they didn t go. Catnip is generally safe for kittens.

Kittens whether they possess the gene or not generally do not react to catnip until they are from six to nine months old. If he s still young give it some time. But no matter what reaction your cat has once the pleasure passes it ll be about two hours before kitty responds to catnip again. Smelling catnip is a stimulant for cats getting them very excited.

These hard wired preferences aren t immediately apparent though since kittens under the age of 3 months don t react to catnip at all. As stated before smelling catnip and eating it have two very different effects on a cat. Many cat toys have strings that could become wrapped around them or small parts that could be chewed off and become a choking hazard. While most cats do about 15 percent reportedly do not.

Ingesting catnip has no effect on a cat it s the nepetalactone vapour that the catnip gives off that your cat reacts to. The ability to appreciate the herb is genetic with slightly more cats in the fan club than not. It s perfectly safe to give a kitten small amounts of catnip however. Absolutely catnip is safe for kittens.

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. One thing that is important to note about using catnip for kittens is that some may attempt to eat it in addition to just sniffing it or playing with it inside of a pet toy. Because cats do respond to catnip again. The main thing to be concerned about is whether the toy itself is appropriate for the age of kitten playing with it.

Eating a small amount of catnip is unlikely to cause a cat any harm. Your cat is among the lucky ones by the way since some cats don t react to catnip at all. Since catnip is safe for kittens they can freely have a great time with most catnip toys. Kittens although catnip is totally harmless and safe around kittens both to smell and to eat it isn t necessarily effective.

If a kitten is going to be a catnip lover you usually can tell that when he is 3 to 6 months old.