Monday, December 28, 2009

The Catnip Effect

Santa Claus happened to tuck two little items in my stocking for my cat Max. One was a little fake mouse and the other was a small square packet full of catnip. I packed these two items up with the rest of my stocking stuffers and didn't give them another thought until I walked into the room where I had deposited the bag of gifts upon my return home and found my cat Max with his nose deeply dug into said bag. He then proceeded to roll about on the floor and paw at the bag and rub his chin against it. Since he has never paid any attention to any contents of any bag I have ever brought into the house in the past ten years, I was at first taken quite aback to discover him so engaged, until I remembered the little package of catnip.

I then took the box with the catnip toy and tucked it into the top drawer of the metal four drawer filing cabinet in my office, closed the drawer and again forgot all about it. Until tonight, when I noticed Max sitting on top of the cabinet, rubbing his face against the lock as if trying to open it. Once again, he had figured out the location of the catnip and was anxious to get at it.

I find the effect of catnip to be quite amazing but I also wonder if it is safe for cats. It seems to cause such an unusual reaction, I find it somewhat alarming. I looked it up on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepeta and a few other places and learned that "Cats love catnip. It is an herb that triggers their senses that elicits a playful response. It is not dangerous or toxic to your cat, as the scent is inhaled and the plant is not usually consumed. So, catnip toys and scratch posts are fine for your kitty; let them have a little fun, and enjoy their treat of catnip!"

So, I'm off to take the toy out of the filing cabinet and let Max go wild with it. Surely that is what Santa intended!

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