Using Catnip To Improve Your Cat’s Behaviour
Wednesday, May 30th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
Catnip is an hallucinogen that minimizes a cat’s inhibition. Its safe effects can be used to successfully improve a cat’s behaviour. Catnip creates a feeling of euphoria that can last about fifteen minutes but is very safe for cats and is not addictive at all.
On coming into contact with catnip, cats will roll in it, lick it, or even devour the herb.They will rub up against it repeatedly with head and chin, then purr loudly, growl, meow, roll over and even leap about. Many of these movements are similar to a cat in heat, leading to the theory that catnip is a female feline aphrodisiac. However this is debatable as it affects both male and female alike.
Catnip is so powerful that it can make even the laziest of cats become playful. It is an amazing reliever of tension, so it’s great to be used after your cats have experienced a tense or stressful situation. An example would be after your cats were car traveling with you, or if you have had company in the house that caused them to become uneasy.
Catnip is also a great tool to use when helping a very timid or frightened cat become more confident. Whether you have purchased a new cat that is timid or have rescued a scared one from the shelter, catnip will almost always do the trick to get them to react in a more vibrant and friendly manner and this is a great time to start a play session for these timid felines.
If you own more than one cat and are introducing one of them to catnip, it would be best to keep it away from the other cats until you can assess the effect of the catnip. Some males may have a tendency to cross the line from friendly play to dominant aggression while they are under the influence of catnip. By separating the first-time catnip user from the rest of the group, you can easily see what his attitude will be in response to the herb. If your cat turns out to react in a friendly manner, then it is safe to allow him to have catnip with the rest.
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June 6th, 2007 at 11:53 pm
[…] Catnip can be a great tool to use when helping a very timid, frightened or stressed cat become more confident and relaxed, but what causes this effect?. Catnip is an hallucinogen that minimizes a cat’s inhibition, creating a feeling of euphoria that can last for about fifteen minutes.It is very safe for cats and is not addictive at all, although overuse can result in a cat becoming immune.Catnip is an amazing reliever of tension and so is ideal to use after your cats have experienced a tense or stressful situation, such as travelling in the car on a long journey, moving house, or if you have had company in the house that caused them to become uneasy (such as noisy children when they are unused to them).If you are bringing home a new cat that is timid or have rescued a scared one from a shelter, catnip will usually have them reacting in a more playful and friendly manner - this is a great time to start a play session to put them at ease.For ways of using catnip to improve your cats behavior visit www.all-about-cat-care.com Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. […]