Do you limit your cat's access to catnip?

[ShawnD1]

It's widely established that human drug and food consumption increases when access is limited; people binge on things that are not always available. This is why teens drink until they pass out whenever the opportunity comes up, but people who are able to legally buy alcohol don't drink themselves into a coma every single day. I wanted to test if this applied to cat psychology as well, so I put en entire bag of catnip in a cereal bowl next to the cat's food. So far, the cat's response is exactly the same as a human's response. She ate lots of it on the first day, but then she stopped. I haven't seen her eat any of the catnip in the following week, but I can tell she's stoned every once in a while because she lays on her back when she is high. The rest of the time, she is a lot more relaxed and friendly.

Has anyone else tried giving their cat unlimited access to catnip? How did it turn out?

 

[CZroe]

Isn't the reaction triggered even just by smelling the stuff? They probably eat it just because they smelled it and are playful and don't know WTF else to do with it.

 

[Poulsonator]

We grow catnip for our two cats, and they can access it whenever they want. Been doing it for 5 years or so, no ill-affects. We also have a few toys of theirs that we load up with catnip bought from a store that they play with from time to time. Again, no ill-affects.

 

[Hugo Drax]

I cut up one or two rails for the cats On occasion. The problem is they get aggressive and crazy. The last thing I want is a nipwhore cat.

 

[ViperXX]

Well I have a cat named 'Butters' and he trips balls on catnip.

But his son 'I can't believe it's not Butters' trips major balls.

So the answer is yes, we hide the catnip. Now you mix Catnip with a laser pointer and that's pure suicide with 'I can't believe it's not Butters'.

 

[ManBearPig]

deleted

 

[ShawnD1]

So the answer is yes, we hide the catnip. Now you mix Catnip with a laser pointer and that's pure suicide with 'I can't believe it's not Butters'.

Mine gets obsessed with the mouse cursor when high. She'll jump on my desk, put her face right against the screen, and follow the mouse around.

 

[Iron Woode]

we had catnip growing wild in our garden back in the day. I didn't realize what it was at first. It grew very tall and bushy quickly. It had loads of flowers and was covered in bees.

I took a closer look at it and plucked a leaf to make sure. Yup, catnip. The next day my cat discovered it. She was an outdoor cat and I found her laying in the middle of the plant. She had a weird look about her. She was wired! I went to pet her and she went bananers. I laughed and let her be.

 

[Rakehellion]

Cats get high on catnip?

 

[Red Squirrel]

My cat does not react much to catnip. Catnip is a gateway drug that leads to more hardcore stuff like thermal paper, cigarettes, and glue. My cat just goes ballistic and wants to rub herself all over any object that has cig smell on it. I also have to hide receipts because she eats them, and envelopes because she likes to lick the glue right off. Freaking drug addict cat lol. Maybe that's my problem, I have to stop limiting her of these things.

 

[MaxPayne63]

OP starts on a false premise. Drug control doesn't lead to more drug usage. Generally when a society is in a shitty situation the government clamps down on everything (for your own good, of course) - but the situation is still shitty so people look to drugs, booze and hookers for escape.

 

[ShawnD1]

Cats get high on catnip?

Yep. It's like the cat version of marijuana. It's sort of a sick joke that getting your cat high as fuck is legal, but getting yourself high as fuck will get you 10 years in jail

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd_FwvsQrhQ

 

[mnewsham]

Mine gets obsessed with the mouse cursor when high. She'll jump on my desk, put her face right against the screen, and follow the mouse around.

I do that...wonder what this says about me. :hmm:

 

[ShawnD1]

OP starts on a false premise. Drug control doesn't lead to more drug usage.

It doesn't just apply to drugs. It also applies to food. When you limit food supply, people binge when food is available. My gf grew up in an environment like this. Food was first come first serve, so everyone would binge when good food was available. If there was 1 container of ice cream, you had to eat it right now or someone else would eat it first.

I got my cat second hand, and the previous owner said the cat needed a controlled diet because she would eat as much food as she was given. The previous owner's logic was completely twisted. The cat eats everything you give it because it doesn't have unlimited food. Since day 1 of me owning this cat, she's had access to unlimited food. There is always food in the dish, and she never needs to worry about food. As a result, she doesn't eat very much. She eats when she's hungry then she stops. She doesn't eat until she's ready to puke because she knows she doesn't need to.

 

[CZroe]

Yep. It's like the cat version of marijuana. It's sort of a sick joke that getting your cat high as fuck is legal, but getting yourself high as fuck will get you 10 years in jail

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd_FwvsQrhQ

Wrong video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUK3MkQDEOI

 

[randomrogue]

It's probably worth noting that a cat high on weed reacts COMPLETELY differently than they do on catnip. They generally just walk backwards, hit a wall, freak the fuck out, and just lay still in a panic until the high goes away.

 

[edro]

Cats on marijuana have been known to move to heroine and PCP later in life.

 

[randomrogue]

 

[sourceninja]

It doesn't just apply to drugs. It also applies to food. When you limit food supply, people binge when food is available. My gf grew up in an environment like this. Food was first come first serve, so everyone would binge when good food was available. If there was 1 container of ice cream, you had to eat it right now or someone else would eat it first.

I got my cat second hand, and the previous owner said the cat needed a controlled diet because she would eat as much food as she was given. The previous owner's logic was completely twisted. The cat eats everything you give it because it doesn't have unlimited food. Since day 1 of me owning this cat, she's had access to unlimited food. There is always food in the dish, and she never needs to worry about food. As a result, she doesn't eat very much. She eats when she's hungry then she stops. She doesn't eat until she's ready to puke because she knows she doesn't need to.

We had to do the opposite. Our cats used to be graze fed. From kittens they have always had a large bowl of food that was filled any time it got low. They threw up a lot (mostly chunks of undigested food). We tried many different kinds of food with little success. Finally, we started feeding them measured amounts 3 times a day. Problem solved! My cats binge and purge apparently.

 

[Poulsonator]

We're also lucky with our cats in regards to food. They've always had a food bowl next to their water, filled with a dry mix, that they can access whenever they want. We give them a wet treat weekly as well. They're both still very healthy and very active, and aren't fat at all. They're both 11.

On the other hand, I've had a cat in the past who I absolutely could not keep food out as he would eat it all. He was a good kitty, but was obsessed with eating.

 

[KMFJD]

Our cat hates catnip, runs away when he smells it

 

[edro]

Just keep your kitty away from pot pies.

 

[bignateyk]

I have an out of control wild catnip crop growing in the field next to our house. I'm curious how our outdoor kitten/cat will handle it (This will be his first summer).

 

[Anubis]

Well I have a cat named 'Butters' and he trips balls on catnip.

But his son 'I can't believe it's not Butters' trips major balls.

So the answer is yes, we hide the catnip. Now you mix Catnip with a laser pointer and that's pure suicide with 'I can't believe it's not Butters'.

you sir have awesome cat naming skills

 

[SlitheryDee]

My cat seemed to lose interest in catnip pretty quickly. I keep trying to give some to her from time to time, but after the first couple of times she quit doing anything with it.