Should Kittens Eat Catnip
Below we cover exactly what catnip is if it s good for cats and its various effects.
Should kittens eat catnip. There s absolutely no ingredient in catnip that can harm your cat. Ideally you should limit this to no more than once each week. Is catnip safe for kittens. Since catnip has no nutritional benefits it would serve no purpose as a food additive.
Although catnip is totally harmless and safe around kittens both to smell and to eat it isn t necessarily effective. Newborn kittens aren t usually responsive to catnip at all until they are about 3 months of age. Not all felines respond to catnip. If a kitten is going to be a catnip lover you usually can tell that when he is 3 to 6 months old.
But you also must know. Eating a small amount of catnip is unlikely to cause a cat any harm. However with that said not all cats will respond to catnip. As mentioned in the introduction catnipis safe for cats across the board regardless of age or development.
These hard wired preferences aren t immediately apparent though since kittens under the age of 3 months don t react to catnip at all. In fact cats know when they have had enough and will actively refuse catnip when offered. The only danger of your cat eating too much catnip is that they might get an upset stomach. With the question is catnip good for cats answered you may as well wonder how safe it is for kittens.
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. Although harmless to our furry feline companions kittens below 3 months of age will typically not be affected by the herb like their older. The herb s influence is genetic so not all cats respond to it according to the humane society of the united states. The herb s influence is genetic so not all cats respond to it according to the humane society of the united states.
Catnip is generally safe for kittens. Your cat is among the lucky ones by the way since some cats don t react to catnip at all. If a kitten is going to be a catnip lover you usually can tell that when he is 3 to 6 months old. Eating catnip causes a cat to be more sedate so perhaps it might be a good idea to feed kitty a catnip laced treat before doing something she finds stressful such as taking her on a long trip or a vet or groomer visit.
Therefore catnip is safe for kittens. The ability to appreciate the herb is genetic with slightly more cats in the fan club than not. If he s still young give it some time. 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.
He may wind up falling in love with his catnip toys when he gets a little older but don t be discouraged if he never seems to care. Although catnip is totally harmless and safe around kittens both to smell and to eat it isn t necessarily effective.