Can Kittens Have Catnip

But you also must know.

Can kittens have catnip. Kittens can respond to catnip as early as 8 weeks old. Giving it to him too early isn t a concern although he may not respond to it if he s still really young. 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. The herb s influence is genetic so not all cats respond to it according to the humane society of the united states.

Although catnip is totally harmless and safe around kittens both to smell and to eat it isn t necessarily effective. Kittens usually have no sensitivity to catnip until they get to ages 3 6 months. It s perfectly safe to give a kitten small amounts of catnip however. If a kitten is going to be a catnip lover you usually can tell that when he is 3 to 6 months old.

These hard wired preferences aren t immediately apparent though since kittens under the age of 3 months don t react to catnip at all. Catnip is generally safe for kittens. Since catnip has no nutritional benefits it would serve no purpose as a food additive. Kittens whether they possess the gene or not generally do not react to catnip until they are from six to nine months old.

Even though catnip makes him act a little crazy it s a perfectly safe natural herb. Watching your kitten entertain himself for hours with his catnip toy is truly entertaining. All cats in your case. Your cat is among the lucky ones by the way since some cats don t react to catnip at all.

Is catnip safe for cats. The ability to appreciate the herb is genetic with slightly more cats in the fan club than not. 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. Eating a small amount of catnip is unlikely to cause a cat any harm.

So if you feed your kitten catnip or even if your kitty sniffs catnip at any age below three months she will not react to the herb. Try reintroducing the catnip then and you will probably find that your cat will greatly enjoy it. 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. The positive reaction and desire for catnip is inherited from their mother if mum likes it then kittens will too.