How Old Do Kittens Need To Be To Have Catnip

Catnip infused products attract cats interest and can take playtime to the next level.

How old do kittens need to be to have catnip. Test your cat s attraction to catnip before going out of your way to buy catnip infused products. The reaction to a catnip can vary from kitten to kitten. Not all felines respond to catnip. Some cats become like a lazy drunk while others get a wired up crazy.

That being said kittens don t develop the ability to react to catnip until they are around 3 6 months of age. If he s still young give it some time. Furthermore kittens less than 8 weeks old and senior cats tend not to respond as much or at all to catnip. About one cat in two inherits a sensitivity to the herb.

Newborn kittens aren t usually responsive to catnip at all until they are about 3 months of age. If a kitten is going to be a catnip lover you usually can tell that when he is 3 to 6 months old. If your cat is an adult you may have one of the few adult cats that do not possess the gene. The herb s influence is genetic so not all cats respond to it according to the humane society of the united states.

Cats must possess a gene for it. The study noted that kittens under 8 weeks exhibited no reaction to catnip and according to todd when kittens are given it the catnip often produces a distinct avoidance response in young kittens which is gradually replaced by indifference in non responders and by heightened curiosity in responders. These hard wired preferences aren t immediately apparent though since kittens under the age of 3 months don t react to catnip at all. Try reintroducing the catnip then and you will probably find that your cat will greatly enjoy it.

Although catnip is totally harmless and safe around kittens both to smell and to eat it isn t necessarily effective. Catnip s allure is in its volatile oil. And since you re likely thinking of giving your kitten catnip to see him or her react hyper actively to it giving a kitten who s younger than 6 months of age may be a little useless considering this fact. But you won t know if your kitten is one of them until sometime between ages 3 and 6 months.

Among those cats who do like catnip you ll find two basic kinds of reactions. 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.