How Old Should Kittens Be To Have Catnip

If your cat is an adult you may have one of the few adult cats that do not possess the gene.

How old should kittens be to have catnip. Despite the fact that using catnip for kittens is considered safe it is important to note that some cats may not seem as interested in it as others. 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. For example kittens who are younger than about two to three months old are often disinterested in it. Likewise elderly cats may not seem as interested as younger cats.

Kittens under the age of eight weeks are fairly indifferent to this plant. 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. If he s still young give it some time. Although catnip is totally harmless and safe around kittens both to smell and to eat it isn t necessarily effective.

That being said kittens don t develop the ability to react to catnip until they are around 3 6 months of age. Try reintroducing the catnip then and you will probably find that your cat will greatly enjoy it. The herb s influence is genetic so not all cats respond to it according to the humane society of the united states. It isn t until their seventh month that cats seem to show a real appreciation to it.

Some cats become like a lazy drunk while others get a wired up crazy. Most kittens won t have any reaction at all to catnip. 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. The reaction can be intense but it s relatively short lived and after it s over the cat cannot get high again for an hour or so.

These hard wired preferences aren t immediately apparent though since kittens under the age of 3 months 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. Newborn kittens aren t usually responsive to catnip at all until they are about 3 months of age. Not all felines respond to catnip.

Kittens whether they possess the gene or not generally do not react to catnip until they are from six to nine months old.