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Thread: Catnip for very young kittens and other woes

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    God/dess tempest666's Avatar
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    Angry Catnip for very young kittens and other woes

    As most of you know we have 2 very young kittens Yugi and Starr. We got them the Emery Cat for a scratching post and about $200 worth of toys. The emery Cat comes with a bag of catnip but I don't want to give it to them since IMO it would be the equivalent of giving pot to a 3 year old. Meanwhile they have disregarded it and have proceeded to use everything else for a scratching post from our furniture to clothing

    Same with the toys. They ignore the toys, preferring to shred toilet paper and dig out used tampons out of the waste basket.

    HELP! Are we bad pet parents? Why are they ignoring the scratching post and their toys?
    "Fake tits are like Kevlar. They don't guarantee your chances of survival but they sure as hell improve it."
    Tempest

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    God/dess laurielegs's Avatar
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    Default Re: Catnip for very young kittens and other woes

    You can give them catnip, won't hurt them at all. Young kittens often don't respond to it though. My vet says that cats usually have to reach maturity before they really like it.

    My cats are the same way though. They'd rather have the box the toy came in, lol!

    I have 3 and only one liked the emerycat board. My other cats prefer the regular cardboard scratching board. The emerycat one was too rough for their paws I guess. I got the large one. (the regular ones are cheaper too and have to be replaced less often than the emery one).

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    Featured Member *Jade*Love's Avatar
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    Default Re: Catnip for very young kittens and other woes

    My cat's the same way, he enjoys terrorizing my stuff rather than playing with real toys. I place plastic bags, cardboard boxes, and old towels around the house for him to play with and he's usually satisfied with those.

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    Member sparky72's Avatar
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    Default Re: Catnip for very young kittens and other woes

    Cat toys tend to be a waste as cats find their own toys
    What can work to stop them scratching furniture is keep a couple spray bottles with water and squirt them when they do it. It wont harm them and cats will associate getting wet with cratching furniture and we all know cats hate being wet

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    Veteran Member lfr's Avatar
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    Default Re: Catnip for very young kittens and other woes

    Quote Originally Posted by *Jade*Love View Post
    I place plastic bags, cardboard boxes, and old towels around the house for him to play with and he's usually satisfied with those.
    yup.

    Quote Originally Posted by sparky72 View Post
    Cat toys tend to be a waste as cats find their own toys
    What can work to stop them scratching furniture is keep a couple spray bottles with water and squirt them when they do it. It wont harm them and cats will associate getting wet with cratching furniture and we all know cats hate being wet
    and yup.

    cats will find their own things to play with. YOU have to accomodate THEM.

    btw, besides the catnip, one of the best 'toys' I've seen a cat play with when they get bored with 'traditional' toys, is one of those little laser pointer pen things. they go crazy chasing after that little red dot, lol!
    I wish I knew what I was doing...

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    Veteran Member Kat w's Avatar
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    Default Re: Catnip for very young kittens and other woes

    Aw, darling! You are not a bad pet parent at all. Very young kittens often don't respond to catnip. Also, that is the way of the cat. My cats ignore their toys and instead shred my magazines. They own my house and play with whatever they want!

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    Default Re: Catnip for very young kittens and other woes

    If your cats like you they will be attracted to your scent. One way to get them to play with a toy that has plush on it is to rub it really well on your hair before you give it to them. The scent attracts them and they will play with it. Toys that have a string attached to it with some feathers or something are meant to be interactive. If you spend a bit of time playing with your cats with a toy like that most days, they will grow to love it and play with it on their own as well.

    Cats like something soft to sink their paws into to scratch. I have 2 cats, one only scratches the sisal materal scratching post (also liked to scratch wooden chairs) the other scratches a carpeted cat scratch stand (part of a cat condo type deal, he also liked to scratch the couch and carpet on the floor).

    Now they just scratch their respective posts. I got them to switch in a week simply by spraying them with water when they scratched the bad thing, and encouraging them when they scratched something acceptable by giving them pets, talking in a very happy voice, and sometimes a couple treats.

    It is very intensive but if you keep it up every time you see the behaviour for the first bit, then they will gradually learn.

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    Featured Member noelle's Avatar
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    Default Re: Catnip for very young kittens and other woes

    Pics or it didnt happen
    Quote Originally Posted by lokikola View Post
    If success meant being savage my woes would disappear.

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    Moderator Miss_McKenna's Avatar
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    Default Re: Catnip for very young kittens and other woes

    Quote Originally Posted by noelle View Post
    Pics or it didnt happen
    This made me burst out laughing

    Cats are just batshit crazy, is all. My cat has clawed the left arm of every single sofa we've ever had, he claws his scratching post too but he hasn't given his Emorycat more than a single passing glance. I even put him on it a few times hoping he'd feel it and try scratching, but he just wandered off. Double-sided sticky tape can help stop them scratching things they shouldn't, as cats HATE having stuff stuck to their paws. Also, maybe you could try to get a scratching post that's close to the materials of the stuff it scratches, or get a regular scratching post and put something similar on it? My old roommate was pretty craft and made her own scratching post that included all the fabrics her cats clawed, and now its the only thing they ever scratch. I wish I was handy enough for that lol


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    Veteran Member Sia's Avatar
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    Default Re: Catnip for very young kittens and other woes

    My Siamese didn't pay any attention to catnip until he was close to a year old. My 2 cats get bored of most cat toys quickly, the only thing that my guys consistently love are mice toys that look realistic.

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    Default Re: Catnip for very young kittens and other woes

    1. Catnip isn't like weed, its not harmful, its just a mint that smells nice to some cats. I would recommend Kitty Hooch, hydroponic cat nip, you can find it online.

    2. Boxes make excellent toys. So do older broken stinky shoes, the stinkier the better

    3. Strings of all sorts

    4. The one toy kittens tend to love is those long sticks w feathers and bells at the end. Its also a good toy for teaching them reflex skills.

    5. Cats love to play in beds too, have them join you in making your bed and watch them go nuts chasing the corners of the sheets.

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    Featured Member sananeko's Avatar
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    Default Re: Catnip for very young kittens and other woes

    They only need those soft bell toys, a scratching post, and you need a laser pointer.. The bells toys are for them to kick around the scratching post should have cubbyholes for them to sleep in and hide toys, and the laser pointer will greatly tired them out from all the running and diving to catch that little dot.

    You not bad parents, cats just have their own idea what is fun.

    How I got my cats to use the scratching post.. I used it as a scratching post lol.. I also ran the laser pointer on it and in the cubbyholes to make them hunt for it.

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    Veteran Member lfr's Avatar
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    Default Re: Catnip for very young kittens and other woes

    Quote Originally Posted by Sia View Post
    My Siamese...
    ...the only thing that my guys consistently love are mice toys that look realistic.
    I think that's b/c their breed was naturally modified to be 'mousers'. to keep their interest, they need small animals to chase in the dark, I think.

    Quote Originally Posted by sananeko View Post
    and the laser pointer will greatly tired them out from all the running and diving to catch that little dot.
    haha. yep!

    my sisters' little male cat was very smart though, he caught on that we were controlling the dot and when he wanted to play with it, he'd look and paw at the pointer for us to use, so that the dot would appear for him!
    I wish I knew what I was doing...

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    Veteran Member blkschoolgirl's Avatar
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    Default Re: Catnip for very young kittens and other woes

    I bought my cat an emery board and she hated the top surface, but was happy . I honestly think that surface is way too rough for a kitty to scratch. I've heard reports of cats losing claws on them!! In lieu of the board, I've wrapped sisal rope around a cardboard carpet tube and my cat loves it.

    Cats are weird, and kittens are crazy There's nothing wrong, you sound like a good cat mama to me.

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    Default Re: Catnip for very young kittens and other woes

    spray the areas you DON'T want them playing in with anything lemon scented. cats hate that shit

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