Catnip -- Was Basil herb (maybe O.T. by now!)

[Guest guest]

  Hi!

     I just got home from a trip to Arizona visiting my new (first!) grandbaby,

so I'm just now catching up reading the posts from here.

 

     I have 4 kitties (they are indoor/outdoor cats).  I have planted

catnip plants--the larger, potted ones from either the Farmers' Market or a

greenhouse--several times in the past few years.  I have to buy more than one

plant when I do this; even though catnip is very hardy and a perennial, my cats

will sniff out the plantings and, literally, chew the plants clear to the

roots!  I also suspect our several neighbor cats come over to share in the

feasting!

 

     A couple of weeks ago, I took a small scoop out of a large carton of dried

catnip that I had purchased from a pet supply store and scattered it outside on

a bare patch in a semi-

sunny backyard location.  (The dried catnip in the carton contained a lot of

seeds, I had noticed, so I figured some of it might sprout to new plants as

spring warmed the soil up.)

 

     My cats seemed to sniff out the catnip, as usual (I should have known!),

because the next time they were let out to patrol their backyard territory, they

found the flowerbed area with catnip seed scattered on it and pretty soon my

cats were filthy dirty from rolling ecstatically in the catnip-infused dirt! 

Later, I heard wierd caterwalling from my kitchen as my 4 felines lined up

(inside the house by now) at the patio door, screaming at the neighbor cats who

had also located the alluring catnip-seeded flowerbed!

 

    If you plant catnip and YOUR cats love the fresh stuff a lot, don't be

surprised if they

try to jump into your planting container to roll in and chew on the growing

catnip plants!

I wish you success in growing it for your kitty and hope it makes his/her days

happier and less suffering from his cancer!

 

    Peace and love to you and your cats!

   --Laura B., in Illinois 

 

--\

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    Posted by: " Audrey Snyder " AudeeBird audreylynnsnyder

    Mon Mar 9, 2009 5:01 pm ((PDT))

 

I've grown catnip, it does pretty well in our super-hot summers in northeast

Kansas. I think it's part sun, part shade. I feed it fresh, give each cat a

leaf or two. My cats really like to eat it, but don't act super nuts like

they do with the dried stuff. I've taken a leaf or two to friends' cats,

some like it, others look at me like I'm nuts and resume washing their faces

(the cats, not the friends)!

Some of the chain pet stores (Petsmart) sell it, but their plants don't

usually look too good. I have not grown it from seed, I purchase a plant

each summer from a good nursery.

Funny, one night last summer we were supposed to have a hail storm, so I

pulled all of my potted plants inside on newspapers. Of all the plants to

forget to take back out in the morning, I forgot the catnip! When I got home

from work, it was a little.... molested, I think is the right word!

 

Audrey S.

 

PS - I hope your kitty is getting along ok.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

It is necessary to put cages around your catnip patch until it gets several

years of growth. Cats think they have found gold when they chance upon a

patch.

 

M

 

On Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 8:12 PM, L.B. <elbee577 wrote:

 

> Hi!

> I just got home from a trip to Arizona visiting my new (first!)

> grandbaby, so I'm just now catching up reading the posts from here.

>

> I have 4 kitties (they are indoor/outdoor cats). I have planted

> catnip plants--the larger, potted ones from either the Farmers' Market or a

> greenhouse--several times in the past few years. I have to buy more than

> one plant when I do this; even though catnip is very hardy and a perennial,

> my cats will sniff out the plantings and, literally, chew the plants clear

> to the roots! I also suspect our several neighbor cats come over to share

> in the feasting!

>

> A couple of weeks ago, I took a small scoop out of a large carton of

> dried catnip that I had purchased from a pet supply store and scattered it

> outside on a bare patch in a semi-

> sunny backyard location. (The dried catnip in the carton contained a lot

> of seeds, I had noticed, so I figured some of it might sprout to new plants

> as spring warmed the soil up.)

>

> My cats seemed to sniff out the catnip, as usual (I should have

> known!), because the next time they were let out to patrol their backyard

> territory, they found the flowerbed area with catnip seed scattered on it

> and pretty soon my cats were filthy dirty from rolling ecstatically in

> the catnip-infused dirt! Later, I heard wierd caterwalling from my kitchen

> as my 4 felines lined up (inside the house by now) at the patio door,

> screaming at the neighbor cats who had also located the alluring

> catnip-seeded flowerbed!

>

> If you plant catnip and YOUR cats love the fresh stuff a lot, don't be

> surprised if they

> try to jump into your planting container to roll in and chew on the growing

> catnip plants!

> I wish you success in growing it for your kitty and hope it makes his/her

> days happier and less suffering from his cancer!

>

> Peace and love to you and your cats!

> --Laura B., in Illinois

>

>

>

--\

-------------------------

> Posted by: " Audrey Snyder " AudeeBird audreylynnsnyder

> Mon Mar 9, 2009 5:01 pm ((PDT))

>

> I've grown catnip, it does pretty well in our super-hot summers in

> northeast

> Kansas. I think it's part sun, part shade. I feed it fresh, give each cat a

> leaf or two. My cats really like to eat it, but don't act super nuts like

> they do with the dried stuff. I've taken a leaf or two to friends' cats,

> some like it, others look at me like I'm nuts and resume washing their

> faces

> (the cats, not the friends)!

> Some of the chain pet stores (Petsmart) sell it, but their plants don't

> usually look too good. I have not grown it from seed, I purchase a plant

> each summer from a good nursery.

> Funny, one night last summer we were supposed to have a hail storm, so I

> pulled all of my potted plants inside on newspapers. Of all the plants to

> forget to take back out in the morning, I forgot the catnip! When I got

> home

> from work, it was a little.... molested, I think is the right word!

>

> Audrey S.

>

> PS - I hope your kitty is getting along ok.