Jan
13
2010

Is it safe for a VERY young kitten to play with catnip toys?

I’m scared to let my little guy play with them yet! He’s really young, still being bottle fed and starting to eat a little dry food when i moisten it in warm water. Will catnip affect his growth or personality if he gets exposed to it? thank you so much I appreciate any info on catnip.
i didn’t know they didn’t react to it until they’re a couple of months old. thanks you guys!

Truth be told, kittens don’t start to react to catnip until they are approximately 4-6 months in age. Additionally, the reaction to catnip is from the cat smelling "nepetalactone" (a compound found in catnip). This reaction is genetically inherited from your cat’s parents and only about 1/2 to 3/4 of all cats have a reaction to catnip at all! The playfulness of a kitten that is playing with a catnip toy has nothing to do with the catnip itself – it is just being it’s playful, silly kitten self. Catnip will not affect your kitten’s growth in anyway, and there have been no studies that I’ve found that confirm that the ingestion of catnip causes any major problems (the extra fibre may result in a larger bowel movement though!). No need to be scared about letting "your little guy" play with the toys – just sit back and enjoy!

9 Responses to “Is it safe for a VERY young kitten to play with catnip toys?”

  1. Daniel C Says:

    yes its safe
    References :

  2. angelofdreams19881 Says:

    Sure! Stoned cats are fun,fun,fun!!!!!
    References :

  3. sufferingdaily Says:

    It is ok and it will not harm him, however kittens don’t take to it until they are around 6-9 months of age.
    References :

  4. macleod709 Says:

    shouldn’t be too much of a problem he won’t get excited over it till 6-9 months. unless you make your own toys for the kitten, there aren’t a lot of toys out there that do not have cat nip scent to them.
    References :

  5. kittystar Says:

    I think catnip is kinda like a drug to cats, you should wait until hes not bottle fed anymore. My males cats loved catnip, they would literally attack me if I tried to take it from them. My female cat hated it, would run away when I tried to give it to her.
    References :

  6. irulanrocks1 Says:

    It’s safe, but they don’t react to it until they are 3 months so what’s the point?
    References :

  7. korikill Says:

    cats cannot get ‘high’ from catnip until they’re about a year old, some older.

    While it won’t hurt him, it may desensitize him so in the future, he won’t care about it.

    there are plenty of toys without catnip, you should just wait awhile.
    References :

  8. Matt M Says:

    Truth be told, kittens don’t start to react to catnip until they are approximately 4-6 months in age. Additionally, the reaction to catnip is from the cat smelling "nepetalactone" (a compound found in catnip). This reaction is genetically inherited from your cat’s parents and only about 1/2 to 3/4 of all cats have a reaction to catnip at all! The playfulness of a kitten that is playing with a catnip toy has nothing to do with the catnip itself – it is just being it’s playful, silly kitten self. Catnip will not affect your kitten’s growth in anyway, and there have been no studies that I’ve found that confirm that the ingestion of catnip causes any major problems (the extra fibre may result in a larger bowel movement though!). No need to be scared about letting "your little guy" play with the toys – just sit back and enjoy!
    References :
    Many hours of internet research and talking to my vet as to why one of my cats reacts to catnip and the other one doesn’t!

  9. Maria Says:

    yes it is safe..
    References :

Leave a Reply