My cat has an addiction problem

[LynneSin]

CATNIP

I've spent $60 on toys & scratching posts to entire Abbie and he ignored them all. I bought a $2 Tick stuffed with catnip and some sort of noisemaker and my cat went off the deep end. I've never seen a cat act like this before but it was like Abbie was making love to the tick (seriously - it was a stuffed tick. That's what the package called it). He carried that thing around with him everywhere and gave up cuddling me to cuddle the damn tick. He drooled so much he left a wetspot on my bed (and like a typical male, he made me sleep in it when he moved himself and his drool covered catnip scented tick to the other side of the bed).

Should I seek professional help? Does my cat need catsize doses of Prozac or (gasp) Lithium. Is there a Catnipalcoholic Anonomyous he could attend and should I confront Abbie with the issue about the wetspot I had to sleep in last night.

Please advise!!!

[GOPisEvil]

1. Pronoun trouble?

It is SHE or HE?!?! I'm so confused...

[LynneSin]

6. It's a he

His name is Abbott, but I call him Abbie - like Abbie Hoffman.

[GOPisEvil]

9. Well, you've turned him into an addict!

Happy now?

May he never have to sell his body for kibble! :D

[zbdent]

16. Get that kat to Clear Channel!

Guest spots for the Rush Limbaugh 1st annual guest-host-a-thon are lining up outside the courthouse now!

[wysimdnwyg]

2. Aww, ain't love grand?

:loveya:

[Melsky]

3. Where did you get the tick

my kitty wants one!

[LynneSin]

10. Happy Harry's Discount Drugs

http://www.happy.com/

It's the Drug Store of Delaware. There's one on every street corner. It's a Hartz Product (the cat toy)

[Larry Gude]

4. Our youngest...

...licks plastic.

We get home with groceries and he just licks and licks.

Middle of the night we hear this noise, wake up and he's licking the fresh trashbag in the bedroom.

I have no idea...

[Bertha Venation]

23. Larry?

Larry Gude? I think I know you . . . . :7

[ploppy]

26. My Olivia

is a plastic licker, too. She loves the shower curtain and plastic bags most of all but any plastic will do. I can hear her licking the shower curtain from the other room - and wonder why it's so fun for her.

[Bertha Venation]

28. plastic tastes sweet to a cat

meow!

[demnan]

5. Where can I get two for my cats

I want my home desheveled and my bed wet too!

[Bertha Venation]

7. "MY CAT" -- I love it!

Abbie is fine, LynneSin. This is normal behavior. Sorry about the wet spot, though. Nothing can be done.

In fact, Abbie is in absolute kitty heaven. He knows he is loved.

If you can find it, get a two-ounce bucket of catnip. (It's the size of a quart of sour cream.) Fill the toe of an old sock (no holes, of course) and tie a knot in the top of the sock. Works just as well as the tick.

BTW--you're hilarious! Great description.

[grasswire]

11. my cat wants dryer sheets

Twice I've found her pulling out of the box and licking dryer sheets. I called the manufacturer to make sure there's no toxicity. But now we have to hide the box.

And if you think the tick is fun, try growing fresh nip. I have a pot outside and have to suspend it from a hook because the neighborhood cats kept rolling in the damn plant and mashing it down. My kitties like a leaf of it now and then.

[AlabamaYankee]

8. Our first cat would roll in the gutter

We had a patch of wild catnip growing by the curb and he would chew on it and roll around so much that he would collapse in the gutter, completely out of it. Fortunately we lived on a cul-de-sac, so there wasn't much traffic.

He'll be fine if you take it away.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

12. Now all he needs is a conservative radio talk-show

n/t

[LynneSin]

15. That would be the only reason I'd mercilessly toss him back outside

Is if Abbie became a conservative talk show host and blamed his catnip addiction on overprescribing for his bad back (even though he's quite flexible with jumping up and down on counters and windowsills plus finagling his way to see what that tasty liquid is in the giant porcelin bowl).

I think we're safe. He's named after a 70's anti-war activist. If Abbie (mine) could talk he'd promote peace, love and catnip for all!!!

[MadHound]

13. LOL Oh Yeah, give him some more catnip!

This is perfectly normal Lynne, I've got a couple of addicts myself.

True story, when I was a kid my mom made up a little catnip stuffed pillow for our cat Blueboy. He loved it, rolled around, drooled, and would finally pass out-with his head on the catnip pillow, mouth open and tongue hanging out. I've got the picture to prove it.

I do have a suggestion for you though. Like any other addict your cat will eat up all of your money to get catnip. I suggest you start growing your own. It's easy to grow, and you can have a fresh batch for your cat anytime of the year.

Enjoy, cats don't get any more foolish than when they're deep into a catnip binge!

[mmm]

14. trippin' on the nippin'

good cat!

[TXlib]

17. Catnip makes the cat-meat taste sweet.

Feed him more catnip, then make stew out of him.

:evilgrin:

[Jen72]

18. I had a cat that ate three Capnip bushes.

And loved shoes.
Sadly we lose him in August.

[ET Awful]

19. My kitten is already goin' nutty for catnip

He'll sit there sucking on the catnip bag with all four paws wrapped around it and the hind legs tearing at it like it was a haunch of meat :)

[adriennel]

20. my cat's routine

eat, go outside, feverishly play with catnip toy (I freshen them up with extra dried catnip, and they always end up soaking wet), fall asleep for hours in his kitty cabana.

he also likes to eat fresh catnip, which I have occasionally and successfully grown. I'm amazed that this cat never ate a plant in his life until I grew catnip, then he went right to it and started munching.

what is really funny is that the dog does not understand catnip--she sees the cat get all freaky so she's interested in the "treat", but when I let her smell the catnip she looks at me and the cat like we've gone off the deep end.:eyes:

Is catnip bad for cats? I've never heard this.

[Mikimouse]

21. Sounds like Abbie needs to be

in a Fresh Step program.:evilgrin:

[SoCalDem]

22. I buy the catnip spray and spray it on their scratching post..

and sit back & watch as they all HURL THEMSELVES at it and love the post..

It's a large carpeted 4 by 4 post with a sturdy carpeted base that my husband made for them , so it will not tip over..

[LynneSin]

24. So THAT'S how I get him to play with the other TOYS I've invested in

Catnip spray.....

......sneaky!!!!!

BTW, Abbie seemed to have slept better through the night last night then he did the night before. I'm not bothered about the fact that he jumps from window sill to window sill, occasionally bouncing on the bed. I just can't understand why he has to let out the loudest "Meow" everytime he switches sills. That damn noise woke me up!!!!

[TrogL]

25. I knew an epileptic cat

It would sniff some catnip, run in circles a few times then collapse.

It took it about half-an-hour to wake up and would still be kind of out of it for another hour after that.

[DoNotRefill]

27. You can buy catnip in bulk...

we do, and put some in the toe of a white tube sock, then tie a knot in it. Drives the kitties crazy. We change it when they've gotten so much spit on it that the sock turns green.