Why Doesn’t My Cat Like Catnip?

Your cat may be too young. Six months is usually the youngest age for your cat to start having a reaction to the catnip. Interestingly, only 70% of cats ever react to catnip in their lifetime, as they lack the gene that triggers the reaction. 

Your cat could just be burned-out, so to speak! It is possible for a cat to become temporarily desensitized to the effects of catnip. If your cat previously liked and reacted to catnip, this is most likely the case. 

A typical catnip play session will last approximately 15 minutes and then your cat will walk away. This is entirely normal. But if given access to catnip too often you may notice a diminishment of your cat’s response to the catnip. In this case, you can just put the catnip away for a day or two and then resume on a more limited schedule. 

 Catnip is a wonderful tool for any cat owner to have in their toolbox, as it has many uses such as: 

 1. Help calm an upset or stressed-out cat.  

 2. Renew your cat’s interest in old toys, or the cat scratcher that just sits unused. 

 3. It can also be a great help with quickly burning up some pent-up energy. 

 I have even used catnip to help a very reluctant cat into a pet carrier for a trip to the vet, stress-free! 

 Each cat is an individual and will have a different reaction to catnip. Just experiment with it to see how you can benefit from giving your cat an occasional treat of catnip.