Anyone have a cat get sick from catnip?

[kldmom2000]

We have 3 cats.... 3 females, ages 12 years, 4 years, and 10 months.

Nothing has changed in their diets recently. The kitten eats Science Diet dry kitten food and the 2 older cats each have a can of Fancy Feast a day (3 yr old cat is on kind of an "Atkins" diet for cats as she's a bit plump and the vet recommended more wet food than dry) and in the evening they get a small amount of Royal Canin dry "light" food.

Over the weekend, my daughter begged me to let her get them a catnip mouse that came with a tube of "organic" catnip to fill it with. The 2 older cats were LOVING it.... the kitten not so much-just had no interest in it.

Yesterday, I noticed cat vomit (lots) in a few places at a few different times... mostly right after they ate. I was "Guessing" it's my 4 yr old "bigger" girl but after coming downstairs this morning, both their cat food dishes were still FULL and found more cat vomit Now I'm thinking it's BOTH older cats and neither of them will touch their food now The kitten's food is upstairs and she's eating normally.

I called DH @ work since he'd fed them this morning before he left and he said both of them flew downstairs to come eat... he never checked to see if they were eating when he left. He made the suggestion that perhaps it's the catnip since that's the only thing that's changed recently.... we never buy it??? Also, only the older 2 cats are affected and they're the only ones that played with the catnip....

I'm hoping that's what it is and it can be resolved now that we've gotten rid of it? We've had WAY too many vet expenses as of late with the 12 yr old being successfully treated for feline vaccine accelerated sarcoma, the kitten ironically being followed and discharged for possibly the same thing after a rabies vaccine.... and losing a cat 2 yrs ago to cancer and all the medical bills that piled up for that.... oy.... Could there be something like a bacteria/parasite that is in the catnip that would require a vet's care??? They are not acting sick.... just won't eat

Anyone have any insight???

 

[walkerag]

I've had a cat get sick from catnip but he ate it... alot of it but he only got sick 1 time and never stopped eating.
Could there be a houseplant they could have nibbled on? Many housplants are toxic or can cause stomach upset in cats. The worst is the peace lily.

 

[kldmom2000]

I've had a cat get sick from catnip but he ate it... alot of it but he only got sick 1 time and never stopped eating.
Could there be a houseplant they could have nibbled on? Many housplants are toxic or can cause stomach upset in cats. The worst is the peace lily.

Nope, no houseplants..... and all 3 cats are indoor cats so it's nothing they got outside either

Thanks for the suggestion though!

 

[Katieinwonderland]

One of my cats got sick from catnip, but it was just once. We had a little catnip mouse and Hershey tore it apart...he got sick about an hour later though, and once it was out of his system he was fine. You could call the vet and see if maybe they have ever heard of something like that? Our vet will chat to us over the phone for something that might just pass.

 

[Imzadi]

Yes, some cats can get sick from catnip. It's an herb like any other plant. Some cats have very adverse reactions. I remember being in one pet store and they had warning on certain products. They purposely said check to make sure your cat doesn't have a negative reaction to catnip. That it's a fallacy to think ALL cats love catnip.

Make sure you also wipe down the areas they were playing with the catnip. It leaves a residue.

 

[catcraze]

I have a cat who is 2 and I don't know what's wrong he is normally not in a blah mood and normally isn't pissy when I pick him up. He's Ann indoor outdoor cat so I'm not sure if he ate something outside but I'm very worried. He also has eaten a lot of catnip. Lately. Help.!

 

[leebee]

Nix the catnip. It makes our two guys sick. Even if yours are OK with catnip, I'd try that first and watch their reaction. If they get better, good. If they don't, at least you know it's not the catnip, it's something else. If you went to the vet now, he'd tell you to stop the catnip and watch their reaction; why pay for advice you already have?

 

[snarlingcoyote]

A SMALL amount of catnip is fine for most cats. It's my deep suspicion that your cats tried to OD on the stuff. If it was just one cat, I'd wonder about sensitivity, but unless your three big cats were all from the same litter (obviously not) or at least the same momma, it sounds suspect.

However, if it's something they really love, cats are really bad about self-regulating, especially with items they've never had before or rarely get. I've seen this with catnip and tuna. The cat in either case just didn't stop and kept on eating the stuff until the cat started vomitting.

Take away the catnip mouse. Give each cat a teensy little sprinkle of catnip. They'll probably trip out and start rolling around on the floor in a fit of pleasure. Sprinkle a little into the scratching box and they'll take a LOT of interest in the scratching box. Put a half pound of nip in knee high hose, then put that into an athletic sock, tie off the end and watch the cats go to town. . .and if they become obsessive about the sock, take it away from them after about 15 minutes and hide it.

We like to joke we have one casual nip user, one recreational user and one junkie in our house. One cat kinda' likes it but can take it or leave it. One cat loves it, but it doesn't rule his world. But our third cat would sell the other cats on the street for money to buy nip. So we hide our nip in the linen closet. My BFF hides hers in a window behind her shower (She buys homegrown organic from a farmer's market in ziploc baggies. The first time I found it I was kind of until I sniffed the baggie and realized it was just the hidden nip stash!)

 

[tripletots]

FYI This thread is almost 3 years old.

 

[furb & dez]

Our cats love to eat catnip (only one likes to roll around in it). If too much is put out for them, they will either get sick (several hours later) or the next day I'll find a nasty green kitty Almond Roca in their box.

Just don't put out too much.

As for the kitten, cats don't actually seem to react until they are around a year old or so (depends on the cat).

 

[mrsheppo]

Zombie kittehs resurrected this thread