I tried the catnip with her last year. First I gave her the actual weed-looking stuff inside a cloth mouse. She loved that, played with it, went crazy, overall it worked well, but then the high set in and the adrenaline disappeared, and she napped for the next five hours with her eyes half open.
So then I tried this catnip spray, which I guess was catnip dried, smashed into a powder, and dissolved in water. Covered my bed with the spray, then stuck her on top. Instant mellowness, and another semi-conscious five hour nap. Both things are still sitting up on my shelf, and every now and then she gives the mouse a hopeful look.
As far as battery-operated toys are concerned, she's had two failed experiences with that as well. The first came with this thing that was a base, with a stick coming out of that, and the stick had a string attached to it, and attached to that was a fluffy ball. The stick moved, triggering the rest to flail. She loved that, until the ball hit her right in the open eye. I heard a loud squeak, and saw her blur as she left the room.
Then, I gave the battery-operated mouse a try. The one that has wheels, makes whirring noises, and drives itself until it bumps into things. A ghetto rodent Roomba. She enjoyed it, was a bit apprehensive, and the second sh went all out she batted the thing underneath the couch, ran for it, and got her back legs stuck under there.
Don't get me wrong, she's very smart. She can open doors using the doorknob (or she jumps at her reflection). She opens the cabinet where her treat bag is and drags them into my room when I'm home on the weekends. She has turned off the TV (DISH Network = 4 buttons to turn off) on several occasions, and responds to her name better than any other cat. Back in the say, she would actually play fetch better than my purebred Labrador Retriever.
I'm looking for some good diet foods for older cats, but my small-town grocery store doesn't have that great of a variety. Time to do some Internet shopping/research, I guess. Thanks for your help.
