We realized this weekend that since our move four months ago we haven’t been able to find the catnip. My husband liked to dole it out to the cats about once a week and it was always fun watching them spaz out on it. Happily for us, it affects all of them!

So we made a trip to the pet store and picked up a fresh bag. The ensuing high by all three cats can only be described as heavenly, with Sage being the biggest character of the bunch (above).

We usually drop three little piles on the floor — no worries that any kind of mess will be left behind! All three cats stake out their pile, but Turbo usually monkeys around and pilfers everyone else’s before heading back to his own.

Kricket gets tired of hers quickly, though the ‘nip makes her really affectionate and cuddly, as does Sage, who likes to roll around in it. Turbo gets playful, going into crazy mode.

Do your cats react to catnip?

Bamboo and Fat Cat pet accessories have offered up some fun products for a Bloggy Giveaway!

The FurBuster (above) is the most innovative grooming tool available to pet owners and offers an affordable and professional-grade tool that owners can use at home! Comprised of three sizes of interchangeable blades that easily snap into an ergonomic handle, FurBuster removes the dead undercoat from your pet, leaving your pet well groomed and your house spic-and-span. 3 to give away!

Meet the Gruntleys! Always ready for a good ol’ fashioned Grunt-o-Rama, our family of outspoken oinkers feature a perfectly-porklike sound device that dogs just can’t resist. Forget the bacon – these happy hogs will have your dog beggin’ for more (and more)! E-I-E-I-O! 3 to give away!

The ShowGulls are all about da Glitz-n-Glamour, baby! Kitties just can’t resist the shimmy shimmy shake of their tail feathers, and one whiff of the ‘nip (it’s our world famous Zoom Around the Room Organic Catnip, of course) will keep your cat calling for an encore! Enjoy the show! 3 to give away!

To Enter:
Leave a comment here telling me one quirk your cat or dog has. Do they chase their tail? Turn their nose up at people food? Have to sleep on that one spot on the couch? No quirk is too small, tell us!

* Contest closes at 5:00pm PDT on Saturday, November 1. Winners will be notified by email and will have 24 hours to respond with mailing information before new winners are chosen.

* All current Bloggy Giveaways at The Food Bowl may be entered one time each. Good luck!

* 9 items total will be given away (9 winners, one prize each: 3 FurBusters, 3 Gruntleys, 3 ShowGulls)

I love this! Furniture made with sisal for both cats and people - no more worrying about the cat scratching up the couch or coffee table. In fact, it’s encouraged!

It’s made by Cat Livin, who also sells other items from sleeping mats to live catnip.

What do you think? Would you furnish your home with your cats in mind like this?

[product image: cat livin]

Our cats love catnip. They love it so much that you can’t leave the container out where they can get to it or all you’ll hear all day (or night!) is them knocking it around the room, trying to get into it.

I’ve attempted to grow my own in the past using a little DIY container from the pet store, but the cats always seek it out before it gets a chance to grow much so I gave up on that and decided to stick with the dried and pre-packaged stuff.

Now that it’s spring you can find fresh catnip pretty much anywhere - garden centers, pet stores, etc., and I’m thinking about giving it another shot - this time outside (though we have a few roaming cats in the neighborhood so it might not work out there either).

Catnip is a perennial in the mint family, which means it’ll come back year after year from one planting and it seeds itself. It can grow up to three feet high and produces pretty little blue flowers in the summer. If you’re growing catnip for your cats make sure you don’t get ornamental catnip - it will not affect your cat! You want plain old common catnip.

Catnip is an herb and requires full sunlight, adequate moisture, and good soil. It’ll thrive in pots or as part of a full garden and it’s also pretty much pest-free - aside from the roaming neighborhood cats mentioned above!

It can be harvested when the stems get to about a foot high and cut it as you need it. Cats can eat the leaves fresh, or you can let them dry out, crumble them up and store in an airtight container.

Have you ever tried to grow fresh catnip? Did it work out?

[images: flickr; flickr]

I’m on auto-pilot from here on out to get ready for a vacation! We’ve got a friend taking the dogs (couldn’t bear the thought of them being boarded, and this friend loves them so it works out!), the cats will have a neighbor checking in on them to make sure they’re not killing each other and check their food supplies (we leave them extra bowls and dishes of water and food, and extra litter boxes when we go), and the same neighbor is taking Simon the betta fish too.

We also got the cats some extra toys to keep them busy while we’re gone - a Turbo Scratcher (see video above) and a bunch of little catnip toys to bat around. We’ve left them for long periods of time before (always with someone looking in on them) and they always cop an attitude when we get home - pretending to ignore us as if their feelings are hurt and we’ve done them wrong. They get over it as soon as we whip out the catnip, though!

My cats are weird. We never gave them people food when they were young so over the years they actually turn their noses up at it. You could lay down a piece of steak or some cheese and they’ll sniff it and walk away. Turbo likes tortilla chips and yogurt, though - he will hunt you down if he even suspects you’ve got yogurt.

Anyway, I made this for them a while back and even though it smelled like a fantastic cat treat they didn’t care for it. Maybe yours will?

Tuna Treats

1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c nonfat powdered milk
1/2 can tuna or 1/2 C chopped chicken (cooked)
1 T vegetable oil or cod liver oil
1 beaten egg
1/4 c water
catnip (optional)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease or line cookie sheets with parchment paper. In large bowl, mash the tuna (or chicken) into small pieces. Add flour and milk. Mix well.

After all is mixed pour in water and oil. Mix well again. Beat egg in separate dish until dish until egg gets a foamy texture. Add to mix and mix well. The dough mix will be sticky.

Using your fingers shape dough into small bite size balls, about the size of a marble. Put balls on greased or lined cookie sheet. Flatten balls just a bit with your fingers. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove treats from oven wait five minutes and turn treats over so other side will cook. Bake 10 more minutes or until golden brown in color.

Place treats on cookie rack to cool. Cool for 15 minutes. NEVER give treats to your pet right after cooking! Store in air tight container and store in fridge or cool dry place.

You can add the catnip into the recipe or sprinkle on top of treats.