Party Hearty: Holding a Catnip Celebration
Par-tay. Everyone loves a good party. Cats are no exception. And their little soirees can be more than just a frat-cat playtime. You can host catnip parties because they’re fun for your cat(s), they relieve feline stress, and they can help to retrain kitties who spray or pee in a specific area.
Q: How Can I Keep My Cat from Peeing on the Floor?
A: One Way to Correct Feline Peeing: Host a Catnip Party!
Catnip parties turn the soiled area in your room into the party room. Even in the wildest frat houses, you don’t pee in the party room! Stressed kitties (males and females alike) may mark with urine on the outer edges of their territory. So bring that pee place into the home territory and your cat will be more interested in playing there than peeing there.
5 Steps to Prepare for a Successful Catnip Party
- Make sure you’ve completely removed the odor from the floor (and walls).
- Scatter loose catnip on the floor. Accept the fact that you’ll have to do a little after-occasion sweep up.
- Bring your little offender into the party place and celebrate! Your cat will likely writhe and roll about in the catnip and may even lick it. No problem.
- Just as a human party host offers refreshments, your catnip party should, too. Offer both fresh catnip and dry catnip. And don’t forget the catnip toys. Regardless of the form, the catnip needs to have a strong, minty fragrance. If you can’t smell the mint, throw it away.
- What would a party be without some games?! Bring out your cat’s favorite tease toy, and let the games begin. Turn that feather toy into a kitty piñata. Make your cat run and jump to attack it. When the game is over, offer some treats or feed your tired partier.
Between parties, move your cat’s food and water bowls, beds, and favorite toys to the soiled area to maximize the effects of redesignating the space.
Repeated catnip parties will redesignate the previously marked spot in your home as part of your cat’s home territory, making your cat less and less likely to spray there. And even if your kitty is not having potty mishaps, he or she will enjoy an occasional gala. After all, catnip is the spice of cat life.