So many of you know that we let Jean-Claude and occasionally Roxie roam our respective backyards. Jean-Claude now demands to be let out and even knows that the sound of the trash bag being changed usually means the door opens. We usually let JC out more than Roxie b/c JC will actually come back when called and although he can be naughty at times, will generally come back within an hour. He can even knock on the door. Roxie, well, Roxie is special and that is why we love h At times, JC can be, shall we say insistent, that he be allowed out. At my house I’ve seen even more of that behavior and I think I understand why.
JC is an addict and needs to get his buzz on.
I’m a container gardener and in one of those containers, I’ve been growing catnip. For the longest time, JC was completely uninterested in it. However, there were several neighborhood cats that would hop the fence and munch on my stash. Due to the rash of warm weather that we’ve been having, I’ve been letting him run the yard. For awhile, because my gate was broken, he could easily explore and roam the neighborhood, but he would always come back when called. Then after the gate, his explorations were limited the 120 sq I have or so.
Then I crushed up a leaf of fresh catnip from my container. JC loved it. He went over to the plant and started munching. Then roaming, then munching, then roaming, then munching. He loves it. For those that don’t know, catnip really does give cats a buzz. Afterwards, he did what I call the catnip roll when they have the good buzz and rolled on the walkway.
I’ve given the cats dried catnip, but this is the first time I’ve seen either one of them eat it fresh. JC then proceeded to climb the tree in my yard where he watched the world for a bit. Then he went back to the catnip and had some more!
When I left him this morning, he settled in for a long nap. He had thoroughly cleaned himself, positioned himself just so on the bed. Sweet dreams JC!
Cats & All That ™ 