Anna Yvette Hoffman and her family have eight cats, two dogs, a bird, and two potbellied pigs, so they are constantly searching for ways to make their home more animal-friendly. Hoffman just decided it would be great to attempt cultivating her own catnip because the family has so many cats.
“I’d never done it before, so I took extra care to follow the directions I discovered online,” Hoffman said to The Dodo. “The most exciting aspect for me was when it blossomed.” That’s when I’d harvest the plant and hang it up to dry before feeding it to the cats.”
Hoffman grows the majority of her plants in boxes along her fence to keep them out of the eager tongues of the animals, who all like playing outside. Maggie, one of her cats, especially enjoys exploring outside in the summer with her best pals, Albert and Charlotte the pigs.
“She lies with Charlotte and Albert as they graze,” Hoffman explained. “On really hot days, she seeks out a shaded location where she can still see her BFFs.”
Maggie went outside one day when she noticed her mother’s catnip plant — and quickly plunged right into it.
“I was in the kitchen cleaning dishes when I noticed Maggie in the catnip container,” Hoffman explained. “I was already laughing uncontrollably. Maggie was having the time of her life at the time. I wasn’t outraged in any way; I was just surprised and tickled at the same time.”
Hoffman attempted all she could to persuade Maggie to leave the plant before it was entirely crushed, but it was too late after a while. Maggie had claimed ownership of the catnip plant, and that was the end of it.
“When Maggie had had her fill,” Hoffman added, “she rolled out of the pot and onto the ground.” “She then rolled around in her green heaven.”
Maggie now spends a significant amount of time rolling about in her own personal catnip café whenever she goes outside. Hoffman won’t be able to dry the catnip to share with the rest of her cats now that Maggie has made herself at home in the catnip pot — but the plant has made Maggie so happy, and that’s all that truly matters.
“The plants can’t be saved,” Hoffman added. “I just let her do her thing as the plants strain to develop but drown in Maggie’s bliss.”
Link to Paws Daily