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When you offer catnip to your kitty, take a pinch from
the bag and rub it between your fingers, this crushes the leaves releasing the pleasant
minty aroma that drives cats wild. Apply the catnip to a toy, scratching post, or just put
a pinch on the floor and watch your cat take a few minutes of pure feline pleasure.
Bailey, the Quality Control Cat, really goes wild if we put catnip in a paper bag for him.
Remember, it only takes a little bit of catnip to get your kitty purring, rolling,
playing, scratching, running, jumping, chasing, and generally having a good ol' time.
(Watch those claws kitty!) Normally cats will only
want to do catnip one or two times a day, some like it more, (careful,
you have sharp teeth kitty!) some less, and a few don't like it at all
(the
silly weirdoes!).
Mom!
Kitty's being a weirdo!
....Here kitty kitty.
meow! |
 If you don't see his mug
on the bag,
it ain't Big
Poon's Catnip!
 Why is his name Big
Poon,
take
a look for yourself!
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Read
about some of Big Poon's happy customers!
Big
Poon's Home Page
|
 Now, please understand that Big Poon and his human
helpers are not out to make their fortune selling catnip. We are not some big company
hiding behind some helpless pussycat. We're just a couple of humans who have been asked
(well, told) to share the joy of Big Poon's Very Best Catnip with as many other
kitties as possible. Selling catnip also lets Big Poon and Bailey help
out the Iowa County Humane Society.
They are currently giving all the money received from selling catnip
to the I.C.H.S. Since they were both strays at one time, they know what it is
like on the streets and want to help other cats find homes.. Plus, this is
a good excuse to put Big Poon's mug on the
Web.
| ORDERING: There is no order form, you will have to send a check or money order. Or, you can stop by and see Poon at sirius sunlight
glass studio, at the same address, normally from 10am to 5pm. |
Big Poon's Catnip
218 High St.
Mineral Point, WI. 53565 |
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Catnip
availability 
Yes - there is catnip ready to mail to you.
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-
Big Poon's catnip
is offered at one dollar per bag plus a dollar to mail up to four bags.
Capitalistic Cat? Nope, he is giving all the money (except
postage) to the Iowa County Humane Society!
-
Make checks to "Big Poon's
Catnip"
- Each bag is a little under 1/4 ounce of
the finest catnip leaf and bud, carefully cleaned, very few stems. A
bag measures 3x4 inches.
- If you are ordering
4
or more bags, can we put it
all into one larger (about 0.8 ounce) bag instead? Please let us know so that we
can save buying a few little ziplock bags.
- No wholesale. No discounts. No
large quantities. Big Poon only sells his catnip by the bag as
described above. Big Poon reserves the right to decline orders
for quantities of more than 10 bags of catnip even if we have
stock on hand. Quantities are limited and Big Poon thinks the
more cats that get nipped by his own brand of catnip the better
he feels about growing it.
- Big Poon's catnip is seasonal. The
humans do not produce enough to last all winter. In winter and
early spring you may want to contact
Big Poon's humans via e-mail and see if they can fill your
order if it is for more than a couple of bags. Notice should be
posted in the space above when the supply has run out.
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Most all of
the money collected is given directly to the Iowa County Humane Society. Since Big Poon
has no pockets to put money in, please send your request to his humans, at
the address above |
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You can also stop in and buy catnip from Big Poon himself at
Sirius Sunlight Glass Studio, at the above address. Send e-mail to Big Poon at: sirius@getsirius.com |
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.
"Wow, I really get hungry the morning after
testing Big Poon's Very Best Catnip.
And, I test Big Poon's Best Catnip most every night! -
Meowowow!!"
-Bailey T. Cat, Q.C., C.E.
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Home page |
(© 1997,
National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Canada K1A 0R6)
- The generic name Nepeta is said to have been derived from the town Nepete in
Italy where catnip was once cultivated (Bunney 1992).
- In the belief that catnip roots made even the kindest person mean, early American
hangmen consumed catnip roots before executions to harden themselves for their work
(Castleman 1991).
- Catnip is by no means the only plant species known to elicit the catnip response in cats
(Tucker and Tucker 1988). The following have also been reported to affect cats (some notes
are provided where plants may be available in North America, for those wishing to test
their attractiveness to felines): Actinidia kolomikta (Rupr. & Maxim.) Maxim.
(miyama-mata-tabi; occasionally cultivated in North America); A. polygama (Sieb.
& Zucc.) Maxim. (silver vine, mata-tabi; occasionally cultivated in North America); Boschniakia
rossica (Cham. & Schlecht.) B. Fedtsch. (a plant parasite of the roots of alders,
found in northern areas); Lippia javanica (Burm. f.) Spreng.; Menyanthes
trifoliata L. (buckbean, a bog plant found in North America, occasionally in bog
gardens); Nemophila menziesii Hook. & Arnott (baby blue-eyes, an annual often
grown in gardens); Origanum dictamnus L. (dittany of Crete, discussed in this
book); Teucrium marum L. (marum, cat thyme, a Mediterranean shrub sometimes
cultivated in North America); Valeriana celtica L. (a wild native of the Alps); Valeriana
officinalis L. (a common valerian, garden heliotrope, cat's valerian, a garden plant
that has become naturalized in Canada and the U.S.); Vaburnum opulus L. (cranberry
bush, an ornamental bush with edible fruit widely grown in the Northern Hemisphere).
- Both cats and rats are fond of Valeriana officinalis (mentioned above), and it
has been used as a bait for trapping wildcats and rodents (Morton 1976).
- Nepetalactone chemicals responsible for the intoxication of cats seem to be similar to
the natural sedatives (valepotriates) in valerian, supporting the traditional use of
catnip as a mild tranquillizer and sedative (Castleman 1991).
- The young twigs and leaves of Actinidia polygma (mentioned above) have been used
for centuries in Asia to tranquillize lions and tigers in zoos (le Strange 1977).
- Catnip growing near houses has long had a reputation for repelling rats, no doubt
because the plants attract cats.
- Catnip, itself sometimes referred to as cat-marihuana, was used in the 1960's as a
substitute for marihuana, apparently producing visual and auditory hallucinations when
smoked (Grognet 1990). Tyler (1993) castes doubt on the mind-altering properties in humans
alleged for catnip.
- The physicians who first described the drug use of catnip by people, published their
findings in The Journal of the American Medical Association in 1969 with a drawing
of catnip labeled as marihuana and vice-versa. Over 1600 letters were received by the
editor pointing out the mistake (Tyler 1993).
- Cats tend to leave catnip plants alone, unless the plants are bruised and so release the
attractive chemicals. There is an old saying about catnip (Grieve 1931):
- If you set it, the cats will eat it,
- If you sow it, the cats don't know it
The rationale is that catnip grown from seed will not be bruised, while transplanted
(i.e. "set") plants will usually be bruised during planting.
- Catnip has been shown to increase the frequency of catnaps in chicks (Sherry and Koontz
1979).
- Mustard oil (see Brassica in this book) and asafetida (the fetid gum resin of
various Oriental species of Ferula (of the carrot family), formerly used in
medicine) are thought to repel cats (Duke 1985).
"Catnip high," prepared by B. Brookes.
(© 1997, National
Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Canada K1A 0R6)
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