5/18 Loose Lips - indoor catnip basket

I don't want to grow catnip outdoors due to the stray cats as well as the skunks/raccoons that roam around at night. They carry bad parasites and bugs and can easily cross contaminate if they touch it.

So I decided to buy some and put it on the windowsill. That worked for a couple of hours. Victoria was dragging it across the kitchen. Then I found Hef sleeping on the counter with his face in the catnip - moved to the countertop of course.

I went looking for something I could hang from the ceiling but every pot was big/bulky/heavy. I found this by a fluke. Its a 1.99$ basket from Ritchies and I hooked on this 99cent hanger. It had four edge holders at the bottom of the plastic wires and it works perfectly. I hang it off the curtain rod on the sliding glass door. Kitties can't get to it. Neither can the wild animals.





They absolutely love fresh catnip. I am always reading about Punkin loving it and have wanted to try for about a year now.

 

Oh wow, what a fantastic idea!

 

I have a plastic hanging pot suspended from a hook in my solarium, which is a similar idea, although I like the looks of your plastic basket better. The local garden shop guy told me the trick of using the pot. I have the same problem that any nip left in an accessible pot will be spilled or mutilated in no time.

 

Re: 5/18 Loose Lips - HIJACK - need a cute fix

To help soothe the grieving hearts here, this is Piglet's baby brother "Nemo", now 5 1/2 weeks old...
What a cute little fuzzball.



p.s. to keep this on topic, I had a small pot of oat grass, and Piglet decided to drag it across the house with his teeth. Haven't shown him the joys of fresh catnip yet though.

MJ

 

ok, nemo is sooooooo stinking adorable!!

I can't imagine what torture it is for those kitties to see that catnip hanging high above their heads .. you know they are spending all day creating ways to get it down while you are gone right? :lol:

 

Great idea!! But those kitties will get a stiff neck looking up all the time!! :lol: :lol: :lol:
Looks really nice too..Home dem kitties get some o' dat yummee stuff!!
MJ what a cute baby!!!! Have a great night!

 

Ohhhhh MJ, Nemo is 'suck in your breath' adorable!!!!

Karrie, where'd you get your catnip? I can't even find seeds (locally), let alone the plants.

 

OMG MJ My heart just melted! I want him!!!!!!!!! He is so freaking adorable!!!

I got the catnip at a local nursery in the herb section. Only $2.50 each and I went back for more when I saw how much they loved it. I have three of them in that basket hanger.

They don't notice it at all until I take them out to water them. I think watering them spreads the smell somehow.

I'm thinking of leaving one down all the time on the ground. Anyone know if this is a good or bad idea?

 

If you're going to leave one down (which sounds like a nice idea for the kitties) you'll want it in something heavier so it stays put. I'm wondering if you can use something you can take the plastic baskets in and out of so you can rotate the plants around so they get some recovery time?

Vyktor was never interested in catnip as a youngster but after all the Mannie nanna stories I thought I would try again - turns out he loves it dried and organic thank you very much! He eats it and rubs his head in it when I sprinkle it for him :lol: I have been sprinkling it on his scratchy pole base and he has now also taken to playing with the toy that is hanging from the pole which he never showed much interest in before.

 

My girls would be plotting to get to it!

 

Neat idea I was thinking of something to put Leroy's ocasional pot of grass into so he doesn't go bonkers knocking the pot around and making a mess. My thought was to use a decorative lantern holder for candles like his.

Karrie, have you tried growing catnip from seed? It's really easy to do :smile: I used to grow a big pot of catnip outside for Squishy. He loved fresh catnip leaves

 

Well my catnip grows wild on the property. If you visited my condo the other day...I'm gonna have a bumper crop this year.

I do grow 'oats and groats' though in a bird bath saucer for MudCat. We're working on a fresh batch now. As soon as it is big enough I'll bring the saucer back inside for her.

 

Karre, that's is an excellent idea. I think you should market it!

I've tried planting catnip outside and it would be half smushed the first day from all the cats in the neighborhood (and there aren't a lot around here), and totally destroyed by the following day. I've often thought about trying to hang a pot like you did.
I grow it at work right now, where there are no cats, in big pots in front of the building.

 

Karrie, your catnip solution looks great! I have a pot of catnip growing for Rusty and he never even looks at it. Won't go near it!! But I keep it going anyway. We have catmint in the garden. It grows really well and spreads. Stu loved it, and our neighbor cat, Shadow, likes it, but Rusty just isn't a plant man!!

MJ, Nemo is just the cutest thing going!

Everyone have a great weekend,

Ella