Laugh. Learn. Love cats.
Newton: Having a little sister around is tough. She pokes and and annoys me all the time.
Newton: Then when I finally try to put her in her place, THIS happens.
If you are on a mobile device that doesn’t display the video above, you can watch it directly here.
Newton: You can tell I am totally innocent and it’s all her fault, can’t you?
We got a couple questions about our Monday blog post asking what that silvervine stuff that made Pierre a mean drunk is. That’s a really good question!
Pierre: Who are you calling a mean drunk?
Silvervine is a plant whose actual name is Actinidia polygama. You probably aren’t familiar with it because it probably doesn’t grow where you live. It comes from the high elevations in the mountainous areas of Japan and China.
Silvervine plant (actinidia polygama). Photo credit: Wikimedia commons.
Cats respond to silvervine similarly to the way that they do to catnip, rolling, rubbing in it, drooling, and even licking it. The main difference is that in catnip, cats respond to the chemical compound nepetalactone. In silvervine, cats respond to the chemical actinidine.
Silvervine and catnip having different chemicals that make cats respond means that some cats who don’t respond to catnip will show interest in silvervine. Other cats, like Pierre in our video from Monday, respond to both. The amount of enthusiasm varies by cat.
Newton is never short of enthusiasm
A study published last year showed that 65% of cats respond to catnip, and almost 80% of domestic cats respond to silvervine.
The silvervine plant is often ground into a fine powder for use by cats. There is a big surge in marketing “silvervine sticks” for cat dental health like the one Cupcake was gifted recently. Keep in mind that these often aren’t actually the stem of a silvervine plant but are pieces of wood that have been impregnated with silvervine scent. If you happen to see dried silvervine fruit or fruit gall, it carries a much stronger payload of actinidine for a cat to enjoy.
If your cat does enjoy silvervine in a toy, always be sure the toy, whether it is a stick or other form, is safe and supervise if necessary. Enjoy the fun times!
There are almost always cardboard boxes available for cat entertainment in our house. There have been for years, since everyone loves a good box.
Recently, favorite toys started showing up in the cardboard boxes. The iridescent crinkle balls Aunt O brought over were left in the box in the sunroom.
Pierre: What’s this doing in my box?
Monkey showed up in the box in the living room.
Is that a pair of socks in the living room box?
Cupcake: I wouldn’t know anything about that.
Cupcake: Bunny? I don’t see Bunny in this box. You can’t blame me for putting him there.
Do you believe Cupcake?
A friend of the family came by the coffee shop recently and brought Cupcake a silvervine stick. She had a great time playing with it to pass the time while the humans talked about boring things that don’t interest cats.
You can see how much she enjoyed it in this short video:
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Once Cupcake arrived home, the silvervine stick was left in the carrier in the living room while Cupcake went off to take a nap. It didn’t take long for the resident catnip-head, Pierre, to find it.
We aren’t sure which Cupcake was more concerned about, the fact he had her silvervine stick or the that he was in her carrier.
Pierre finally noticed he was being watched.
Guess what happened next!
If the video above does not play properly on your screen, you can watch it here.
Pierre doesn’t seem to want to share either the carrier or the silvervine stick with anyone.
Big thank you to Miss Cheryl for the silvervine stick. It’s a big hit with everybody!
