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We recently won a big batch of cat food in a raffle, it was an unknown brand to us (Feringa).

We checked the contents and the bag of cat grains says it contains 0.5% catnip. After reading this question its clear that cats shouldn't eat catnip as a treat.

But how bad would 0.5% be?

I gave some to my mother who gave it to her cats and she said they absolutely loved it, this was before we knew it had catnip in it. So after that we figured out why the cats absolutely loved it.

I don't want to end up with 2 cats who only want this brand of food anymore because it contains catnip and don't want to have to feed them this for the rest of their lives like they are addicts.
Would it be okay to give my cats this food or should i just dump it to be safe?

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Actually, if you read the linked article, "Crazy for catnip," on the American Veterinary Medical Association, you will note a few facts:

  1. There's no apparent addictive properties with catnip
  2. No toxic dose
  3. Interest wanes with exposure

So, with respect to worrying if they're going to become junkies to the brand, not likely to be a problem.

Now, also in the article, is information that ingestion of catnip can lead to stomach upset, but that will vary by cat and by amount. If there is signs of this, you can discontinue feeding, but the amounts here are really quite small, so I think this is very unlikely. Bear in mind that it's in the food, not raw catnip and, while an anecdotal thing, we've given our cats raw catnip over the years and it's not been a problem for them.

In any event, I would consider treating this more like a treat anyways. I'm not sure how big the batch is, but you can either use it like a daily small treat or mix it in with other food and slowly reduce the amount added over time as you go through the package.

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Catnips completely safe for cats. There is a site posted recently on catnip.

  1. Catnip is safe for cats.
  2. They are not toxic for cats.
  3. They are a good way to deal with the depressed and upset cat.
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