More matatabi dancing from Coco (part 1)

What is matatabi?

Coco gets more cat treats

Just how lucky can a cat get?

Coco received these cat treats and catnip, even as we've yet to get over the excitement of the matatabi and its dancing effects. These came from the US and were from the same blogger who got the matatabi in Japan for Coco. ;-)



I've been giving the treats to Coco judiciously, and there's still a pack of Temptations from EJ left, despite having given a chicken-flavoured pack to Spud earlier this year when he was feeling down from his skin problem and was denied his favourite wet fish food.

Current cat treats count: 2 packs of Temptations, 1 Goodlife (really!) treats and half a pack of salmon sashimi, all of which should keep Coco happy for months to come.

A BIG Thank You to all the cat treat-giving aunties for your affection shown towards Coco and generosity to us. I don't think Coco should keep the good fortune all to herself, so I will make sure she shares her cat treat gifts with the community cats downstairs. :-))

Coco does the matatabi dance

The matatabi came in the post with other kitty presents, thanks to KSN. ;)



I didn't know what it was, but Coco taught us what it is soon enough!



Ahh...so it is interesting stuff... Coco likes it... a lot!



That she punctured a hole in the package.



Even then, we didn't know what the matatabi is capable of...until one night, we gave it to Coco.

We realise it can make Coco do the matatabi dance!



Matatabi facts : [click link for more info.]
Long ago the Japanese people discovered that the leaf of the Matatabi vine drives cats crazy. When put into toys, cats play with them excitedly, slobbering, writhing, and dancing about in a strange state of heightened alertness. The herb induced performance is called the Matatabi dance. The dance is similar, but more extreme, to that which occurs when cats are exposed to catnip. Research has established this peculiar feline reaction is caused by volatile oils found in the leaves. Matatabi is more than a source of fun, it is used as a health stimulant for sick cats. As an infusion or powder, it is used to speed the recovery of ailing felines.

Dried matatabi up close

1st anniversary

Today is the 1-year anniversary of Coco's arrival. Exactly one year ago, she was rescued (together with Snowy) and brought into our household. Snowy has since been adopted, and Coco is still with us.

To commemorate this special day, I've prepared a special treat for her.



In addition to her usual wet food, Coco gets additional Temptations treats with her dinner. She usually get cat treats with her breakfast.

I'd actually bought Natural Balance Salmon canned food as a treat for her, but she didn't like it at yesterday's trial. She took a small bite and didn't go anywhere near the bowl after that. *roll eyes*



So the can of Natural Balance went into the tummies of several community cats.

I don't think Coco minds it one bit, as she gobbled up her Temptations-treated dinner in a flash.



Yessh! I'm forever loyal to the one and only Fussie Cat canned food company, you understand me, my servant?

The furry one also got some new catnip-filled toys to play with.



We certainly hope she's happy staying here with us.

Chomping frenzy

This morning, I decided that it was time to release the cat grass to the "addicts", even though the grass didn't grow as tall or as fast as the earlier batch. I suspect it was due to the smaller container which is a bit cramped for the roots to grow freely.



Even though the grass is shorter, the cat grass addicts didn't mind one bit, and charged at the grass with all their pent-up hunger!

By the way, they have already had their full breakfast.



Chomp, chomp...crunch, crunch!!



Within 2 to 3 minutes, half the grass disappeared! If I hadn't stopped the cat sisters, I think they would have walloped the whole pot!




Then, I went out to the corridor and pruned the catnip plant. Yes, the catnip plant is still surviving, even though it had suffered a bout of mealy bugs infestation at one point. I plucked out the dried and withered brown leaves and held them in my hand.

Thinking there was more grass to eat, the cat sisters came to sniff my hand, and became quite excited.


I'm not sure what caused the sudden interest in catnip, but both cats tried to steal bits of the withered catnip leaves from my hand, and managed to eat bits of them.


Gimme more, gimme more!


Then, the unexpected happened. Coco started rubbing her head and neck very affectionately against my hand, which she almost never do. Usually, she would rub her body against our ankles, and that is only when she wants a snack or a cat treat, but this time, her behaviour was different.



After a while, Coco flopped her body down, then got up to sniff more of the catnip leaves, and flopped down again. Meanwhile, Snowy kept on trying to steal more catnip leaves.


Coco looking a bit "high" and blurry


Now, as I'm typing on the computer keyboard in the study room, both cats are sleeping peacefully right beside me on the table, with both their bodies curled up in the same direction. All is well. :)

Experiment Part II : Testing catnip sensitivity with live subjects

Since the last cat experiment failed to produce any discernible result of sensitivity to catnip, I tried again with different live subjects. *grin*

What I did was plucked a couple of fresh catnip leaves and tore them up slightly to release the scent. I left the catnip leaves for each cat to have a sniff, BEFORE showing them any cat food, so that they could concentrate on the catnip and not be distracted by the food. I gave them cat food only after I've done the catnip test.

Here's the result:


1st subject: Gal-Gal

See the catnip beside her - totally untouched leh...
Result : More interested in the cat food than catnip *auntie p scratches head*


2nd subject: Timmy aka Coco

Result : No interest in the catnip too !?!?


3rd subject: Jon-Jon

Result : Jon-Jon was more interested in the bag I was carrying than the catnip. Anyway, he has always been curious about my handbags (which reminds me of the purple Teletubby - Tinky Winky? )

Why, why, why??

(Sorry, no photo to show evidence because camera battery conked out!)

What is it with the community cats at my area? They all don't seem to be interested in catnip? Or is catnip a luxury meant for the housecats, and which community cats, being more concerned with bread-and-butter issues such as when the next meal is coming, simply have no time for?

Haiz... So till today, I have yet to see a cat happily engaged with catnip.

:)

Experiment: testing catnip sensitivity with live subject

This morning, I plucked a leaf from the catnip plant, broke it slighly by peeling and placed it in front of Sugar.


Step 1: wake the sleeping cat, and place the catnip near his nose



Step 2: observe reaction of cat

Result: cat started to sniff catnip out of curiousity
(Note: cat did not bother to move his butt)



Step 3: Continue observation of subject

Result: cat seemed to show no interest & went back to sleep


Conclusion: My catnip plant is safe. Ha ha ha!


The weekender cat

Catnip: the first flowers

I thought the catnip flower looks like one species of orchid, the one with soft, tiny yellow flowers.


Fri morning: the first to bloom


Fri evening: the same stalk of flowers


Sat: the same stalk


Top view


Budding catnip flowers

Budding catnip flowers

Thanks to my colleague who gave me a ride home, I managed to take some photos of the catnip today while there was still daylight. The catnip plant is now 11.5 weeks old. It's the first time in my life that I've seen budding catnip flowers, and they look amazing to me. Can't wait to see the blooms.


What's this alien thing?








Are catnip flowers pink/peach in colour??

Catnip flowers?

The catnip seeds' packaging was very accurate when it said the plant will mature in three months. Since the catnip plant was re-potted about 2.5 weeks' ago, it adapted well to the new pot, and started to flower at 11 weeks.

I'll try to take photos of the tiny flowering buds during daylight hours, if possible. Flash photography is hopeless for such closed-up pictures (over-exposed), and my camera's zoom capability is limited.

Catnip at 9.5 weeks

Planting catnip the trial & error way

Since ksn asked and since I happened to be staying at home (due to eye infection), I thought I'd document my trial and error experience of planting catnip for the first time. The catnip plant is now 9.5 weeks old and hopefully, will continue to thrive.


IN THE BEGINNING
Tip - spread out the seeds

I noted the instructions on the seed package which says "Water regularly so that soil is damp but not wet; do not allow young seedlings to dry out."

Method: Using a pot with small drainage holes, I planted the seeds in damp soil. The soil used was the cheapo garden soil ($1.80 to $2 a pack). Water 2 times a day, morning and evening.

The first 2-3 weeks were the most trying, as it took 1-2 weeks for the seeds to sprout, and after that, they seemed to take even longer to show some semblance of growth. I must have planted over over 20 seeds in the pot, but finally, about half of them sprouted, including one alien plant shoot of unknown species (see the glossy leaf at bottom-left corner of the photo above).

On hindsight, I must remember to spread the seeds out a bit more. As can be seen from the photos in the earlier post, the plants are now packed a bit too close together.

2.5 WEEKS LATER
Tip - fertilize

While wondering why the plants were growing so slowly, I remembered that the package had also said "Apply Horti organic and Foliar fertiliser fortnightly." So off to the nursery I went, where I was told by the helpful staff that any organic fertiliser will do (not necessarily Horti brand), and that it was normal for seedlings to take a l-o-n-g time to grow. Hmmh.

Method: Her instructions were: "fertilize sparingly, and water (the plant)".

This was the fertilizer I bought.

Organic fertilizer at $2 a pack - quite smelly & powdery; try not to apply under windy conditions

A closed-up of the text


At about this time, I noticed that the top soil looked dried out at times, even though I'd left the plant in a shaded part of the corridor and watered twice a day. To arrest this, I found some mossy/flossy soil in the storeroom and added a layer to the top soil. This soil (from Japan Home at $2.80) doesn't stick together like muddy soil and seemed to maintain moisture well.

Packaging of the mossy/flossy soil


WEEK #4
Tip - protect young shoots from becoming salad

With the fertilizer and the top layer of mossy/flossy soil, the catnip was doing ok. However, I did notice a couple of shoots missing...yes, I counted the seedlings everyday. Haha!

From past experience, I suspected they must have become salad for a hungry lizard/insect/bird. Hence the pot of catnip needed high-level protection from predators, like this:

DIY plant security system - plant encased in re-used plastic wire mesh

WEEK #5
Tip - top up soil

The catnip seemed to be flourishing and grew taller. As the stems became stronger, the base and bits of roots were starting to expose themselves, so it became necessary to top up with more soil.

Method: I added more of the mossy/flossy soil as that was the only soil I had left; pat down the soil gently with fingers, and water.

I did a search on the net which said catnip thrives well in well-drained soil, so I guessed it was alright.

Texture of mossy/flossy soil

Also, I found the armour of plastic wire mesh made it inconvenient for watering, so I replaced it with just a net, like this:

Plant covered with a light layer of netting - to protect young plants from harsh sunlight and predators

WEEKS #6 TO #9
Tip - continue with whatever that's working

The cycle went on like this:
- water twice a day (morning and evening)
- fertilize every 2 weeks *
- top up soil every 2 weeks *

* the fertilizing and soil top-up were done on alternate weeks

Catnip at 8 weeks old

At 9 weeks, I noticed that the early leaves (near the base) were turning yellow and falling off. Close inspection revealed that the roots seemed to be overgrown, so it was time to re-pot into a bigger container.

New shoots sprouting from the base = more catnip?


WEEK #10
Tip - Er, observe, cross your fingers and stay hopeful?

The plant was re-potted and is no longer under cover, but is exposed fully to the elements - the sun, rain and strong winds which we get quite often.

I'm crossing my fingers and hope the catnip continues to thrive in its new pot.

Hope ksn finds this helpful. :)

The catnip blog

Way before we had the blog discussion on using catnip on cats with certain characteristics, I have planted a pot of fresh catnip, just for the fun of it, and to see if it will thrive along the apartment's corridor which gets limited sunlight.

At week zero
3 weeks later
4 weeks later
5 weeks later
Close-up of leaves at 5 weeks


6 weeks later
8 weeks later
9 weeks later i.e. yesterday, in a slighter bigger pot


Latest closed-up
The catnip is supposed to reach maturation at about 3 months. Well, we'll have to see if it goes that far.