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Friday 20 May 2011

Cat + mint = catmint?

This is catmint (photo courtesy of Google images - hairy pot plants co.uk) and it bears no resemblance to ordinary mint the sort I grow for mint sauce....




but Thomas has taken a sudden liking to the ordinary kind and is to be found rolling in it


rubbing it into his face


and generally going silly in it!! He has never done this before so I don't know what's got into him and his sister Bambi thinks he's gone mad but he is obviously enjoying himself and happily the mint seems to recover from his attentions and in any case I have plenty of it this year.

23 comments:

  1. Isn't he a funny thing?! Mind you I don't blame him, I love the smell of mint.

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  2. Funny little chap! Maybe we should try it.......!

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  3. What a handsome chap! Aren't they so funny when they have silly moments like this, mine are "in love" with an offcut of carpet at the moment, I'd never have believed that it could hold so much entertainment for them!

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  4. Well, it does smell rather nice! And funnily enough, our dogs like sitting in the genuine catmint, too.

    Pomona x

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  5. Aww, likes the smell! I keep picking our mint leaves to make mint sauce for the new potatoes, now we're running out of leaves! :) x

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  6. I could never grow catnip as my other cat ate the shoots as they came through but I have not got any of the ordinary mint so have never noticed if the cats like it, Thomas does it seems!
    love
    Lyn
    xxx

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  7. At least he will smell nice! Minty breath!

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  8. So sweet to see a kitty in heaven rolling and grinding themselves in catnip. Don't quite understand it but I guess they get a high and some happiness! What a lovely kitty Thomas is. xoRobin❤

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  9. Oh he is too cute for words. Your soil is looking very dry. Do you need rain?
    Have a wonderful weekend.
    Anne xx

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  10. Hello, and greetings from California. This is my first time at your blog and I enjoyed my visit. Thomas the cat looks quite happy with your mint...even though it is not the regulation kind for cats! I hope to come back for more visits in the future.

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  11. That is strange, but at least it smells nice. My cat has taken to eating lemongrass. I don't have a big enough pot of it yet for him to be rolling in it, but he just loves eating it.
    Cute photos of Thomas!

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  12. I've had a plant of Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' for years and it's a real attractant for local cats - and mine. A ginger puss which lived across-the-road at one time used to do handstands in it and fall over backwards on to the foliage. I had to protect it in the end or it would have been eaten to shreds, as Lyn says. It's a pretty plant in its own right, a happy addition to the garden and being a perennial it's no bother.

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  13. cute! I love the smell of mint. I'm making lentil soup for lunch and I've added some mint in; it smells delicious!
    xo

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  14. Jane,
    Perhaps the extra heat we're having is making the mint essential oil much stronger, as it would be in its native habitat. Whatever the reason Thomas seems to be enjoying himself enormously and is probably 'high' on the smell of menthol!

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  15. So sweet! I remember when I used to have a catmint plant in the garden it was completely flatened over a period of time.
    How funny that ordinary mint has that effect on your cat too!
    Isabelle x

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  16. It's interesting that animals will give themselves a bit of a high if they have the chance. One of my dogs used to go into a trance after some heavy sniffing at pine logs!

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  17. That is hilarious, aren't cats funny! Thank you for your blog comment.. let us home there will be another fair in Glasto! xx

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  18. I am reading this post listening to the wind and rain outside and feeling glad that Thomas enjoyed his roll in the mint when he did............

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  19. I could definitely join Thomas if I had a large enough patch - ours mysteriously disappeared from the garden over one winter, I now grow it in pots. Thomas looks so cute rubbing his nose in the leaves. A minty cat is certainly an attractive thought. I would love to get Marvin to chew on a leaf to freshen his breath!!

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  20. Bless him, he obviously gets what he needs from your mint. I make a tisane with mine, three types brewed together, tastes lovely.

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  21. Yes, mine love it too. They also like to chew on my lemon balm. Silly things. You have a very pretty blog. Deb=^..^=x4 Ontario, Canada

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  22. Thomas is so cute! Just taking a break from studying - exams finish 2nd week of June - can't wait. Hope you are well.
    love Lucy xxxxx

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  23. whatever it is....he loves it....

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