How often to replace catnip in a toy depends on how you store it because the herb loses its potency over time.
Some cat owners find catnip toys a waste of money because they only work for a week.
However, catnip shouldn’t lose its potency so quickly. The problem typically lies in incorrect storage and a cat’s tolerance.
All catnip toys need to be revived once in a while, but you won’t need to refill them frequently if you learn how to store and use them properly.
With some precautions, catnip toys can go a long way. Furthermore, there are more cost-effective and quicker options than refilling all the catnip in a toy.
Can Catnip Go Bad?
If your cat’s catnip toys are old, you may wonder whether catnip can go bad. Dry catnip is similar to herbs on your spice rack. You likely have some herbs you’ve bought ages ago, and they still seem ok, albeit not as potent.
Catnip doesn’t go bad in the traditional sense because it’s dehydrated. Without moisture, bacteria cannot thrive, so rotting doesn’t happen.
Many owners worry that their cat will get sick from eating old catnip. Cats, indeed, sometimes tear apart catnip toys and eat the herb. Fortunately, adverse effects other than mild gastroenteric upset are implausible.
With proper storage, catnip doesn’t rot and won’t harm your cat’s health even if your pet ingests it. However, incorrect storage conditions can lead to mold growth and make dry catnip dangerous.
Other catnip products, such as catnip sprays with essential oils and catnip bubbles, are unlikely to go bad because the ingredients have a long shelf life. Catnip treats have the shortest lifespan of all catnip products.
Fresh catnip can go bad because it isn’t dehydrated, so don’t give your cat old catnip. Ideally, it should be freshly picked from your garden.
Does Catnip Lose Potency?
Let’s get back to the example with spices. Although they don’t go bad and won’t make you sick, they gradually lose flavor. For this reason, dry herb manufacturers don’t mention the expiration date but the “best before” date.
Dry catnip used for catnip toys is no different. It doesn’t go bad and won’t harm your cat’s health, but it will lose potency over time. As catnip loses potency, its effect on a cat becomes weaker until it wears off completely.
How quickly dry catnip loses potency depends on its quality and storage. As a rule of thumb, the finer catnip is ground, the quicker it loses effectiveness.
One of the biggest mistakes in using catnip toys is leaving them lying in the open, exposed to sunlight, air, and moisture. As a result, catnip can lose its potency in a week or less.
On the other hand, if you store catnip toys correctly, their magic can last significantly longer, saving you money on replacement.
How to Understand Catnip Needs a Replacement
If you bought the catnip toy over a month ago and kept it in the open, it most likely needs a refill. However, don’t rely solely on the purchase date.
The easiest way to understand that a catnip toy needs a refill or replacement is by observing your cat’s reaction to the toy. If your cat ignores its catnip toy and doesn’t experience “zoomies,” the herb may have lost its potency.
However, a lack of reaction to catnip may result from tolerance to the herb. Cats become desensitized to catnip odor and lose interest in toys as soon as the effect kicks in.
Even after the effect wears off, cats don’t regain responsivity immediately. They can only experience the effect after a couple of hours, but some cats may need days.
If a cat plays with catnip toys too frequently or for extended periods, it will gradually develop higher and higher tolerance until it becomes entirely unresponsive to its effects.
In a way, catnip is like caffeine or nicotine – the longer we consume it, the more we need to experience the same effect.
Another way to understand that catnip has lost its potency is to smell the toy. Potent catnip has a strong smell, whereas an old herb may have little to no scent.
Sometimes, the toy’s fabric affects the smell. If the material is thick, you may struggle to feel the herb, but cats have a stronger sense of smell. The best catnip toys are from light, breathable materials such as linen.
How Often to Let Your Cat Play with the Toy?
Since cats develop tolerance to catnip, you may wonder how often to let a cat play with catnip toys.
Leaving catnip toys out in the open for a cat to play with at any moment or substituting regular toys with catnip toys are common mistakes among feline owners, leading to permanent tolerance build-up.
Catnip toys are a great way to encourage an old, lazy “couch potato” to move, promoting a healthy lifestyle, but they aren’t a substitute for other enrichment.
Most veterinarians and cat breeders recommend giving cats catnip toys once a week. Twice a week is the most frequent a cat should play with catnip toys.
A cat playing with catnip toys frequently will quickly build tolerance, and owners may struggle to stimulate their pet in a situation when it’s necessary.
In other words, the problem often lies in tolerance rather than the herb’s potency, so refilling a toy doesn’t help and is a waste of time and money.
If you’ve been letting your cat play with catnip toys as much as it pleases, and the toys seem to have lost their magic, make a pause. Don’t give catnip to your cat for a few weeks and see whether that helps.
Alternatives to Replacing the Catnip
Many catnip toys can be opened to replace the dry catnip inside. However, there are alternatives to replacing catnip in cat toys that don’t require you to buy an entire herb bag.
Try spritzing your cat’s toy with catnip spray to revive it instantly. Catnip sprays are easy to use, highly potent because they contain nepetalactone essential oil, and are cost-effective. You only need a tiny bit of the product.
Alternatively, you may apply a few drops of catnip essential oil onto the herb. The only difference between catnip sprays and oils is that the former contain water and are applied differently.
If you have dry catnip left, rub it against the toy instead of refilling the herb entirely. Rubbing will help release nepetalactone oil, giving the toy a powerful catnip smell.
To revive a catnip toy by rubbing dry catnip against it, you only need a little bit of the herb. There’s no need to buy a new bag of catnip every time the herb in the toy becomes old.
Fresh catnip works even better than dry. If you have a garden, you can plant catnip and rub fresh leaves against the toy. Alternatively, you may replace the dry herb inside with a few fresh leaves or flowers.
These methods will also work with regular toys. You can take your cat’s favorite chew toy or mouse and apply catnip on it to make it even more appealing to your furry friend.
How to Store Catnip Toys to Prolong Their Lifespan
Learn how to store catnip toys to prolong their lifespan and avoid replacing the herb weekly. The first rule is – don’t leave catnip toys on the floor because oxygen and sunlight are catnip’s worst enemies.
Oxygen and sunlight break down nepetalactone molecules, causing the herb to lose its active ingredient. Simply put, air and sun make catnip a regular dry herb with no effect.
After the playing session, take away your cat’s toys and put them in a zip lock bag or air-tight lidded container. Dry catnip must be stored in a dry, dark, and cool place, such as a kitchen cabinet.
Some cat owners report that storing catnip toys in a freezer is even more effective, significantly prolonging catnip’s potency. If you choose this method, take the toy out of the freezer about an hour before giving it to your cat.
Another life hack for making catnip toys last longer is to store them in a lidded glass jar filled with dry catnip.
Avoid warm environments because warmth creates beneficial conditions for humidity, promoting mold growth. Hot yet dry environments aren’t as problematic but will still cause catnip to lose its potency quicker.
Most importantly, keep catnip toys out of your cat’s reach to prevent it from building tolerance. Some cats are smart enough to open kitchen cabinets, so hide them as far away as possible.
Catnip toys can retain their effectiveness for months or even years with proper storage. The same rules apply to dry loose catnip and other catnip products as long as the instructions on the packaging don’t state otherwise.
Still, even with these precautions, catnip toys will need a refill or replacement once in a while. Keeping some loose catnip or catnip spray in your cabinet is beneficial if you need to quickly revive a toy.