@jpharn, I'm so very glad to hear your kitty has recovered.
She was growling because she LOVED that catnip toy and was no way going to give it up. Get her some more and just don't try to take them away. Once she knows you aren't trying to get between her and her catnip, she will relax. One brand of catnip toys by the way that cats love is Yeoww brand, especially the banana.One year, three months--necroposting like a boss! Alright, so I got this little black-n-white kitty Beeper (cuz of her silly meow.) Got her about two weeks ago when we found her under our porch stairs. She was thin as a twig and has a seriously nasty gash all up and down her front foreleg, but now she's well-fed and the gash has already totally closed up, kept it clean so no infection, thank God... doesn't look like the fur's growing back so she's prolly gonna have a kicka** scar from whatever awfulness she went thru before we found her.
She went from lethargic (shock) to a happy, playful, and incredibly lovey kitty in a matter of days! I haven't gotten her anything but a litterbox yet b/c I'm saving money to take her to the vet, but today I see these cute little mousey catnip toys at Kroger for real cheap (3 for $5) so I figure why not?
I set one on the ground, grab the laser pointer, and run Beeperbutt around for a minute before guiding her over. She gives it a few curious sniffs... then latches onto it! Success! Until she darts off to a corner with it and starts growling. I hadn't seen her act like that at all until just then! I gave her a few minutes to see if she'd do anything else but she kept darting around the room, low to the ground, and growling, so I decided to take the mouse-toy away from her.
Yeah, she didn't like that. She actually tried to scratch me! I grabbed some gardening gloves and tried again with better results, but man, she did NOT wanna let that toy go! I think the only reason she didn't try to bite is her jaws were practically locked around the d**n thing. I was scared I broke one of her teeth when I finally tugged it loose but it looks like she's okay.
So now she's acting super-hyper and playful but not mean. She's purring, and biting at like shoes and stuff. She's a lot more nibbly than usual but she's not broken skin, She did nip at my cheeks and neck though when she got the chance, which she's never done before! I guess my question here is, do you think it's the catnip that's bad for her, or the mouse toy? Maybe after so long of not knowing if or when she was gonna eat, it's life-or-death force-of-habit to hang onto food for dear life?
Should I try again with a different catnip toy, or maybe loose catnip? I saw a a few people say the smelling catnip and ingesting catnip have separate effects. I mean, if she does get aggressive and mean, it's not like I can't just grab the gardening gloves again and chuck her in the guest room 'til she chills, she's super-tiny for her (probable?) age.
She was growling because she LOVED that catnip toy and was no way going to give it up. Get her some more and just don't try to take them away. Once she knows you aren't trying to get between her and her catnip, she will relax. One brand of catnip toys by the way that cats love is Yeoww brand, especially the banana.