Darlene Cheek You'll enjoy this cat themed garden as much as your cat does, and if you plant your cat their own garden, maybe they'll stay out of your's! List of safe plants:
Alyssum:
Lobularia alyssum:
Lobularia maritima:
Baby's breath (gypsophila paniculata "pink" and "Bristol fairy"):
The Food and Drug Administration announced (FDA) that the contaminated wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate imported from China was
mislabeled and was really wheat flour contaminated with melamine and melamine-related products.
It is also believed that the contamination was deliberate. It is thought that the Chinese added the melamine to the wheat to increase the "protein" concentration of the product making it to appear to have a higher protein concentration than it really had.
Melamine is rich in nitrogen which can give the illusion of protein.
Recently, tests conducted on contaminated pet food and the necropsies of affected animals :laugh: have suggested that a combination of
chemicals--each alone, seemingly nontoxic--form insoluble substances
that results in crystals that physically damage the kidneys.
For a more complete update and a link to a list of recalled foods, go to Pet Food Recall Update:
aaaaaaaarggh why do i keep getting messages whenever someone replies here! I aint even participated in this thread!....i think, I HOPE, i got major beef with a cat;D
Catmint (Nepeta mussinii) can be plant at the front, where it's silvery leaves and almost perpetual froth of flowers make an excellent border for a bed. The variety called 'Blue Wonder' is a nice, compact plant that flowers in dark blue over much of the summer. 'Snowflake' flowers in white. N. faassenii 'Six Hills Giant' looks much like its smaller brethren, but is much taller, with flower spikes reaching 4'-5'; it is also sterile and won't spread about much. It will work well to hide the catnip.
Nepeta Faassenii:
Cat thyme, Teucrium marum is a member of the mint family, just as the nepetas are. However, it has deep green leaves, for contrast, and the spires of flowers are crimson. Cat thyme is related to germander, which makes a beautiful hedge, and can be clipped to shape; so you could make this bed into a knot garden if you so desire, and few will be the wiser to the real purpose of your plantings. Cats actually love all the teucriums, so be prepared to find them nibbling on your knot.
Teucrium marum:
Perhaps you would like to put up a trellis and have a lovely vine to give the garden some structure. Silver vine (Actinidia polygama), a relative of the kiwis, has lovely white flowers and is guaranteed to send susceptible cats into a frenzy.
Actinidia polygama:
Another cat-pleaser is valerian (Valeriana officianalis). Also known as garden heliotrope, the umbels of pink flowers have a lovely scent, and the fern-like leaves will provide a pleasant contrast to the tiny grey of the nepeta. Cats love valerian; unfortunately, so do rats. The rumor is that the Pied Piper of Hamelin used valerian as the secret ingredient to lure the rats out of town. You can be a sort of Pied Piper, too, if your cats are hunters; attract the cats and the rats will be taken care of.
Valeriana officianalis:
If the very thought gives you the shudders, a garden of cats may be the way to go. Interestingly, many cat plants, whether for or about cats, tend toward the silver in foliage; most also prefer good drainage.
Cat tails are familiar along stream banks; they prefer boggy to wet conditions. Since they are also considered a weed in many areas, you may want to think twice about planting them, except in ponds in closed containers.
Cat tails:
Since a good garden design starts with the "bones" you will want a shrub to act as a centerpiece for your design, and what better than the beloved pussy willow? Salix caprea has pink catkins, but may grow as high as 20'. which may well overwhelm the rest of the garden; the native American pussy willow (S. discolor) will probably not top 10 feet, and the rose gold pussywillow (S. gracilistyla) with its rose catkins with golden stamens may stop at 6'. Since willows prefer a moist soil, whereas the other cat plants discussed here prefer theirs well drained, you may simply want to plant this as a feline background.
Salix caprea :
The name: The name Nepeta is believed to have come from the town of Nepete in Italy. Cataria is thought to have come from the Latin word for cat. :statisfie
Catnip is also known by the following names: Cataria, Catmint, Catnep, Catrup, Cat's Heal All, Cat's-play, Cat's Wort, Catswort, Catwort, Chi Hsueh Tsao, Field Balm, Garden Nep, Herba Cataria, Herba Catti, Nebada, Nep.
Constituents: include Acetic Acid, Alpha & beta-nepetalactone, Citral, Nepetalactone, Geraniol, Dipentene, Citronellol, Nerol, Butyric Acid, Valeric Acid and Tannins.
The plant: A hardy, upright, perennial herb with sturdy stems bearing hairy, heart-shaped, grayish-green leaves. The flowers are white or lilac, 0.25 inch long, and occur in several clusters toward the tips of the branches. Native of Europe&Asia, naturalized in North America.
Cultivation and Propagation: It is easily cultivated in any garden soil, with little care, as the plant does not require the moisture that most mint plants need. Plants should be grown from seed sown where they are going to stand. Bruised or recently transplanted plants are likely to be eaten by cats unless protected. The seed should be sown very thinly in rows 20 inches apart and the seedlings thinned out to 20 inches apart in the rows. It requires almost no care except occasional weeding. A bed will last several years. It can also be propagated by division of the roots in spring.
Harvesting: The herb is harvested just before flowering in middle to late summer on a dry sunny day and in late morning when all dew is gone. Drying should be done carefully. The leaves are stripped from the stems and dried as quickly as possible with good ventilation out of direct sunlight, or in an oven at 150 degrees Fahrenheit to avoid losing much volatile oil.
Human therapy: Taken as a hot infusion, Catnip promotes sweating and is beneficial for colds, flus, fevers, and infectious childhood diseases. It is soothing to the nervous system and calming to the stomach. It aids with flatulence, diarrhea, and colic. It is sometimes used as an enema to cleanse and heal the lower bowel (use in diluted form).
Catnip can also be used for cuts, studies show it has a natural healing quality. Crush fresh catnip leaves, damp them & apply to your cut. **
Some other medicinal uses for catnip are: Anaesthetic, antibiotic, anti rheumatic, antispasmodic, astringent, carminative, diuretic, muscular aches and pains, rheumatism, chills, cold in the joints, haemorrhoids, toothache.
K’Eogh, in his “Irish Herbal” (1735) wrote of catnip, “It provokes urination and menstruation: it expels the stillborn child; it opens obstructions of the lungs and the womb, and is good for internal bruises and shortness of breath. Drunk with salt and honey, it expels worms from the body.” ***
Pregnant women should avoid catnip.
Effects on cats :Catnip, a member of the mint family, is a harmless "high" for felines. Although many cats will eat it, scientists say they're reacting to the smell rather than the taste. Felines bite, chew, rub against, and roll in catnip to release the volatile oil trapped in the leaves. Catnip is harvested when this essential oil production reaches its peak, and leaves and fragrant flowers are carefully air-dried to preserve essential oils at their best.
[*]About 80% of adult cats -- including lions, pumas, and leopards! -- react to this irresistible, intoxicating, analgesic soporific. The tendency to like or ignore catnip is inherited, and it's true that some cats are immune to its influence. Given to the right cat, catnip can cause an amazing reaction! The cat will rub it, roll over it, kick at it, and generally go nuts for several minutes. Then the cat will lose interest and walk away. Two hours later, the cat may come back and have exactly the same response.
Because there really isn't any scent that causes this sort of reaction in humans, catnip is hard for us to understand. However, it is not an uncommon behavior in animals that rely heavily on their noses.
Although no one knows exactly what happens in the cat's brain, it is known that the chemical nepetalactone in catnip is the thing that triggers the response. Apparently, it somehow kicks off a stereotypical pattern in cats that are sensitive to the chemical. The catnip reaction is inherited, and some cats are totally unaffected by it.
The reaction to catnip only lasts a few minutes. Then the cat acclimates to it, and it can take an hour or two away from catnip for the cat to "reset." Then, the same reaction can occur again. Very young kittens and older cats seem less likely to have a reaction to catnip.
[*]One interesting fact is that when sniffed, catnip will stimulate kitty, however when eaten it will act as a sedative.
[*]
Nepetalactone: Nepetalactone causes a hallucinogenic effect. Some say the effects are similar to LSD, others say similar to marijuana. Because cats roll on the floor, which mimics a female in estrus, it has been suggested that catnip acts as an aphrodisiac, but this is unlikely as males react in just the same way. What is likely is the cat is reacting to similar "feel good" pheromones released during sexual courtship/activity. However, non sexual behaviour including playing, chasing & hunting can also be observed. The response to catnip is via the olfactory system. Even cats who can't smell will can still respond to catnip.
Am sure Jo deeei will like it 
mg: 
