Spent today & most of yesterday @ son's home taking care of grandbaby. Last
time over there DIL gave me a generous stash she cut from a recently planted
low-to-soil multileaved plant that neighber 2 doors over had uprooted from
his backyard; some former tenants there had supposedly planted this and
about 3 others he also gifted her with (he lives elsewhere) and she had
replanted
them all in her swale area recently. She said he had told her the biggest in
diameter was catnip...there have always been cats living @ this particular
house, so it made sense to me and I happily carried the "nip home,
refrigerated most of it, and picked off a few leaves for the Deadly Duo, who
were awake @ my return home. But when I
proudly offered the leaves to both of them, not only did
they show *no* interest, but actually quickly left the area and settled in
another room! I rolled the leaves between my fingers and sniffed them but
ever since we moved here my nose is stuffed up all the time so I couldn't
really tell what they smelled like, (This was 2 days ago).
Today DIL informs me that our female friend the doctor
was over before I got there last night and had noticed the new plantings out
front, inspected them closely, and - being quite the gardener herself -
peered closely @ the
supposed "catnip", broke off a few leaves, tasted them,
and pronounced the plant a thriving low bush of oregano!
We all ROFL @ this news, plus when I told my family of
the cats' reaction to the proffered "treat" - thinly disguised
aversion, at the least.....I had followed them all over the
apt., cajoling and sticking the leaved in front of their faces wherever they
settled down, unable to understand their
disinterest....of course though the years I've had cats who
just don't dig catnip - there are a few - but they at least sniffed @ the
stuff before stalking away from it.
Moral of this tale: never trust those little signs people stick in the dirt
where they've planted something....a cat's nose is more reliable to i.d.
foliage.