{"id":602432,"date":"2024-05-20T10:00:03","date_gmt":"2024-05-20T14:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.catster.com\/?p=602432"},"modified":"2024-05-31T02:14:33","modified_gmt":"2024-05-31T06:14:33","slug":"how-silver-vine-affects-cats-olgas-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.catster.com\/felines-weekly\/how-silver-vine-affects-cats-olgas-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"How Silver Vine Affects Cats: Olga\u2019s Experience With Hallucinogens"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi, I\u2019m Christopher!\u00a0Read my introduction<\/a>\u00a0to learn more about me and my silly Russian Blue cat, Olga.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Indoor cats don\u2019t live very exciting lives when their owners aren\u2019t around to entertain them. They can play with toys and interactive games, tear up the furniture, and nibble on houseplants, but they prefer interacting with their owners to the alternatives. Although I work from home, Olga\u2019s playtime schedule doesn\u2019t always align with mine.<\/p>\n

When I\u2019m finished with work and dinner, she\u2019s usually conked out on the couch and doesn\u2019t want to chase a paper ball or run around the house. I don\u2019t buy new treats or toys<\/a> because I haven\u2019t had much luck in the past, and Olga is an incredibly opinionated feline.<\/p>\n

Catnip\u2019s Effects<\/h2>\n

She likes catnip toys<\/a>, but she gets tired of them quickly. She undoubtedly enjoys the euphoria of catnip, and I\u2019m unsure why, but she prefers to roll around on the kitchen floor rather than the carpet when she\u2019s hallucinating. Perhaps the vinyl comforts her when she sees colorful patterns and fantasizes about flightless birds.<\/p>\n

I haven\u2019t given her catnip in a while, but I did something out of character last week and bought her a bag of silver vine (Actinidia polygama<\/i>) sticks. I was skeptical that they would affect her since she\u2019s a freak of nature<\/a>, and like most cat owners, I believe my cat is stranger than everyone else\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\"I
Why yes, I am strange!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Prepping the Silver Vine<\/h2>\n

The instructions on the silver vine bag said to remove the bark before giving it to your cat, which I thought was odd since every picture on the company\u2019s website had cats chewing on sticks with bark. Removing the bark is supposed to make the silver vine more aromatic and appealing to cats<\/a>, and I think they only kept the bark on because it looked better in the photos.<\/p>\n

Silver vine has a dark brown bark, but the interior is lighter and less photogenic. I peeled the bark off with a potato peeler, and when I dumped it in the trash can, Olga ran over and started sniffing the floor around it. I called her over to the living room and held out the stick. She sniffed it for a few seconds and tried to knock it out of my hand.<\/p>\n

\"Olga
I do enjoy a good mystical journey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Olga\u2019s Mystical Journey<\/h2>\n

When I threw it out in the hallway, she ran to it, and for the next 20 or 30 minutes, she rolled around on the floor, chewed on the stick, and acted like a happy drunk. Unlike catnip, the silver vine kept her glued to the floor. After she stretched out, she didn\u2019t want to get up.<\/p>\n

When I tossed the stick across the room, she scooted toward it by using her front legs as carpet paddles. I\u2019ve never seen a lazy cat move so fast while lying down. Silver vine doesn\u2019t affect all cats, and I was concerned Olga wouldn\u2019t like it, but it turned her into a comical fool and allowed me to make an amusing film:<\/p>\n