What the heck is a "smelly bag"?! It's our name for a small cloth
bag designed to hold valerian tablets.
What the heck is "valerian"?! It's an herb... a very smelly one.
Catnip is great, but only half of all cats are affected by it. Valerian has a
similar calming, yet euphoric affect, but seems to affect a much higher percentage.
As with catnip, only cats 3 months and older will be attracted to the herb.
To get started, you'll need a small cotton bag of roughly 3 inches by 3 inches. A drawstring top is probably best, since you don't want your kitty biting into a hard snap or zipper. If you can't find what you need at the store, instructions for making a bag can be found here.
Next, go to your local drugstore and buy a bottle of valerian tablets (not capsules
or soft gels!). One bottle will last for a very long time, since a tablet,
used judiciously, retains its feline appeal for up to a month.
When you get home, don't open the bottle right away. Take it outside! Your cat may love the smell, but you won't. Put one tablet in the bag and leave it outside for at least 15 minutes. Otherwise, your house will smell like incredibly dirty socks.
Of course, those first few minutes will be your kitty's favorite time to play
with the smelly bag, so the choice is yours. Just be sure to close the bottle
and knot the bag strings before you go back inside. Make sure the bag is secured
tightly. You don't want your cat eating a whole tablet! Thoroughly
wash your hands when finished.
When the smelly bag seems to be losing its powers of attraction, take it and a hammer back outside. Feel for the tablet through the bag's fabric and crush as small a portion of it as you safely can.
Another method is to use the bottom of a bottle in much the same way as you would a mortar and pestle. Don't mash your fingers! Crushing just a bit of the tablet at a time makes it last for quite a while.
You'll probably notice the bag traveling around the house without your help.
After all, kitty wants to keep it close! And there's nothing quite like seeing
a happy cat sleeping with its smelly bag to give you all the reward you need
for having taken the time to make it. It's the purrfect feline gift!
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