Silvervine discovery station for cats: how to play

You'll need

• silver vine powder from dried fruit galls
• a clean floor mat, or a clean cotton sock

Set up

Pick a floor spot where your cat can walk up to the station or walk away from it freely. Put down a clean mat, or have a clean cotton sock ready. Keep the silver vine itself out of sight until you set it out.

How to play

1. 1

   Offer the silver vine one of two ways, as the study did: spread it loosely on the clean mat, or put it inside the clean sock.

2. 2

   Step back and let your cat approach. A cat that responds will sniff the material, then rub its face and head against it and roll on the ground.

3. 3

   Let your cat finish. Rubbing and rolling is the characteristic response, and rubbing moves nepetalactol, the compound in silver vine, onto the cat's face and head.

4. 4

   If your cat shows no interest, pack the station away. Cats that do not respond to catnip often respond to another plant material, so you can try a different one next time.

5. 5

   Offer the plant material more than once. In the study, each cat was offered all four plant materials and a control, multiple times, before the results were scored.

House rules

• Offer silver vine the way the study did: loosely on a clean surface, or inside a clean sock.
• Offer it more than once before you decide your cat does not respond.
• Let your cat choose. Some cats respond to none of the plant materials, and that is normal.

Make it easier

Use a clean sock with the silver vine inside, so the material sits in one small, easy-to-reach place instead of spreading across the mat.

Make it harder

Offer a different plant material in a separate session with its own clean mat, and compare how strongly your cat responds to each one.