# Is catnip safe for rats?



## collisiontheory89 (Apr 16, 2008)

Hey guys, I know there must have been a thread about this on here before, but I've had a look and I can't find it! : I bought these really awesome little tennis balls from the pet store the other day, and they have catnip in them. I looked all over the package at the time I bought them and couldn't see this, it mentions it in tiny font on the price tag . Anway, I looked on google and some people said it has a sedative effect on rats and isn't safe for them? They don't smell at all like catnip, they just have that strong tennis ball smell. Do you think it's safe to give them the toys? ???


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## MadCatter (Aug 12, 2008)

Catnip can have a similar effect (affect?) on many small animals as it does with cats. The reason cat's react to it is because it mimics a sex hormone. It works similarly with other animals (even dogs), but the chance of it doing anything harmful is minimal, if anything at all. They're more likely to build up a tolerance to any effects than be effected negatively by it. 

My girls have ripped through so many catnip filled toys at this point, that if something bad were to happen, it most definitely would have.


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