My Cat is an Addict!

[Danustouch]

Okay..my cat has an addiction, and I'm desperately trying to figure out "what to". I know that didn't make sense, so....I'll clarify.

It started, with Campho-Phenique. The type you use on mosquito bites, in the summer. Every time I would put the campho phenique on my mosquito bites this summer, my cat would walk up to me, and start acting like it was PURE CATNIP!. She'd roll over, start licking my hand, refused to be "pushed away"...it was bizzarre. We had to stop using it, because she wouldn't stop trying to ingest it, and we didn't want her to get sick.

Then, It was Halls Mentho-lyptus cough drops. Our friend came over one day, and had them in his pocket. She climbed up into his lap, and started pawing his jacket, and sticking her face in it. He drew out the coughdrops, and she spent half the rest of the night, trying to get them from his hand, or worse, out of his mouth! (well not really, but she certainly sniffed his mouth alot).

These two were at least mildy explainable. I mean...campho phenique, and mentholyptus smell similar.

But then..it progressed, and got even wierder. I have to guard my hair around her when it's just been washed, because ever since I started using "VO5-Jasmine Tease" (this last week, since we were tight on cash) She's started EATING MY HAIR. I looked on the ingredients list, and couldn't find similar ingredients to the other two things.

And then..tonight, was the icing on the cake. Here I am, fresh from my bubble bath, lying in bed, inhaling the scent of "Suripened Raspberries" bubble bath from the Bath and Body Works, when my Kitten comes up apparently getting ready to settle in beside me, as she does every night. Instead of doing so however, she starts sniffing my shoulder..."Hey..that tickles. Quit it !". I say. But..she doesn't. Mind you, my arm is over my head, so she had easy access to...MY ARMPIT. Yes..you got it folks, She started LICKING my armpit! I didn't put on deodorant before bed tonight..so it wasn't deodorant..it HAD to have been my bath bubbles that she was attracted to. Needless to say, it totally skeeved me out. So I threw on a sweat shirt, which I hate to do, because I hate being hot in bed.

So..now I'm trying to figure out...just what chemichal, or herb, or extract makes her behave like such a little addict. So I can NOT buy things containing it in the future. Anyone have ANY idea's?

[Phoenix Blue]

It doesn't sound like she's reacting to any scent in particular. . . she's just grooming you. :)

[Semele]

lol...yup, she just likes to groom you. Our old guy Ozzy has a strange affinity for ear wax...he tries to clean everyones ears and he evn goes after the q-tips in the trash. Cats can be very strange indeed!!

[Mithrea]

Sorry guys, while I'm sure she does love Danus, she isn't just grooming.

The camphor and the eucalyptus are also chemicals that cats react to just like catnip. There are lots of plants in the same family that cats will react to just the same way. My cat does this too. The funniest is when she gets right up in my face and squints and starts rubbing my chin over a silly cough drop. I'm sure Yvonne or Wildchild can give you the specifics on the botany but this is totally normal. Since the ingredients that cause it vary, the best thing to do is just trial and error, when she responds to a product in that way avoid that specific product. I'd bet there is something on the list of that bubble bath that's in the mint family. If you could, could you post the list--or is it too long?

I don't avoid them though. It doesn't hurt her and it's fun for me to watch her go wild.

[CelestLily]

Welp,
i personally like the smell of campho phenique.. it also reminds me of when my friends literally got hooked on vicks vapo rub. i know that carmex is addictive.. mayb your kitty likes the aromatherapy reaction she gets from the smells? eucalyptus is a soothing agent but also refreshing so mayb she could be trying to tell you something or just needs refreshing? no idea hope this helps.

[Danustouch]

Yes, I thought it was more than the grooming too. Especially since she ALSO went nuts over our guests coughdrops..whom she had nevermet until that night. She wouldn't try to "groom" him ;)

Mith..the only additive I could think of that is found in BOTH my shampoo, and my bubble bath, is cocamidopropyl betaine (which I have no clue as to what THAT is...)

The list of these ingredients is wayyyyyyyyy too complicated to type out. Bath and Bodyworks does the whole sodium glucanatemethoprobylactinstearateglycol thing. lol. The only recognizeable ones, were raspberry fragrance, cocoa, and Papaya extract.

The Shampoo, has that same cocamidopropyl betaine, and Sandalwood, Jasmine, Tea Tree, and a bunch of other things I can't write because I can hardly even freakin' read em. lol.

I thought Tea Tree or Sandlewood, being pungeant scents might be doing it in the shampoo. But..that doesn't explain the bubble bath. And bath and body works doesn't tell you what's in their perfume :( so that wouldn't be any help.

Mith, I knew she was acting like she does with Catnip. Not simple grooming. I mean..she goes NUTS over the campho phenique! I got some on my sweater, and left the sweater on my bed one day, walked in to find that she'd bitten a hole right through the spot where the campho phenique had been spilled..from licking, gnawing, and chewing on it!

I just don't want her ingesting things that could possibly be harmful to her...
that is why I really want to know exactly what the element is. I worried when she was going nuts over the campho phenique..that stuff can't be healthy for her.

[Blueowl]

My babies go nuts over the strings that hang from the blinds...and cat nip, and it has to be fresh catnip too, no old stuff...It isn''t good for her at all Danustouch, but,if she is just licking it off you and not like attacking and ingesting the whole bottle...it won't hurt her too much...lol but I would swithc brands to something else!

[Mithrea]

Okay, in the shampoo, it's the Tea Tree Oil. That's another one they go for. Is it possible you had some of that in your armpit and it wasn't the raspberry bubblebath? I'm not sure about that. Really, my cat licked a half of a tube of flexall 454 from my knee one night while I was alseep and it didn't hurt her one bit. I think she'll be okay . . . your hair and your sweater are another story ;)

[Danustouch]

Thanks Mithrea :)

The only thing I used in my bath was the Bubble Bath, and Lever 2000 soap. She's never reacted to that soap before, so I assumed it must be the bubble bath. As I said, I don't use deodorant right before I go to bed (I hug my pillow. Don't want white smudges on my pillow) So it can't be that. I will just have to start sleeping with a shirt on after my baths..because waking up to your cat licking your armpit is NOT a pleasant feeling. lol. When I read the ingredients on the shampoo, and saw the teatree oil, i thought that must be the thing she was reacting to as well. The pungeant smell of teatree oil is probably similar to that of eucalyptus or camphor.

Come to think of it, I used to use Eucalyptus Oil in my bath when I was sick with a cold once in a while, hoping the aroma therapy would help. And I remember that she used to try to "drink" the bath water at those times (She usually perches on the side of the tub while I bathe).

I guess your right that these things can't really harm her, as they are in such small amounts. I just always flash back to studying environmental chemistry, and hearing about how they test cosmetics on animals....shiver.... Head and Shoulders shampoo for instance, because of the zinc, in large amounts, can kill a rabbit...(shiver).

When I'm tight on money, I can't make sure that the products I buy are all natural and not animal tested, etc..so it just freaks me out a bit.

Thanks.

[Thistle]

Eucalyptus oil, Ben Gay, Campho Phenique, Vicks all make my kitties react like they would with catnip. They lick, gnaw, chew, purr, roll around and wipe their faces on it. I don't let them eat it or anything, but they're 11 and 13, so it can't have harmed them too much. (Unless you count their sanity.)

Speaking of wierd addictions, I had a cat once who had the same reaction from licking ceramics. I thought he was a freak until I heard about another cat who did the same. Never did figure that one out.

Fur people just have their own ideas about things, I guess. :)

[~ Monk ~]

One of my cats has an odd habit of chewing on my TV/DVD remotes. Nothing else, just remotes. He'll only do it when I have one in my hand, and he bites very gently, almost as if he's tasting it.

Weirdness knows no special (as in species) boundary I guess...

[materra]

All I can say is: Whatever you guys do....don't get anything with Valarian in it. I had some in my purse and had cats follow me everywhere and house cats go bonkers. They just love it. Amazing stuff.

[Faolan]

This is probably a little off subject but with our cats we used to buy the mice that had those long retangularish tails, the really soft ones you know? And my cats would eat the tail off the mouse O-o now we get ones with feathers and it's not such a big deal.

Even more off subject, my cat plays fetch O-O he brings the mouse and drops it next to me and claws at my leg until I pay attention, or drops the mouse on the keyboard :P so I'll throw it and he brings it right back.. could that for hours with him.

[WynterWynd]

I have a cat that does the creamic thing:rolleyes: I also thought this was bizzare, but figured, it makes him happy so I let him do it. I have another cat that HAS to leg my legs when I come out of the shower!!:eek:

[MzNeko]

Oddly enough, one of our cats occasionally likes to lick my husband's armpit. In her case we think she was taken away from her mother too soon, because it seemed like she was trying to nurse when she first started. (she was a stray - when we found her, her eyes hadn't even changed color yet...)

Anyway, he actually stopped wearing deodorant for her sake! Good thing he has a non-sweaty job and showers every day! She has got him soooo wrapped around her paw... :D

She's tried to do it with me once or twice, but I won't let her because I won't stop wearing deodorant and I don't want to poison her.

[CelestLily]

humm the ceramic thing.. mayb they like how it feels against their ruff tongues or mayb it makes a cool feeling. or mayb when the ceramic gets wet it gives off an earthy smell. look at weird things us humans do... some chew on straws. i bet many an animal has looked at us in wonder.. but then they just go about their business. lol
(back onto the first sub for a sec) could it have any thing to do with the scent glands near there necks? mayb it s just like a perfume for them and mayb they are just more in tuned to the smell?

[Matt]

my dog before she died:( loved cheese even the rattle of a the wrapper or the click on the container would send her running even from the basement

[Danustouch]

The cat we had growing up, would completely ignore seafood, chicken, steak or any other type of meat..EXCEPT for my mothers meatloaf. This would drive him nearly insane! We had to put him in the basement while we were eating dinner, because he wouldn't stay off the table. Our entire dinner experience whenever my mom cooked meatloaf, was interrupted constantly by crying, and scratching at the door by this cat. He actually began to wear a hole through the cellar door, because my mom made meatloaf almost once a week ;) And then leftovers!

[WynterWynd]

one of our cats only has to hear the rattling of aluminum, and he comes running!!:lol: