Catnip?

[Phil Conners]

Catnip - does it exist in Thailand? What's it called in Thai?

[DJ Pat]

You can buy catnip at a pet shop on Phetburi Road opposite Charn Isarra II building at the Ekkamai intersection..just by Khlong Tan Railway station.

[Phil Conners]

Thanks Pat. I'm never in BKK though ... Would pet shops know it as catnip or is there a Thai word for it?

[DJ Pat]

They seemed to understand catnip but "maew-gan-cha" will suffice...

[Phil Conners]

maew-ganja ... hehe, why not. Thanks.

[meadish_sweetball]

maew-ganja ... hehe, why not. Thanks.

The plant is of European origin and does not grow in the wild in Thailand. Thus there is no native Thai name for it. The most reliable dictionary I own instead provides a short explanation of how the plant looks and what it does to cats.

"ton maai dawk see khaaw mee glin chun tee maeow chawp"

tree/plant flower colour white have scent strong/pungent which cat like

A plant with white flowers and a strong scent liked by cats.

Also, "maeow kanchaa" means "ganja cat", not "cat ganja". Thai places adjectives and descripton words after the noun, not before like in English.

hence:

kanchaa maeow = cat ganja

Do use "catnip" and by using charades and vivid gestures, try to explain how the cat behaves when it gets a whiff of it. That should be descriptive enough, and good entertainment for the pet shop staff as well.

[Phil Conners]

[DJ Pat]

Cats go crazy for an hour then collapse, fall asleep and wake up and do it all over again.

For a laugh, give it to a really old cat the doesn't play much any more!

[Phil Conners]

Found it in my local petshop actually. Seemed it had been on the shelf for some time but it still smelt right - at least to me.

I read somewhere that it's 50/50 whether cats are affected by it or not. One of our cats didn't show any interest at all - still waiting for the other to come home to see if he likes it.

[meadish_sweetball]

Found it in my local petshop actually. Seemed it had been on the shelf for some time but it still smelt right - at least to me.

I read somewhere that it's 50/50 whether cats are affected by it or not. One of our cats didn't show any interest at all - still waiting for the other to come home to see if he likes it.

Otherwise you can always throw it to the pumas in Dusit Zoo.

[Boon Mee]

Cats go crazy for an hour then collapse, fall asleep and wake up and do it all over again.

For a laugh, give it to a really old cat the doesn't play much any more!

Do they get the "munchies" too?

[DJ Pat]

They do eat afterwards but that could be because they have expended so much energy by running around like blue arse flies!