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What Can Happen Under the Influence of Nepetalactone


Andrea B.

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And so today one of the resident felines got a little confused after hitting on the 'Nip. While rolling around and biting on some cat toy, she managed to include the power cord of my $80 Magsafe2 power block for the MacBook Retina Pro. Thankfully the fluffy calico did not electro-buzz herself into insensibility with those sharp little teeth when biting through the cord, but it seems the Magsafe2 wasn't so lucky and was found to be DOA at the basement workbench. Shorted out I guess.

 

Sigh.

 

Trudged off to Best Buy to get a new one, but of course they were sold out. So, either I have to brave the consumer madness known in the U.S. as "The Mall at Christmas" where the nearest Apple Store is located. Or I have to order one online and hope it doesn't take days and days to get here because of the Christmas mail order rush.

 

All my photo apps are on that MacPro, so my unfinished Plantago lanceolata post will have to wait a few days 'til I can power up again.

 

And so it goes.

 

******

 

Botany Lesson: Nepeta cataria L. = Catnip. Contains a terpene called nepetalactone which makes cats loopy when they smell it.

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Geez, that's nuts.

Maybe the cord is just cut in half inside? Surprised the cat could short it out and not get shocked. I guess that's why it's called the Magsafe?

 

-D

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We were surprised too that the block got fried but that Kitty Mocha didn't get zapped.

 

The guy at Best Buy seemed to think that this power block isn't well made. That's generally not been my experience with the Apple stuff any more so than any other computer stuff. I do remember the block was really hot when I unplugged it. Could have been that the frayed cord made contact with something metal during the Catnip Madness, but who knows what really happened?

 

Certainly one of the odder electronic disasters I've ever had happen.

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Not so much of a frenzy with ours. More like lots of rolling around & purring, temporarily increased playfulness and then falling asleep. (Not like the basic house cat needs any added incentive to fall asleep.) I've stowed the catnip toys in a Ziplock bag for a while. Probably best not to have the 'Nip toys available 24/7. Besides which the current favored cat toy is a piece of elbow macaroni to bat around the kitchen floor until it goes under the stove.

 

A few years ago I grew a very pretty cat-mint (Nepeta x faassenii) in the herb garden. Looked out the window one morning to see that some neighbor kitty had rolled it flat and was sound asleep in the middle of it.

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