Now is the time of year to get Peppermint Extract. Yes, Peppermint extract. Why? What if your cat needs to go to the veterinarian? What if your cat gets into a fight or eats too much turkey? What about that kitty breath? Nerves?
Catnip is in the same plant family as Peppermint, so this makes a lot of sense.
I'm finding all kinds of uses for Peppermint extract in my emails. If you need to bathe your cat for some reason, instead of getting your felines wet at this colder time of year, why not rub a little Peppermint extract on them? It eliminates the offending odor and works much better than vanilla or other, milder extracts you might already have in your kitchen. It helps settle human tummies and freshens breath. It seems to soothe kitty's nerves a little bit and help them find sleep.
Indicators: If you have a cat that had to go to the veterinarian, comes home and is the target (or makes another cat the target) of hostilities.
Your cats get involved with a passing kitty and end up fighting between themselves.
You get a new cat for Christmas - wipe them all down to mask the new kittie's smell.
So, get to the grocery store, go down the baking aisle and get a bottle or two of Peppermint extract. Keep it on hand year 'round.