Sam is a drug addict. Yes, it is hard to admit but our 10-year-old kitty cat is addicted to catnip. Okay, so it's not a "human" drug but based on her reaction to it, catnip is definitely a feline drug. We have always kept her catnip in a sealed, plastic container, first in the bathroom cabinet then in a kitchen cupboard. After giving her some once or twice a week for the past year, she finally finished it; so on the weekend while we were at Kempenfest, we bought her some more.

Sam's new catnip is "organic" and when I told the vendor I didn't need a bag because it would go in my purse she cautioned me. It seems the stuff is so potent that often a catnip enthusiast will destroy the container to get at it but I assured her that our cat was more civilized than that. I carry all kinds of things in my purse, (really more like a knapsack) including my camera and replacement batteries as well as the usual important "purse stuff" that my fellow purse carriers have in theirs (like lipstick, a wallet, pens, business cards, a paper clip, etc.).

By the time we went home, I had removed my camera and when we entered the motorhome we were greeted with Sam's usual exuberance. I set my camera and my purse on the chair inside the door and within minutes Sam was furiously rubbing her nose along the camera strap. It was pretty evident that even though the catnip was in a plastic Ziploc bag, the aroma had rubbed off on to my camera and her sensitive nose had discovered it. I removed the bag of catnip and gave her a pinch, which she savoured and rolled around on until in seconds she completely consumed it. We are storing this latest catnip in the fridge and she is constantly trying to convince us to give her more by almost attaching herself to us. Rick is the usual provider of this treat hence she sticks to him like glue, trying to persuade him in her kitty way to give her some more whenever she can. Here she is first thing in the morning, using her charm!