Lovecraft’s secret for attracting the kitties on his many walks… “I always have a supply of catnip on hand” (from a letter by Lovecraft, given on p.54 of Fritz Leiber and H.P. Lovecraft: Writers of the Dark, Wildside Press, 2005).

‘When cats smell catnip they exhibit several behaviors common to queens in season (females in heat): They may rub their heads and body on the herb or jump, roll around, vocalize and salivate. This response lasts for about 10 minutes, after which the cat becomes temporarily immune to catnip’s effects for roughly 30 minutes. […] Response to catnip is hereditary; [only] about 70 to 80 percent of cats exhibit this behavior in the plant’s presence. […] Catnip is considered to be nonaddictive and completely harmless to cats.’ — Scientific American, 10th June 2009.