Andy put up a valiant effort today to avoid getting his daily dose of blood pressure medicine. The process began a bit after 3 AM, but took till 6:45 AM to complete: He didn’t want to take his medicine today! No way!

Around 6:30, I tossed out the treats I usually give Andy after he takes his medicine. “Maybe Andy’ll come over for the treats”, I thought. “Then I can nab him.”

Secret weapon? My cats think it stinks.

Have I mentioned Andy has genius level cat intelligence when it comes to escape and evasion skills? No? Well, he does, and he was wary of the treats. I finally caught him when I used my cane to block him into a spot by the front door where his escape routes were cut off.

Captured and medicated, I stroked Andy’s head and rubbed his nose. “What a good boy you are, Andy!” I told him over and over, because he is, then I let him down.

I decided to reward Andy with fresh catnip since the “good boy” treats were already out. I grow catnip in the window by my kitchen sink. I was delighted to see my neglected catnip plant — it’s a weed and doesn’t require much skill to grow — managed to put out flowers!

Dougy tenses up in anticipation of the assault of catnip on his nose…!

I picked a small amount with flowers for Andy. He and Dougy cringed and dropped back when I approached them. Fresh catnip is nauseatingly minty-musk scented and over-powering to me, so I can understand their reaction! Dougy rarely gets close to it, yet Andy likes to eat the leaves once the scent settles down a little.

They both ran away as soon as the catnip stench hit their noses. “So much for cats go crazy with pleasure on catnip,” I thought as I followed Dougy, the easier one to catch most days. “Maybe he can be persuaded to try it.”

“Icky! I don’t want any of that stuff,” Dougy said. Well, he would have were he not a cat!

Dougy tried to avoid the catnip in my hand when I slowly brought it up to his nose. He appeared to be distressed more than amused, so I backed away.

In the meantime, Andy’d climbed on his favorite perch, the top of the blue carrier. I decided I’d photograph him reacting to the catnip, but he ran away from the nasty leaves.

Today is not the day I get Andy and Dougy to react to catnip for your amusement and mine, I decided. I ripped the leaves and blossoms off the stem and tossed them on the floor by the cardboard castle by the utility closet. More likely than not, Andy’ll sample a leaf or two later. Dougy…not so much.