Catnip - Everything You Need to Know About Catnip!

Catnip is a perennial herb and member of the Mint family Labiatae that  is well known   for it's ability to get cat's high. It is native to Europe & Asia, however has become naturalised in America & Canada after being introduced. There are approximately 250 species of Catnip, and this figure doesn't include hybrid species. Some of the more readily available ones are:

CATS in the WHITE HOUSE

	16th President (1861-1865) Abe LincolnAbe Lincoln was the first President to bring a cat into the White House: When son Tad asked to bring his cat Tabby, Lincoln agreed. Later, on a visit to General Grant's headquarters in the middle of winter, Lincoln found three half-frozen kittens there and took them back to the White House.			19th President (1877-1881) Rutherford B HayesA gift from the American Consul in Bangkok, Siam was the first Siamese cat to reach the United States.  Also had a cat named Piccolomini and a Siamese named Miss Pussy.
	26th President (1901-1909) Theodore Roosevelt His gray, six-toed cat Slippers would fall asleep in a hallway, resulting in the guests at a state banquet detouring around her. The Roosevelts also had a cat named Tom Quartz. Tom Quartz was named after the cat in Roughing It by Mark Twain. [They also had 9 dogs, a garter snake, a pony, pig, badger, rat, guinea pigs, hen, macaw, rooser, and a pony.]			29th President (1923-1929)Calvin Coolidge  Calvin and Grace Coolidge pretty much had a zoo at the White House. Their cats were Smokey, Blackie, Timmy and Tiger. Timmy allowed Coolidge's canary to sleep between his paws. Tiger, a gray-striped stray, traveled around the White House around the President's neck. When Tiger went missing, Coolidge appealed to the people by calling for their help on a radio address.
	28th President (1913-1921) Woodrow Wilson President Wilson had a cat named Puffins.			35th President (1961-1963) John F. Kennedy Daughter Caroline Kennedy's Tom Kitten was removed from office when it was discovered that President Kennedy was allergic.  When Tom Kitten died, it was given an obituary in a Washington newspaper.
	38th President (1974-1977) Gerald FordDaughter Susan had a beautiful Siamese named Shan.			39th President (1977-1981)  Jimmy CarterDaughter Amy Carter owned a Siamese cat with the intriguing name "Misty Malarky Ying Yang" who lived with her in the White House.
	42nd President (1993-2001)Bill Clinton Socks moved to the White House with the Clintons in 1993, and was the first cat to live in the White House since Amy Carter's cat.			43rd President (2001-2009)George W. Bush India "Willie" Bush, a beautiful black cat, had been a beloved member of the Bush family for several years when the family moved into the White House.

Classic Tabby Cat Colors

There are four different types of tabby coats (who knew?), the Mackerel, the spotted, the ticked and the classic, which we will be looking at today. Each of these patterns come in a wide variety of colors and dilutions.

Classic Tabby Cat

The classic pattern has bold, dark lines, swirls and bullseye patterns. Their sides are highly decorated and they generally have thick, dark lines running down the middle of their back.

Characteristics

Although there are different types, there are several characteristics common to all tabbies.

• Eyelid skin is dark & surrounded by light colored fur, creating a dramatic eyeliner effect
• Chin is light colored fur
• Roots of whiskers are dark
• Dark line running from outer corner of eye towards cheek
• Dark colored M on the forehead between the eyes
• Darkest color in pattern on bottom of feet & between toes
• Dark along back of hind legs and tip of tail

Blue Classic Tabby

Bi-Colored Cat Coats

There is a huge variety of different cat colors, so many in fact that we are sure to miss a few here & there. But I wanted to bring you some of the basics, so you’ll know just by looking what color & pattern a cat is.

There are five basic colors, black, red, blue, cream & brown. 

Black & White