Today I found a grotty catnip mouse under a cupboard in my breakfast room. Boring, old, catnip mouse from several months ago (I'm not the most fastidious housekeeper). It smelt dusty & uninteresting.
Neither cat was interested, when I showed it to them. One went off to bat an almond (in its shell - a Christmas relic) round the room. The other just sat & looked at me like I was an idiot
I suddenly thought lavender-wheatbag-microwave-catnip-mouse-why-not? & zapped the mouse for 5 seconds (that was long enough - didn't want the feather tail igniting)
I, with my crap sense of smell, could smell the difference immediately much (more catnippy - it wasn't a burning smell at all) & the mouse is now "interesting to cats" & the nutty (sic) cat is drooling over it with a daft expression on her face 