Health and diet

Catnip: Why are cats mad about it?

While Catnip is a herb with medicinal effect for people, it has different and much stronger effects on cats. Why does this undemanding perennial plant have an intoxicating effect on cats?  

Catnip is nicknamed cat drug or cat cocaine and it has every right to be called so. When some cats come into contact with it, they roll on floor, salivate uncontrollably, basically look like drugged.

Catnip produces chemicals cat strongly react to. A substance causing cat intoxication is called nepetalactone which is a type of a chemical substance called terpene. This little molecule stands behind a whole series of events.

In other plants, terpenes are formed with one enzyme but in catnip, two enzymes created in a two-level process create them. The two-level process have never been observed earlier and scientist assume that something similar is present in the synthesis of anticancer drugs obtained from a tropical plant called Madagascar Periwinkle. Besides this finding, the study also identified three new enzymes with unusual activity.

Only about a half of cats react to catnip and the predisposition for that is hereditary. Another curiosity is the fact that kittens are immune to the drug-like effect of catnip to the age of approximately 8 weeks. The individuals that are sensitive to this plant seek it, shred it, eat it and roll around in it. You can notice a change of their behaviour – they can shake or turn their head, roll around on floor, sneeze, spin around and meow, lick themselves or salivate. The effect of nepetalactone lasts for approximately 10 minutes, then its influence on the cat dampens until it completely subsides.

Also valerine has similar effect on cats as catnip. If your cat doesn’t mind catnip, you can also try that or silver vine. What works for your cat? Mine is attracted to both catnip and silver vine, I haven’t tried valerine yet.

 

Related articles

Care and raising

First heat

If you’ve got a little female puppy at home, first heat might catch you off guard, so it’s not a bad idea to make some preparations ahead.

Interesting information

Dogs at work

Domestic dog is the oldest domesticated animal and it has provided accompaniment to humans for 14 thousand years at the minimum. During this time, it underwent numerous changes and a long development. All the dog breeds of today are a result of human...

Interesting information

Dogs and horses

I am not much of a horse person, but from time to time, I like to go horse riding. Usually, I leave my fuzzy friends at home. The presence of horses upsets them. When I was getting my dog fellows, I didn’t think about the fact that not all the breeds...

Interesting information

Why do dogs dig?

If you take pride in your nicely groomed garden and your dog belongs to the category of the so-called diggers, it probably doesn’t make you very happy. However, frantic digging in earth doesn’t please not even us, who wink at a few holes in the grass....

Care and raising

How to train calling with a whistle?

Calling a dog is without any doubt one of the most important commands that the dog should reliably master at any situation. Most often, we call the dog using the command “come”, but we can also emphasise it with a whistle. It pays off mainly in...

Interesting information

Five myths about dogs

I have always thought, that I know my four-legged fellows to their last hair, but there’s always something that manages to surprise me and there’s always a lot to learn from them. Some of the myths are so deep-rooted, that one doesn’t even fall upon...

Výchova a péče

How do the dogs and cats hear?

Simply put: much better, than us, humans. And cats even hear much better than dogs. But from experience, I can say, that it also depends on what and whom they want to listen to. How is it with dogs?

Care and raising

How to unteach your dog to beg?

Does your dog beg for food at the table? Do they beg even from strangers when you’re at a restaurant? Then you should know, that you are one-hundredth percent guilty of this yourself. If a dog learns to beg for human food, it is an educational mistake....

Care and raising

Dog Puzzles

When the weather is lovely rather for ducks than dogs for a longer period of time and long walks don’t come into question, my fluffy friends are getting get bored at home and start with their shenanigans. I always try to think of a home activity to...