What is Catnip, or cat grass? Why do my cats get so hyper after smelling, or eating it?
Friday, September 3rd, 2010 at
7:00 am
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Catnip and cat grass are two different things. Catnip is the leaves, flowers, and stems of the Cat Mint plant. Cat grass is Winter Wheat (although Oat Grass is often called cat grass).
Some cats are affected by catnip and get a hyper buzz like the energy drinks, and others mellow out like pot. And then there are cats that are totally unaffected.
Cats can have either reaction and not all cats respond to catnip in any noticeable way.
Catnip is simple a member of the mint family. Easy to grow (and very invasive as all mints are). Best to do in pots, cetainly not in your flower bed.
its kitty crack
Catnip is actually a weed. It’s more potent when it’s dried.
It effects different cats differently. Some get wired, some get lazy.
Before you even ask: No, it won’t get people high.
Cat grass usually refers to wheat or sometimes barley grass. I keep a growing container around for mine to munch. It’s great for digestion, but doesn’t get them buzzed.
For my cat, catnip makes him hyper and then mellow. I put some in an open cardboard box and watch him go lol. The spray sometimes works like that for him as well. Enjoy!
it’s like kitty crack…..LOL! my cats go nuts over it. they love it! here is the definition……
A hairy aromatic perennial herb (Nepeta cataria) in the mint family, native to Eurasia and containing an aromatic oil to which cats are strongly attracted.
Catnip is the common name for a perennial herb of the mint family. It is native to Europe and is an import to the United States and other countries. The catnip plant is now a widespread weed in North America. Given to the right cat, catnip can cause an amazing reaction! The cat will rub it, roll over it, kick at it, and generally go nuts for several minutes. Then the cat will lose interest and walk away. Two hours later, the cat may come back and have exactly the same response. Because there really isn’t any scent that causes this sort of reaction in humans, catnip is hard for us to understand. However, it is not an uncommon behavior in animals that rely heavily on their noses. For example, there are many scents that will trigger intense hunting behavior in dogs, and other scents will cause dogs to stop in their tracks and roll all over the scent. Although no one knows exactly what happens in the cat’s brain, it is known that the chemical nepetalactone in catnip is the thing that triggers the response. Apparently, it somehow kicks off a stereotypical pattern in cats that are sensitive to the chemical. It’s almost identical to the essence excreted by female cats, which is why tom cats seem to love catnip the most. However, this doesn’t explain why females love it as well.
Catnip was once thought to be an aphrodisiac, but scientist tests have squelched that theory. Cats aren’t attached to it until they are at least two months old. If introduced to catnip prior to this age, most cats will not respond to it at all when they are older. The herb valerian will give cats the same sense of ecstasy as catnip. Valerian is a mild stimulant and, though it doesn’t do any harm, it shouldn’t be offered to cats with kidney ailments. By the way, both catnip and valerian produce ecstasy through the odor, not the taste. The catnip reaction is inherited, and some cats are totally unaffected by it. Large cats like tigers can be sensitive to it as well. Very young kittens and older cats seem less likely to have a reaction to catnip.