Do they get addicted to it? About 30 p… So is it technically a high for the cat? Catnip (Nepeta cataria) and silver vine (Actinidia polygama) both contain chemical compounds called iridoids that protect the plants against aphids and … What this means is that, just like people (in general) can't help but be aroused by particular visual signals, such as porn, cat's can't help but feel major emotional and behavioral changes to things that they smell. All it takes is one sniff of catnip to bring out strong feelings in cats. By using our Services or clicking I agree, you agree to our use of cookies. "The cat is essentially reacting to an artificial cat pheromone that resembles the urine scent of an in-heat female." Bear in mind that cats have a much more sensitive sense of smell than humans. Furthermore, regular use of catnip can reduce its effectiveness, as cats appear to develop a tolerance for the substance. There is, however, one major difference. Why do cats love Nepetalactol? Nepetalactone, which is the active chemical compound of catnip, enters through the nose and binds to receptors on olfactory epithelium (fancy name for smelling tissue in the nose). Amongst cat lovers it’s a well-known fact that Catnip (Nepeta cataria) is the thing cats love above all else, tuna aside that is. It is thought that nepetalactone mimics a cat pheromone, possibly feline facial pheromone or MMB (in cat urine). Over time evolution made sure that they kept doing it by rewarding the cats that figured this out by getting them high. Funny shit. If a cat were to encounter catnip in the wild, it would be in the form of leafy greens growing on plants, not concentrated. Looks like you're using new Reddit on an old browser. Consumption effects: drooling, sleepiness, randomly leaping about, and purring. this is why we post to reddit! Or is it more like a really strong pheromone that gives a reaction for the cat like some kind of reflex? In addition, catnip does not affect kittens until they are about six months old and begin to reach sexual maturity. Catnip has no effect on sexually immature cats. It literally means that chemicals they smell have more causal efficacy (effect) in their brains than for humans. Catnip is a trip, there’s no doubt about it, but not every cat is sensitive to it. Interestingly enough, it is even hereditary whether a cat will react to the chemical or not. Behavioral effects: rubbing against the plant, pawing, licking, and chewing the plant. The science behind it … To put it simply, it triggers a chemical reaction in the brain — much like psychoactive drugs do for humans — and makes them act really weird, which can be pretty fun for the cat and the owner. Response to catnip is hereditary; about 70 to 80 percent of cats exhibit this behavior in the plant's presence. The potency of your homegrown catnip will depend on the climate and … The concentrated forms are different from its availability in nature. Ask a science question, get a science answer. Catnip does this to a cat: The smell triggers the rubbing, purring, or rolling. It is thought that nepetalactone mimics a cat pheromone, possibly feline facial pheromone or MMB (in cat urine). http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=experts-how-does-catnip-work-on-cats. In fact when you mention catnip most people associate it with cats and not with the fact that for humans it can make a soothing tea for the nerves, and has antispasmodic, astringent, carminative, diaphoretic, nervine, sedative, stimulant, stomachic and … Researchers in this study isolated those magic catnip compounds, nepetalactone and nepetalactol, and measured cats’ biological responses to them. The answer is yes, the herb will also have an effect on you if you consume it in the right way. It's the sniffing that produces the cat reaction. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Followup question: Is it possible for a cat to become ill as a result of the ingestion of overdose quantities of catnip? Response to catnip is hereditary; about 70 to 80 percent of cats exhibit this behavior in the plant's presence. Cats are receptive to a volatile oil (an oil that evaporates in the air) found in the stems and leaves of the catnip herb. What exactly is Catnip and why do some cats love it and others have no reaction? We like to joke that catnip is like drugs for cats — but it turns out there’s definitely some psychotropic science going on when your feline gets into the catnip zone. To do: bring catnip to zoo, toss into lion cage. Any sexually mature cat, including big cats react to it, usually by males acting dumb and horny, and by females becoming energetic or even aggressive. The team found that cats have evolved to love catnip as it may protect them from mosquitos and possibly other parasites. Why Cats Like Cat Nip A cat liking catnip is an inherited trait, which is why some cats love it and some don’t. Does this binding of the tissue harm them in any way? Superficially, a cat's response to catnip looks similar to a narcotic drug response in people. In particular, cats use chemical signals to incite a wide variety of behaviors associated with everything from mating, to hunting, to territory marking. EDIT: additional facts, about 80% of cats react to catnip, and susceptibility to catnip is hereditary. Don't Panic! One time, I gave my cat catnip but I didn't know only ⅔ of cats react to it. Researched it for my VTA class. Why do we find these creatures so irresistible? The proclivity doesn’t become apparent until a kitten is three to six months old. The brain picks up this simulation and can send your cat off to … TL;DR : Catnip, literally, makes them horny - by triggering receptors in their noses already wired to cause behavioral changes in response to smells. Proven by scientists. If you're like me, you adore cats. "They become playful and get agitated, they get excited, and then they go to sleep. When you see cats pull their lips up they're often performing a flehman response that creates a vacuum in the channel leading to the VNO, which acts to draw the odorant into the accessory sensory organ. The plant is believed to mimic feel-good pheromones and stimulate the olfactory receptors of cats when it enters their nasal tissue. Specifically, a chemical called nepetalactone causes this reaction and it only works in about half of all cats. after which the cat becomes temporarily immune to catnip's effects for roughly 30 minutes. The catnip response is inherited, and some 30 to 50 percent of cats lack the gene that lets them turn on and tune out.

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