Catnip Bad For Cats

When cats get a whiff of catnip they behave similarly to female cats in heat erratic movements strange howls and all.

Catnip bad for cats. This out of fur experience is due to the active ingredient in the oil. Other than that there is zero reason to worry if catnip is bad for cats. Catnip belongs to the mint family and if you crush the fresh leaves you can smell the scent. Many cats simply don t have the receptors to be affected by catnip.

About 30 of cats have no observable response to catnip. Catnip nepeta cataria is a perennial herb of the mint family nepetalactone is an essential oil and the main ingredient in the plant that is attractive to cats. Trust your kitty to know when they ve. Be mindful of overindulgence though cats are unlikely to overdose on catnip but they can get sick if they eat too much suggests the human society.

Being affected by catnip is apparently an inherited trait. Cats will react to even very small amounts of catnip so you don t need to use very much. All the aforementioned catnip effects on cats only last a couple of minutes ranging between 10 and 20 minutes. When the cat smells catnip the scent molecules travel to a receptor above the palate in the roof of the mouth known as the vomeronasal organ aka jacob s organ.

Originally from europe and asia minty lemony potent catnip nepeta cataria has long been associated with cats. My cat doesn t seem to be responding to catnip. Ingesting catnip has no effect on a cat it s the nepetalactone vapour that the catnip gives off that your cat reacts to. Offspring the term for an animal s young.

If the catnip is eaten your cat will again show a different personality this time a lot more mellow. The susceptibility of cats to catnip is gene dependent and passed down hereditarily which means not all cats actually respond to the herb. Below we cover exactly what catnip is if it s good for cats and its various effects. Even its latin derived cataria means of a cat and research shows that cats.

This is because catnip acts as a sedative when ingested so your cat may look tired and sleepy. It s also called catmint catsup catwort nip new and field balm and most of these names come from the plant s obvious attraction to cats.