Catnip

Catnip - or Nepeta - holds a magical fascination for cats. It temporarily induces an euphoric sensation in a cat - indeed if catnip affected humans, it would probably be illegal!

• Not all cats are equally affected by catnip. Only about 2 in every 3 cats will be interested. Your cat will more likely be interested if its mother or father was interested in catnip - the addiction is hereditary!

• A catnip ‘high’ will only last about 10 minutes. A cat’s nasal passages will get ‘full’, and require a good two hours to reset - where it will be ready to hit the catnip once again!

• Don’t be disturbed if your cat salivates uncontrollably whilst around catnip! This is a natural response - along with - but not limited to - pawing, rolling, chewing, licking, purring, leaping, and generally going loco.

• Australian cats are less likely to like catnip! This is because of the small amount of cats that form all Australian cat breeds. Those who do like it just have more to themselves!

• If you don’t have access to catnip, try valarian. It has many of the same features of Nepeta, and is also widely found in herbal sleeping medications and the like (note, too much valarian may be harmful to cat - and human - livers)

• Cats aren’t affected by the catnip in its natural state. It takes the oils of the plant to be released to get the cat’s interest running. If a leaf or a stem of Nepeta is bruised or crushed, it will release the active ingredients.

Does your cat go crazy for catnip? What does it do? And have you found any great catnip products?