FLICKR, ZEEWEEZ
Catnip is widely known for its ability to get cats high. Give a cat a toy laced with the stuff, and she will start rolling around on the floor and bouncing off the walls—literally. But what is catnip, what does it do to our cats, and why doesn’t it have any effect on dogs?
What is catnip?
It’s as natural as drugs get—catnip is a plant. More specifically, it’s about 250 species of perennial herbs in the mint family.
How does catnip work?
Catnip’s behavior-altering qualities stem from an essential oil called nepetalactone found in the leaves and stem of the plant. Cats inhale the nepetalactone, which essentially acts as an artificial feline pheromone, private veterinarian Ramona Turner wrote in Scientific American. Within the cat’s ...
