It has long been noticed that cats love valerian and catnip, which act like a drug on them. Cats may behave differently after sniffing catnip, but this behavior is most likely unusual. How does catnip affect cats?
The plant Nepeta cataria, popularly called catnip, contains a substance called nepetalactone that attracts felines. Kittens no older than two months are, however, indifferent to this plant.
Cats tend to sniff catnip leaves, lick or chew them, and then behave in strange ways. Moreover, this behavior can be different: some cats rub their muzzles against the plant, others stand with their eyes fixed at one point and shake their heads, others roll back and forth on the floor. This behavior lasts an average of 5-15 minutes. Repeated sniffing of catnip for an hour does not produce a similar reaction.
Nepetalactone is a distant, but still a relative of hallucinogens, including marijuana. Therefore, it is likely that a cat that sniffs catnip will experience a state of euphoria similar to that experienced by people who are intoxicated. There is another consideration in this regard: perhaps this substance is similar in composition to one of the chemicals present in the urine of males, from which females who inhale it roll on the floor like during estrus. In this case, nepetalactone should be a really strong stimulant that even affects males.
It may also be that cats, inhaling the smell of catnip, get pleasure by increasing the sensitivity of the scalp, because some members of the cat family rub their heads against the plant itself and the ground.
