What's the deal with catnip?!
Question: How is it that there is a basic equivalent to pot that only cats get high off of? Or do other animals too?
Answers: How is it that there is a basic equivalent to pot that only cats get high off of? Or do other animals too?
Catnip" is the common name for a perennial herb of the mint family. It is native to Europe and is an import to the United States and other countries. The catnip plant is now a widespread weed in North America.
Given to the right cat, catnip can cause an amazing reaction! The cat will rub it, roll over it, kick at it, and generally go nuts for several minutes. Then the cat will lose interest and walk away. Two hours later, the cat may come back and have exactly the same response.
Because there really isn't any scent that causes this sort of reaction in humans, catnip is hard for us to understand. However, it is not an uncommon behavior in animals that rely heavily on their noses. For example, there are many scents that will trigger intense hunting behavior in dogs, and other scents will cause dogs to stop in their tracks and roll all over the scent.
Although no one knows exactly what happens in the cat's brain, it is known that the chemical nepetalactone in catnip is the thing that triggers the response. Apparently, it somehow kicks off a stereotypical pattern in cats that are sensitive to the chemical. The catnip reaction is inherited, and some cats are totally unaffected by it. Large cats like tigers can be sensitive to it as well.
The reaction to catnip only lasts a few minutes. Then the cat acclimates to it, and it can take an hour or two away from catnip for the cat to "reset." Then, the same reaction can occur again. Very young kittens and older cats seem less likely to have a reaction to catnip.
i was wonderin this too....do they really get high? i was thinkin bout buyin some but my cat is crazy enuf...!
Nope. It just works on cats. Mine go bat$hit crazy over it and Pugsley doesn't even sniff it twice. (Don't smoke it though - trust me). ?
w-w-w-w-w-what cha talking about man, nah uhh um, not dude there isnt anything when it comes to...um...other animals *panting*
but if you have some extra nip that you dont waaant, then maybe..........
LOL!! My cat hates the stuff! or maybe it's the spray can stuff she doesn't like, I'll have to grow some!
maybe we should smoke it.
i personally think it's a pussie teaser!
Just works on cats. I have one cat who it doesn't affect at all.
Taken as a hot infusion, Catnip promotes sweating and is beneficial for colds, flus, fevers, and infectious childhood diseases. It is soothing to the nervous system and calming to the stomach. It aids with flatulence, diarrhea, and colic. It is sometimes used as an enema to cleanse and heal the lower bowel (use in diluted form). Catnip helps to prevent miscarriage and premature birth as well as allays morning sickness.
Cats including big wild cats are believed to react to the smell and not the taste. of it
because WE are special. purrrrrrr
Ahh! The kitty ganja.
puff puff pass, bro
catnip is a an aphrodisiac (dont think i spelt it right) for cats so it pretty much just makes em horny sort of like choclate and some women...and no i havent see any other animals that get excited from it but i did notice my boxer liked the taste for some reason, he likes stealing the cats toys to munch on.
it's a special little bit of heaven made just for us..
I don't know. I don't think they get "high" like smokin buds, cuz when my cat's high, it's nothing compared to when he's cracked out on catnip!