What Does Catnip Do To Kittens

Usually when a cat finds catnip tends to smell it it rubs with the plant and finally eats it.

What does catnip do to kittens. Generally all its effect resides in the nepetalactone an oil that contains the plant and that in the cats generates great happiness and pleasure. Even though catnip makes him act a little crazy it s a perfectly safe natural herb. It is this naturally occurring chemical that kittens and cats react to by becoming more active purring and rolling or even licking and drooling some may eat the catnip as well. Although catnip is totally harmless and safe around kittens both to smell and to eat it isn t necessarily effective.

So when they bite and swallow it it is to consume this natural oil. A cat will not respond again to catnip for at least a couple of hours. Once the cat has had his fill he will walk away from it. When cats get a whiff of catnip they behave similarly to female cats in heat erratic movements strange howls and all.

Additionally kittens less than three months old don t respond to catnip and often even. What does catnip do to cats. But why does this happen. Yep they re pretty much.

The catnip response is hereditary. Catnip is safe for cats that do react in a hyperactive way to it and safe for cats that don t. When a cat eats catnip it acts as a sedative but when smelled it causes the cat to go crazy. These numbers vary however depending on which.

Well according to science buffs cats react to catnip after a volatile oil in it called nepetalactone interacts with the nasal tissue. Nothing is lasting about the effects of catnip. Cats may react to the plant by rolling around flipping over and generally being hyperactive. Giving it to him too early isn t a concern although he may not respond to it if he s still really young.

This out of fur experience is due to the active ingredient in the oil. It is thought to mimic feline pheremones and trigger those receptors. If a kitten is going to be a catnip lover you usually can tell that when he is 3 to 6 months old. Found in catnip s leaves stems and seeds it only takes one or two sniffs of that wondrous oil.

Catnip s allure is in its volatile oil specifically one chemical in that oil nepetalactone. Watching your kitten entertain himself for hours with his catnip toy is truly entertaining. It is estimated that about 1 3 of the cats lack this gene. Catnip is a perennial herb which means it grows through more than one growing season and it contains an ingredient called nepetalactone.