All Natural Cat

Ah, catnip. Like people with alcohol, catnip makes some cats dreamy and silly and other cats wild and crazy. The internet seems to be in disagreement as to what percentage of cats are affected by catnip’s siren song, but it is somewhere between 65% and 85%, and—again, just like with people and booze—very young kittens usually aren’t too interested in it. Catnip contains a chemical known as nepetalactone which likely mimics some feline pheromone, although it seems like scientists aren’t too sure exactly what or how or why. The herb valerian apparently also has a similar effect on cats (I’ve never experimented with cats and valerian, but it grows wild all over the place around here, and if I can find some clean stuff this summer I might bring it home and see what happens). Interestingly enough, catnip and valerian have the exact opposite effect on humans—they’re used as relaxants, to treat anxiety or insomnia.

Coming up tomorrow: how to grow your own catnip, for you or for kitty.

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