Pet Forum

We all know that cats just love cat nip (it's really supposed to be spelled as one word, catnip, but that just looks funny to me), but have you ever wondered what cat nip really is? To be honest, I never really thought about it until my little boy asked me today. I assumed that it was some manufactured product or something, but I don't think I had really thought about it until today. What is cat nip? Let's find out:

Catnip is a member of the mint family of aromatic herbs. It is a common aromatic herb of the high deserts of North America, and was naturalized in Canada from it's indigenous roots in Northern Africa and the Mediterranean. In other words, cat nip isn't made by man at all. It is just a natural herb that cats happen to love.

So if cat nip is a natural herb, why are cats attracted to it so much? A chemical compound called nepetalactone, the primary constituent in the essential oil of catnip, induces a harmless physiological reaction in cats. Physiological reactions in some cats has been studied extensively, and has been found to induce a psychosexual response in both male and female cats. One might say that catnip has an aphrodisiac effect. Basically, when cats smell cat nip they think it's time to make some kittens!

Now we all know what catnip is. Does your cat love t as much as mine?

Neat! lol I didn't know what catnip was either. Our little kittens love it so much too.

Hehehe... I don't know about this but it just made me laugh reading the thread. I assume it is like a treat for cats. How often catnip be given to cats? I am afraid if it will be given often, the cat will find a way to mate with other cats, hehehe...

Seems to be an orgasm-inducer product for cats. Never heard about that before, but seems to be a useful one for lazy cats, as it produces a physiological response which the cat can not stop and most of the functions then happen involuntarily.
Have to do some check about it.

__________________
Meow! lol