I have tried for ages to get my kitties to enjoy catnip. i have known cats that go bonkers over it!!!
My two are not really fans! i grow it in a pot outside and pick them a leaf or two every now and then. they sniff it and walk away. i have tried sprays and catnip toys....
They dont like the toys any more than regular ones..
how do other ppls kitties respond to it?

Mimz doesn´t care for the stuff either. I tried with toys and a plant and she looked at me like I was giving her a pile of fresh smelling dung. LOL! literally she gave me that look! I think some cats enjoy it and some don´t. Just like humans...some like smell of somethings and others don´t. One thing Mimz does like is the smell of mint! Go figure....she can sniff out a pack of mint gum in my purse and goes crazy with it. She doesn´t eat the gum or its wrappers, just likes to bat the package around. I noticed little simple things pleases her and I don´t waste my time or money on expensive toys and cat nip. lol! I hope this helped.

Milly and Mimmi

Sunny and Angie don´t seem any more interested in catnip toys than regular toys. I bought catnip spray and sprayed some things like stuffed animals and their soft toys and they paid no special attention to them.

I buy tubs of dried catnip at the pet shop and when I take the tub out of the drawer, they both come running. They love to eat it, but I only let them have a few "tonguefuls" each. Their behaviour after eating it doesn´t seem to change at all.

I once read an article that said kittens aren´t attracted to catnip - the attraction develops as the kitten reaches adulthood. The attraction must stop developing at some point or else at their age, Sunny and Angie would be climbing the walls!!

Oups, sorry for my ignorance. Catnip - what is it ?

Catnip is also called catmint. I couldn´t find a translation for either word into French or Italian. Is there such a thing as "menthe de chat"? It´s a green herb in the mint family and its scientific name is nepeta cataria.

hey my cats dont care much catnip but my brother inlaws cat (tori) loves the stuff! Tori eats it sniffs it rolls in it and tori gets that glazed look its highly amusing!

How funny is it how it effects some and not others. id like to hear more about whos kitties like it or dont!!!

All my 6 cats adore Catnip and the claws will come out in fighting for a place of their own to roll in. I have dried Catnip and use the spray as well. The 2 Norwegian Forest cats love the smell of plain Bleach and when I disinfect the cat boxes they get in and roll around trying to get as much of the smell onto their fur as possible. Same when I wash the kitchen floor. Anyone had a similar reaction?

Oups, sorry for my ignorance. Catnip - what is it ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catnip
http://www.mismascotas.cl/gato/catnip.
htmhttp://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepeta

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Thanks Marcatmm. Now, I understand better. Some plants push from time to time in my garden. My cats do not eat them but rub or lie down above. They prefer to eat the papyruses or the pampa bleaches : they have strange tastes…

miy 5 cats adore catnip.specially Plush

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Oups, sorry for my ignorance. Catnip - what is it ?Effects on cats
Both true catnip and Faassen´s catnip have a sharp, biting taste, while the taste of giant catmint is bland.

Catnip and catmints are mainly known for the behavioral effects they have on cats, particularly domestic cats.[7] When cats sense the bruised leaves or stems of catnip, they may roll over it, paw at it, chew it, lick it, leap about and purr, often salivating copiously. Some cats will also growl and meow. This reaction only lasts for a few minutes before the cat loses interest. It takes up to two hours for the cat to "reset" after which it can come back to the catnip and have the same response as before.[8] Young kittens and older cats are less likely to react to catnip.

Approximately two thirds of cats are susceptible to the behavioral effects of catnip. The phenomenon is hereditary; for example, most cats in Australia are not susceptible to catnip, since Australian cats are drawn from a relatively closed genetic pool.[9] It elicits such a response in only some cats—and it is such a dramatic response—because a genetic element is involved that is enriched in domesticated breeds.[citation needed] There is some disagreement about the susceptibility of lions and tigers to catnip. Some claim that all lions and tigers are affected by catnip,[10] but others say that lions are affected but not tigers[citation needed]. In a recent television documentary released by Animal Planet called Stalking the Jaguar, the scientists on the mission used a form of catnip to attract the elusive jaguar to a camera point for filming. Upon attraction, the wild jaguar reacted in the exact same way that domestic cats react to catnip, suggesting further proof of the genetic existence of the susceptibility to catnip outside of domestic felines.[9]

Catnip contains nepetalactone, a terpene. Nepetalactone can be extracted from catnip using steam distillation.[11] Cats detect it through their olfactory epithelium and not through their vomeronasal organ.[12] At the olfactory epithelium, the nepetalactone is hypothesized to bind to one or more olfactory receptors where it probably mimics a cat pheromone, such as the hypothetical feline facial pheromone or the cat urine odorant MMB.

Other plants that also have this effect on cats include valerian (Valeriana officinalis) and plants that contain actinidine or dihydroactinidiolide (Smith, 2005).


A domestic cat demonstrating the effects of catnip such as rolling, pawing, and frisking
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doinaaik, thanks for all that infomation. I have seen a tiger on an animal planet docco roll in a plant and "display kitten-like behavior"

when raanii sniffs it she mostly goes to sleep afterwards (i mean like all floppy and will sleep anywhere)
could this have anything to do with catnip?

Pickles smells it and runs away., he really does not like it at all.

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oops ....I tried catnip,i actually thought all cats loved it, but alsa sammy just ignored it, so i didn`t bother getting any more, he is more lively playing with a pen, more fun.

I find that dried catnip is more effective than fresh catmint. Having said that, ca mint growing in the garden does attract cats and they do seem to enjoy it.

Boots and Shadow love the fresh catnip straight off the plant. Jackson and Misty prefer the dried and all 4 love the spray when I spray it on their toys. They usually end up chasing round the place trying to catch each other - its a great way to get them some exercise!!

hmm yeh my cats dont really get into it but ive only tried the dry stuff, il have to try it on my cranky miss bella lol and see if it turns her into a kitten ;-p