Thursday, May 30, 2013

Catnip


Had some adventures tonight which I will detail more later. One thing involved was a large container of catnip dumped all over the floor of our living room and a cat covered in shaving cream.

So I wondered how catnip works.  Because Tony always jokes that it's cat weed, and that it makes our cats stoned.  I'm not sure that's exactly a correct comparison, so I wanted to do a little research.

Catnip Facts:

  • Catnip contains 14 different chemical components which cause a reaction in cats
  • Some cats do not react to catnip
  • The catnip response only lasts about 15 minutes
  • Catnip is actually an effective mosquito repellant
  • Kittens younger than 8 weeks will not react to catnip even if they possess the gene which causes reactions in adult cats. (When they reach adulthood, they WILL react)

Sources:
 
Catnip and the Catnip Response
Arthur O. Tucker and Sharon S. Tucker
Economic Botany , Vol. 42, No. 2 (Apr. - Jun., 1988), pp. 214-231
Published by: Springer on behalf of New York Botanical Garden Press
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4255068

http://www.cat-world.com.au/all-about-catnip

http://animal.discovery.com/pets/question303.htm

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