16 Cats Who Can’t Handle Their Catnip

Kelli Brinegar

For more than five years, Kelli Brinegar has been using her ability to write and her passion for research to tell the tale of what cats are thinking and why. She has provided care to more than 30 cats in her lifetime.Read more

| Published on February 24, 2020

Remember that one show about the truth behind the rise and fall of Hollywood celebrities?

Well, there’s an episode you never saw.

Pressure from the high-profile cat celebrity pushed the episode deep underground, but now the tale has been leaked. Catnip: The Rise & Fall of Garfield is the tale of a beloved cartoon cat with a dark secret. He hated Mondays and loved lasagna. These extremes have finally been explained and the truth is shocking. Garfield was a catnip addict.

Just kidding!

If anything, Garfield lived a richer life thanks to catnip!

9GAG Cute/Facebook

Neither addictive nor harmful to cats, catnip creates euphoria in cats. These euphoric sensations can either ramp cats up or calm them down. The reaction depends on the intake method. When ingested by lapping up the dried bits, expect a mellow feline who’s ready to chill. Inhaling the intoxicating aroma of catnip makes kitties ready to party and play though. Either way your cat prefers their catnip, they’re getting a dose of nepetalactone, the chemical in the plant that triggers the dramatic response from cats. This reaction between nepetalactone and sensory neurons is what makes kitties feel “high”.

As cat lovers know though, not all cats react to the fragrant perennial plant. Only an estimated 50 to 70 percent of cats react to catnip. And, the sensitivity to the plant is an inherited quirk. Kittens and senior cats are typically immune to the euphoric effects of nepetalactone. But a cat with the inherited sensitivity between those two stages will go cuckoo for catnip.

This holds true in the world of big cats too. Tigers high on catnip are some of the silliest things you’ll ever see.

@exotic_feline_rescue_center/Instagram