All About Cat Care

Using Catnip To Improve Your Cat’s Behaviour

May 30th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed

Catnip is an hallucinogen that minimizes a cat’s inhibition. Its safe effects can be used to successfully improve a cat’s behaviour. Catnip creates a feeling of euphoria that can last about fifteen minutes but is very safe for cats and is not addictive at all.

On coming into contact with catnip, cats will roll in it, lick it, or even devour the herb.They will rub up against it repeatedly with head and chin, then purr loudly, growl, meow, roll over and even leap about. Many of these movements are similar to a cat in heat, leading to the theory that catnip is a female feline aphrodisiac. However this is debatable as it affects both male and female alike.

Catnip is so powerful that it can make even the laziest of cats become playful. It is an amazing reliever of tension, so it’s great to be used after your cats have experienced a tense or stressful situation. An example would be after your cats were car traveling with you, or if you have had company in the house that caused them to become uneasy.

Catnip is also a great tool to use when helping a very timid or frightened cat become more confident. Whether you have purchased a new cat that is timid or have rescued a scared one from the shelter, catnip will almost always do the trick to get them to react in a more vibrant and friendly manner and this is a great time to start a play session for these timid felines.

If you own more than one cat and are introducing one of them to catnip, it would be best to keep it away from the other cats until you can assess the effect of the catnip. Some males may have a tendency to cross the line from friendly play to dominant aggression while they are under the influence of catnip. By separating the first-time catnip user from the rest of the group, you can easily see what his attitude will be in response to the herb. If your cat turns out to react in a friendly manner, then it is safe to allow him to have catnip with the rest.