Why do cats like catnip?
No one knows for sure. Domestic and many wild cats (including cougars, bobcats, lions, and lynx) respond to the nepetalactone in catnip. However, not all cats react to catnip. The behavior is inherited as an autosomal dominant gene; 10-30% of domestic cats in a population may be unresponsive to nepetalactone. Kittens will not show the behavior until they are at least 6-8 weeks old. In fact, catnip produces an avoidance response in young kittens. The catnip response usually develops by the time a kitten is 3 months old. When cats smell catnip they exhibit a range of behaviors that may include sniffing, licking and chewing the plant, head shaking, chin and cheek rubbing, head rolling, and body rubbing. This psychosexual reaction lasts for 5-15 minutes and cannot be evoked again for an hour or more after exposure. Cats that react to nepetalactone differ in their individual responses. The feline receptor for nepetalactone is in the vomeronasal organ, located above the feline palate. The lo
