Answer: The plant Neeta cat aria, known as cat- mint or cat-nip, contains a substance called nepetalactone which is attractive to all member of the cat family. Somewhere between half and two third of domestic cars appear to be attracted to cat-mint. But very few kittens under two months of age are attracted to or even able to tolerate, the plant.
Typically, a cat will sniff at the plant, or lick or chew at the leaves, and then exhibit a pattern of behavior the intensity of which varies with the individual. Some cats just stare into space or shake their head; other rub their face on the plant and some will roll on ground This behavior generally lasts for five to fifteen minutes, but the same response cannot be produce again for an hour or more.
Because nepetalactone is related to marijuana and other hallucinogenic drug, it is possible that the cat’s reasons is similar to the sensations enjoyed by humans with these drugs. Alternatively, it may be that this substance closely resembles for the rolling and rubbing behavior of the female cats in heat. If so, it appears to produce an exaggerated stimulus, since cat-mint causes this response is females that are not in heat, as will as in males.
Perhaps it is simply that the smell of the plant, or its extract, produce a pleasant sensation by heightening the sensitively of the skin in the head region, thereby prompting some cats to rub their heads on the plant or on the ground.
Whenever the exact cause, cat-mint is certainly very popular with many cats and has prompted manufactures to produce play articles, such as toy mice, stuffed with it or scented with the volatile oils from it.
However, the over frequent use of cat-nip, for example to make it possible to handle otherwise unmanageable show cats, can result in an unpleasant change in the cat’s personality
The plant known as common Valeria, and especially its dried root, has a similar, though not so marked, effect upon cats.
