Are catnip and treats like it safe for cats? Here's how they affect their minds and moods
Examples include performing natural behaviours, feeling safe at home and using their full sensory capabilities, including their sense of smell.
- Examples include performing natural behaviours, feeling safe at home and using their full sensory capabilities, including their sense of smell.
- Plants such as catnip, cat thyme and silver vine are potent smelly stimulants that can affect cat minds and moods.
Read more:
Won’t my cat get bored if I keep it inside? Here's how to ensure it's happy
Catnip, cat thyme and silver vine, oh my!
- Owners who are concerned about their cats feeling bored and frustrated might offer them fresh or dried catnip (Nepeta cataria), silver vine (Actinidia polygama), cat thyme (Teucrium marum) or other plant materials such as valerian (Valeriana officinalis) and Tatarian honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica).
- These last couple could offer an alternative if your cat doesn’t respond to catnip.
Are these treats safe for cats?
- Some plants release chemical compounds to deter insects or to attract predators of insects that might otherwise destroy them.
- Indeed, it has been argued that exposure to nepetalactone leads to an increase in feel-good hormones in cats.
- Read more:
What actually is catnip and is it safe for my cat?
Is it ethical to alter the minds of our cats?
- Despite some marketing claims that these plants activates the brain’s opioid system, delivering a “natural high” for cats, there is no evidence these substances actually alter the minds of cats in the same way as alcohol or other drugs alter the minds of humans.
- Unlike offering alcohol to a child, though, the evidence suggests our cats are OK when given access to these treats.
- In fact, we harness the power of cats’ sense of smell in other ways by using synthetic feline facial pheromones.
Read more:
Is it unethical to give your cat catnip?
How to make sure your cat has the purr-fect time
Offering a range of smells (olfactory stimulation) is just one way to ensure your cat has a varied and interesting life. Here are some tips:
offer cats choices to interact with treats and toys – don’t force them
rotate the toys and experiences on offer, so every day offers something fresh
offer items that cats can scratch – scratching posts and corrugated cardboard are popular items
if you are concerned your cat has swallowed part of a toy or seems unwell, check in with your vet.
Given the short-lived effects of these plant-based olfactory stimulants on cats, it is important that we optimise their environment, lifestyle and interactions with humans to improve their welfare. We can’t just rely on catnip or silver vine to give our cats a good life indoors – it’s really up to us!
- Anne Quain is on the NSW Committee of the Australian Veterinary Association.
- She is also a committee member of the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association, the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists Animal Welfare chapter, the European College of Animal Welfare and Behaviour Medicine, and consults to veterinary and animal welfare organisations regarding Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law.