Does Catnip Actually Get Cats High? 

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I love how universally we were like "i wanna get my cat high af"

Whoever put in the "frosted flakes" line is Genius

Years ago, I noticed that our cats didn't seem to react to the plants I grew in our back yard...I was disappointed and had planted it for our cats. The next-door neighbor's cat, however, was a much different story.

When given catnip, my cat will shovel it into a pile and sit on it. Then walk away. He's weird.

Had a friend with 2 male cats, one didn't seem to react to it, maybe a bit of sniff but that's it. The other was a real tweaker, would roll in it and get all twitchy, if you put the nip on a cloth it would lay on its back and rub it all over its face with it's paws. The non sensitive one would often look on in absolute disgust, sometimes giving his brother a good swat.

I predict that this will be one of your most popular videos.

My favorite cat would roll and flop around if she found catnip, if I gave her a catnip toy, she would lay on her back and rub the toy on her chest and she'd be wildly out of it for at least 30 minutes.

Miyazaki? More like Meowazaki amiright

Couldn’t resist “CATatonic”, could you?

We put it on our cat's scratching post. She basically is glued to it afterwards.

I had a cat named Maximilian Liao--like his namesake, he was mercurial and a little nuts. But I loved him and he was my little baby; if he even THOUGHT you had catnip on you, he'd be all over you trying to find it. And if you didn't have any, he'd bite your ankles and then run off to set the People Trap (lie on his back looking cute, in the hopes that some unsuspecting you-man would come and try to give him a tummyrub)

Weirdly, my cat had no interest in the nip until he watched another cat do it. Guess peer pressure is a thing for cats too...

My childhood’s cats reacted exactly the same to the wood of the olive tree. We found this out by chance when using a chopping board of this wood for the first time. As using it became a bit risky - unless you wanted cat drool on your food - we often placed it on the floor to entertain visitors (and hopefully the cats)😊

Oh catnip definitely does have psychoactive effects, at least when paired with Melatonin. I discovered this accidentally. I have cats and so planted catnip in my garden. I ended up with a LOT of catnip and thought “what do I do with it?” Google told me that catnip has been used for centuries as a relaxing tea. Perfect! I’d always taken melatonin 3-5 mg at night, enevn though it didn’t do much. That night I stuffed catnip in a tea diffuser, had a nice relaxing cup of tea, and then took my melatonin. That night I had day-glo technicolor dreams and had the best sleep of my life! Surprised by this, I repeated the tea-melatonin combo again the second night with the same results…slept 5-6 hours but felt like I’d slept 8 or 9 + vivid dreams. And zero “dopey” feeling (which I tend to get with Benadryl). I’m not suggesting anyone try this except at their own risk. It’s not something I take every day, and I’d never take it with any other sedative medication or alcohol…it’s strong enough on its own! But if I know I’m going to be unavoidably short on sleep it’s nice to know that I can take it on occasion to ensure I sleep well.

Pretty sure cats domesticated humans long before we decided to breed Chihuahua.

For cats not biologically affected by catnip, other plants which may trigger a response include valerian root and leaves, silver vine, and Tatarian honeysuckle wood.

20,000BC: humans domesticate dogs. 10,000BC: cats say, "Hold my beer". tavi.

I dabbled a bit a little as a 'nip dealer once when I had my own grow-op a few years ago. My homegrown wasn't nearly as good as the stuff that the fat cat's (El Gordo's), cattels could traffi I mean "import" for um , not distribution on the street, and of course, not into the alleys where the hard core users hung out. Those alley-cats, they were old timers. The "survivers" we called them. Still "chasin' the plant" as it is known as. As the song goes, "Not too pretty gettin' high, droolin' and rollin' around in their own shed ( ---- ded) fur 16, 17 years old!" Sad, really. Some of the small-time dealers would hang out in the gardens reading or in their more secluded back yards, hoping to entice the bored teen Toms, (with things like pony tail holders, rolled up tin foil balls, and real fancy-shmancy store-bought toys), into doing a little ' nip with them. Going "Psss psst psss well, hi there kitty"....First ones are free, naturally. For some of the young ones, it takes a while before they learn to inhale. Usually they're cool after a few times, but you get some who can't handle their stuff, you know? Those are the ones who go cat sh** crazy and you can see it in their eyes! They get all wide open and paranoid and then suddenly ZOOM!!! You might not see them for hours!! Just touching the can opener will bring them right back, but as their dealer, it's good form to let them enjoy their high, their trip, so to speak. 9:02 I was lucky. I never got caught by the Feds. The FBI were too busy with other crime and I think the CIA were in on the business themselves. I once came close to being made by an undercover cat who had the look of a seasoned addict who'd seen better days. He was really strung out or maybe he had just been playing. I didn't trust him though, and that's what it's like on the street. Couldn't trust anyone, cat, dog or human. Especially human. That's why I quit. Keep your eyes peeled for my upcoming Reddit "Ask Me Anything"!!! Have your questions ready It's going to be a mind-blowing, plot twisting, one of a kind TIFO-like experience!!! And please people, if you're gonna deal, don't be cutting your stuff with tobacco or pot, just to make more coin from your supply, 'cause you won't. I'm witing a tell-all, true crime, government conspiracy, international spy thriller, unsolved mysteries, paranormal, cook book, cryptic, flat earth, celebrity, moon landing, Antarctica, French connection, Golden double happy fortune dragon, Atlantis and the 63 Alien species book for Cat Lovers which will launch this April from the parking lot behind the TD Bank on 12th Avenue and Granville St. in Vancouver. There will be bite sized things to eat and, if I can get a chair and milk crate, or (my dream)- two cinder blocks and a board, I will do a book signing for every five books sold!! Don't forget the Reddit thingy !!! 😊

Catnip tea is great for insomnia, but you will probably need 3-4 tea bags for an average sized adult. Same with chamomile. It's best sweetened with honey, which has a slight sedative effect on its own. If insomnia is an ongoing problem, consider getting a high-quality magnesium supplement or magnesium spray. If used or taken daily, many people notice better sleep n a more balanced nervous system after a few days.

Our cat goes absolutely nuts when given a product made of catnip mixed with silvervine.

3 cats with 3 different reactions. All of them love the catnip I grow and buy lol.

I patiently waited till my cat was an adult (I was told not to give kittens the nip, because [insert reasons I have now forgotten]), and then FINALLY, came the day!!!!! Nothing. It had zero effect on him. 😑😑😑

I just bought some the other day labeled as "meowijuana" it's rolled into joints for my cat to play with I kid you not

I at 5:31 I thought it was a magic eye for a split second. Just Simon's elbow and cup from a rendering glitch😢

O-re-gha-no? O-rhe-gah-no Oregano 😅 We must love teh Fact Boy.

Whats with the subliminal image at 5:31 lol?

Based on a 2021 study by Dr Miaowzaki, honestly???

5:31 a few videos ago you had this wierd static photo of a triangle and you posted on your top comment that it was a strange mistake. I don't think it's any conspiracy bs. But by now I know the editors are absolutely trying to play games at this point. That picture is so specific for it to just be an accident lol

Servals are sensitive!!!! I care for four and they love it !!!

Our cats are all related and none of them react to catnip! They do like the smell but that's it. Kinda sad to be honest 😂

I thought at 5:29 it was a magic eye for a split second. Just Simon's elbow and cup from a rendering glitch.😢

I get a little altered by drinking catnip tea, but the same goes for chamomil and passionflower in my case, so I may just be overly sensitive 😺

I don't know how high they get but they really like it when it's fresh. I don't think the stuff I've seen in a store even smells the same.

Catnip has no hold overy my cat. I was shocked the first I tried to give him catnip he sniffed it and then looked at me like I nwas crazy.

Most cats I've owned have been raised with dogs. They want almost as much attention as my dogs. Except my pitbull who I call attention whore. No catnip needed.

Beware of the kitten on shrooms guarding the rest of the bag.

Right and good that it was Professor Meeyow-saki who did the 2021 study.

My baby-chan gets the good stuff and rolls around on it like a pig in mud... She's my first cat and a rescue possibly one of the weirdest animals but a total lover.

My sister is a vet student and we share a cat. I’m gonna send this to her, she’s going to love the video. Super interesting.

Thumbnail should say pspsps instead pssst, missed opportunity

The Nip 😻

I'd like to point out there doesn't necessarily have to be an evolutionary advantage for the cats. The advantage could be entirely on the plant's side. The cat euphoria may simply be a side effect from the plant's defenses against bugs, exactly like nicotine is a plant's bug defense that happens to have an effect on humans.

Whomever made your thumbnail missed a trick...it should have been "Pspspsp..."! 😹

Frosted flakes, lol

I don't know if anyone else caught his pronunciation on oregano but if you did I'm guessing you're from the states like me. It took me a second to register what herb he was talking about.

I know one thing. I give it to my cats and they stay in the food Forest longer driving anyway the squirrels from the fruit and my neboughers maple syrup lines

Dogs have owners, cats have staff!

My kitties' only response to catnip has ever just been a mild curiosity good enough for attracting them to explore new toys and not holding their attention unless the toy is good enough. All my kitties.

people like to joke that cats domesticated humans because haha cat overlords but honestly i find it way funnier that cats pretty much domesticated themselves without us having to do much of anything lol they basically walked up and said hey ill eat all these rats if you let me live in your barn, few thousand years later and heres mr mittens

Its crazy the percentage of cats it doesnt have any effects on also. Thats what i wanna figure out what gene made them like meh.

Chances are the chemicals in catnip inhibit or deter some insects from eating the plant. This is true of things like nicotine and caffeine which are poisonous to the neurosystems of many insects.

Now do Silver Vine

maybe cats domesticated humans

Please answer the question. Does a cat's purring heal?

That episede needed to be a collab with Jackson Galaxy.

This video would've benefitted from a good old Simon Tangent.

Simon: Catnip for humans.

Yes gimme 1 catnip

I had one cat who didn't react to generic store grade catnip. But if I gave her organic catnip, then she got high as a kite for 15 minutes or so. Because of that, I now only buy organic catnip and if a toy says that it is catnip infused, I will only buy it if it has organic catnip. Organic catnip really does make a difference. I haven't tried silvervine, though.

Works on me

My cat eats it then mongs for ages 😂

My cat is also attracted to mint, even in human food. I have to fend him off when I am eating my favorite mint chocolates. Btw, some of the experiments you describe sound rather rude, at least to the felines involved. 🐈

That's just, like, your opinion, meow.

Any word on if it effects Ligers?

My 4 cats like catnip but they don't go nuts over it.

I have only had two cats in my life. One would get aggressive when in contact with catnip, the other ignored it.

You choose chihuahuas as an opposite to wolf's?. Chihuahuas are one of the most fierce breeds of dogs, they are responsible for the majority of dog bites.

"...maybe they preFURR Frosted Flakes". You owe me a keyboard, Simon, for the beer I just spat out laughing! No worries, your videos are payment enough!

I live on my sailboat with my Siamese cat at a very nice little marina. I have a planter in front of the boat with catnip growing in it, I have noticed that since I have had it I have not had nearly the bug problems that I had before, and of course the cat is very happy about her nip. I also have planters of her favorite grasses to munch on since we live on docks, and I plan on building her a small planter, so she has her own lawn on the dock. Yes, I spoil her, she earns it though, I have PTSD and she stopped 95% of my flashbacks, she also keeps the birds from crapping on the boats around me.

Mandala Effect Bust: Moon Suagr does not get Kajjit high. It gets everyone else high. This amuses Kajjit.

Before clicking play: Yes, nepetalactone is a kappa agonist in cats. It is very, very, very mild in humans (read: I can't be sure it's active). An interesting bit, some of the species of mint grow trichomes and even resemble cannabis bud. If you were wondering, they taste like mint plants (which are very different from the menthol in toothpaste and cough drops) but while the smoke carries a "cool" flavor (temperature like anti-capsaicin, not nifty) and the flowers are sold in "alternative smokes" Nepeta species are not known to be active in humans. Also, that first sentence loosely translates to _"You just gave your cat Salvia, which is also a mint"_ Have a great day. **confused meows**

One of my cats gets violent after catnip. Her claws come out and she attacks everyone. *Everyone.* I make sure her nip is given far away from the other kitties ... and people.

I'm a fan of the Genus Nepeta, and I love to grow them. I've had a few, including the Mount Hermon rarities such as N. italica, which smells a bit like Lavenders, and the stunning and super-rare N. trachonitica, which smells foul but looks stunning. I usually have N. cataria var. citriodora, the lemony catmint, in a container on the balcony. It makes a great nightcap as it is indeed, mildly sedative. Local Israeli street cats, our beloved garbage bin denizens, appear to be genetically indifferent to catnip, and I do not have the usual complaint of European and North American gardeners regarding the poor survival of NEPCAT colonies due to moggie depredations. Actually, I was quite happy to see this happening once in a community garden, probably caused by one of these pedigreed, immigrant Russian cat's over-enthusiastic Nepetalactone response! The use of catmint (and of the more abundant Melissa officinalis as well) as a field mosquito repellent has been a tradition of my West European family, but I doubt that mosquitos are much of a problem for the furry ones. I am eagerly awaiting any trial with Nepetalactone versus Ctenocephalides fleas, which ARE a big problem for me as well!

My cat seems to be immune

Super easy to grow from seed…. About 1/8 of my yard is now volunteer catnip escaped from the pots

The way you pronounce "oregano" makes me suspect you of communist tendencies. We have 2 feral cats here in Llanogrande, Colombia that seem to do a good job of keeping rodents away, along with probably many endemic and threatened avian species. As a thank you (for the rat, not bird protection), I planted two catnip bushes as a thank-you for them.

Cars aren't begrudging about a darn thing, they're cautious because they're also prey animals as much as predator, and unlike dogs, retain many of those instincts. If treated properly, your cat will cuddle you even if you're currently washing the dishes.

Or-a-gone-o? And I thought Al-you-minium was the most British pronunciation I ever heard.

Glitch 5:31. But great video as always.

6:53 I think having a plant that induces euphoria is a pretty good evolutionary advantage in and of itself.

6:20 The two cats who adopted me when I met my ex wife were siblings but odd ones. One was a tux & the other an orange tabby. The tabby was a female. She also always seemed a little spacey. Her brother was the boss/badass/bond/jerk type. He was the one who would easily crack out on the stuff. She didn’t give a rats ass. Weird tigers aren’t affected. Perhaps they’re closer relatives than we think. But damn. Was it hilarious to see that dude’s eyes go absolutely fried-egg as his legs went akimbo & his claws held on the the floor like he was flying on a magic carpet or holding on to the wing of a jet liner. Then he’d run in circles as if he was trying to create a time warp where his black & white would merge to an electrified grey. Man, he spazzed!

Frosted Flakes! My favorite. Meow! or should it be Grrrr! Brilliant episode!

2 cats and they just stay high 😂 so sweet and funny/weird though They dont have to its just always around so when they like they can. One drools and…sees sounds? Not sure but for sure a downer effect on him The other its an upper. He will tear around the house and yowl and fluff (like hes scared but this isnt that at all) until he will just stop…be totally normal again. Like drug induced zoomies or something lol

My cat goes crazy when I’ve been eating olives with my fingers, treating my hands like a catnip toy! Apparently olives have the same napectalones as catnip. If you’re going to share your olives with your cat, don’t give them more than one every few days because of the salt content (vet recommended)

I love the reference to larger cats liking corn flakes!

The cats that have no reaction to it at all are a trip, to me. Like what, are you Salvador Dali?

Also known as “the nip” on the streets. 😂 I love how much time and money has been spent on this study. I’m sure someone with a big brain has a reason for this considering we haven’t found cures for cancer, or even the common cold. However, as someone who has had many cats and enjoyed watching them “get high”, thank you Simon and crew for the video. ❤

Hi Simon, I’m loving the content. Have you ever done a piece about grain free cereals or cereals in general? I’m sure we all know about Joseph Kellogg and the whole masturbation scandal, but I want to know what grain free cereals are made of

Chocolate has the same effect on me.

I caught my cats vaping that shit, Yo 💨😸🤣

Several years ago we had 2 adult cats and a rescue kitten. We had catnip in a jar with a screw on lid. We came home one day to find they had knocked off the shelf, making the lid pop off. There was catnip everywhere the Kashie and Minnie were covered in it rolling around the floor high as kites. Lance was covered in it, like he climbed into the big plastic jar it came in. We laughed so hard at the whole mess

Hmm, using catnip as an insect repellent would be great in countries that don't have any big cats. Otherwise it might be a tad hazardous.

Even animals can’t resist killing mosquitos. It’s like they were put on earth to be hated

Hmm... Is that Gilles Messier the same dude from Our Own Devices or is it just a coincidence?

Yeah, cat content!

The reason cats are kinda cold to humans is that we domesticated them much more recently than dogs. So cats are still more wild and self reliant than dogs which we have made largely useless without human care and feeding. Meaning in time cats might be much like dogs, but it will take a while longer yet. Myself, I like that cats can take care of themselves without us.

The thumbnail reads like Simon is advertising his OnlyFans

It definitely does. I introduced it to my innocent fluffy and now he listens to jazz and carries a switch blade.

Cats rub themselves with catnip to release the oil from the leaves. This would be how they get the mosquito protection. However the catnip has to learn to grow out from under the cat when it gets sat on. So what does the catnip get in return? Is there a pest that destroys catnip, but is prey to cats?