God Awful Things

There is a nice little video making its way around the internet showing some cats getting funked up on catnip.  The one thats foaming at the mouth got the most reaction here at work..

Wow, someone should show those cats how to make an earth bong!

When I was a youngster, we had a couple cats, a calico named Felicity, and a siamese named Lazuli (her name taken from the semi-precious stone, which her eyes matched).  I’m not sure what happened to them when we were forced to relocate to Iowa whilst my mom got her bone marrow transplant, but that was it with me and cats.. until 15 years later, when I would encounter Bubs!

Now, the old cats in Missouri, they loved the catnip, they couldn’t get enough of it, but Bubs! being a curious cat, seems to have little to no reaction, oh sure, she’ll sniff it, but she gets nothing like those cats in the video.  The chemical that really gets the cats going is called Nepetalactone.

As 4aα,7α,7aα-nepetalactone it is the active chemical in Nepeta cataria that causes its characteristic effect on cats. Around 75% of cats are affected; susceptibility is gene-linked. The chemical interacts as a vapour at the olfactory epithelium. The compound only mildly affects humans: it is a weak sedative, antispasmodic,febrifuge, and antibacterial. In high doses it also has an emetic effect. Nepetalactone also has an effect on some insects, repelling the cockroach and mosquito,[1] but it is poisonous to some common flies and a sexpheromone to aphids.

Also of interest, it is revealed on the Nepeta (the catnip genus) wiki page..

Catnip and catmints are mainly known for the behavioral effects they have on cats, particularly domestics.^[8] When cats sense the bruised leaves or stems of catnip, they may roll over it, paw at it, chew it, lick it, leap about and purr, or heavily salivate. Some will growl, meow, scratch or bite the hand holding it.

Two thirds of cats are susceptible to catnip. The phenomenon is hereditary; for example, most Australian cats do not react to it.^[9] There is some disagreement about the susceptibility of lions and tigers to catnip.

Interesting Catnip Fact: “Cats which have a genome originating in geographical areas where catnip is not indigenous, like Southeast Asia, typically do not respond to catnip.”

Now this is providing some answers, see, Bubs! was not a domestic cat.  It is my theory that she is actually a pygmy tiger, and raised on the streets at that.  But there is one thing that really gets her riled up… jeans on the floor.

As a side note, the last track on the new Neko Case is 30 minutes of spring peepers and such, I can hardly wait to play it at the bar.