4 ms·

Really interesting, so you get high and get bug protection, win-win! Sadly my cat has no reaction to any of these that I've tried: catnip, silver vine, and one

by podiki 4y ago

Really interesting, so you get high and get bug protection, win-win! Sadly my cat has no reaction to any of these that I've tried: catnip, silver vine, and one other herb I'm forgetting (Japanese maybe?). Maybe he's secretly a kid from the nineties and took the DARE program too seriously...

gwern 4y ago
Silvervine is Japanese, so that's already listed; you probably tried either Tartarian honeysuckle or valerian. Immunity to all of them is pretty unusual, but it's also worth noting that responses can be variable, and each one should be tested a few times spread out. (It seems like stress or uncertainty can help shut down responses. Cats are very cagey about showing inner state.)
rurp 4y ago
It's worth trying again after some time has passed. I have one cat that had no interest in catnip for years, but later developed a love for it.
- arthurcolle 4y ago
  tolerance break? Haha
- andriesm 4y ago
  Uhm why are you trying to get your cat addicted to something ;-) you drug pushers you!
joecool1029 4y ago
I think valerian is another one they react to. Anyway here's a video of a monkey covering itself in tobacco (probably same idea) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKPCm78Iu5g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKPCm78Iu5g
konfusinomicon 4y ago
or perhaps your cat was on dead tour in the 90s and needs something a bit stronger to get its kicks nowadays
saghm 4y ago
From what I understand, catnip doesn't make cats "high" so much as it's an aphrodesiac. When I adopted my cat, she used to go absolutely nuts for catnip. It turned out that the shelter's information that she was spayed was wrong, though, and I ended up getting that done. Since then, her reaction to catnip has been much more subdued; she'll roll around in it a few minutes, but then basically settle down and ignore it afterwards. tl;dr your cat might just not be horny enough to care about catnip
- squarefoot 4y ago
  For the record, I tried catnip on most of my cats during the years, and all of them enjoyed it a lot. They were all neutered indoor cats.
  - saghm 4y ago
    Yep, I didn't mean to imply that fixed cats wouldn't be interested, just that it is at least partially dependent on libido. It's possible for a non-neutered cat to still not be interested, as it is for neutered cats to be super interested.

by podiki 4y ago

gwern 4y ago

Silvervine is Japanese, so that's already listed; you probably tried either Tartarian honeysuckle or valerian. Immunity to all of them is pretty unusual, but it's also worth noting that responses can be variable, and each one should be tested a few times spread out. (It seems like stress or uncertainty can help shut down responses. Cats are very cagey about showing inner state.)

rurp 4y ago

It's worth trying again after some time has passed. I have one cat that had no interest in catnip for years, but later developed a love for it.

arthurcolle 4y ago
tolerance break? Haha
andriesm 4y ago
Uhm why are you trying to get your cat addicted to something ;-) you drug pushers you!

joecool1029 4y ago

I think valerian is another one they react to. Anyway here's a video of a monkey covering itself in tobacco (probably same idea) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKPCm78Iu5g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKPCm78Iu5g

konfusinomicon 4y ago

or perhaps your cat was on dead tour in the 90s and needs something a bit stronger to get its kicks nowadays

saghm 4y ago

From what I understand, catnip doesn't make cats "high" so much as it's an aphrodesiac. When I adopted my cat, she used to go absolutely nuts for catnip. It turned out that the shelter's information that she was spayed was wrong, though, and I ended up getting that done. Since then, her reaction to catnip has been much more subdued; she'll roll around in it a few minutes, but then basically settle down and ignore it afterwards. tl;dr your cat might just not be horny enough to care about catnip

squarefoot 4y ago
For the record, I tried catnip on most of my cats during the years, and all of them enjoyed it a lot. They were all neutered indoor cats.
- saghm 4y ago
  Yep, I didn't mean to imply that fixed cats wouldn't be interested, just that it is at least partially dependent on libido. It's possible for a non-neutered cat to still not be interested, as it is for neutered cats to be super interested.