Does Catnip Really Make Cats 'High'?

They may look blissful and euphoric, but what's really happening?

Offer a pinch of catnip or a catnip-filled toy to your pet feline, and her response might be dramatic ... and silly. She may roll on her back, dart wildly around, drool, lick the catnip and rub it on her face and body, or flop over and lie there purring. 

Her actions seem goofy and comical, and somewhat resemble the uncoordinated and gleeful behavior of someone who's had a little too much to drink or is pleasantly under the influence of recreational drugs.

Catnip (Nepeta cataria) belongs to the mint family Lamiaceae, which includes aromatic herbs such as rosemary, sage, oregano and basil. The compound that plays the biggest role in the so-called catnip effect in domestic cats is produced in specialized glands in catnip's leaves and flowers and is called nepetalactone, said Jim Simon, a professor of plant biology and co-director of the Center for Sensory Sciences and Innovation at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.  

"When you buy catmint [another cat-attracting plant in the Lamiaceae family] or catnip from a nursery, they're usually hybrids sold for ornamental purpose; they usually don't attract cats because they have very little nepetalactone," Simon told Live Science.

There are other compounds in catnip that are similar to nepetalactone in their molecular structure, and some can even stimulate a response on their own, but nepetalactone is the strongest of the group, Simon said. Cats are attracted to the odor of nepetalactone, which binds to receptors in their noses and often produces behavior that appears euphoric.

Other compounds in catnip affect neurotransmitters, "resulting in inhibition of central nervous system activity," said Dr. Bruce Kornreich, an associate director for education and outreach with the Feline Health Center at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, New York.