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This 'new catnip' will get your cat off its tits

Thanks science

This 'new catnip' will get your cat off its tits
22 March 2017

We all know that catnip is a pretty effective way to get your cat bouncing-off-the-walls high. But if your feline pal is more discerning, good (or maybe bad?) news: there are new ways for them to get wasted.

Molecular biologist Sebastian Bol, who has the literal dream job of running a ranch for rescued cats, wanted to find out why some cats go totally mental on catnip and some...don’t. He tested three other plants on 100 cats – Tatarian honeysuckle, valerian root and silver vine – to find out whether other plants might do the trick.

via GIPHY

According to WIRED:

“He rubbed the plant matter on a sock or a square of carpet, and set the material in the cats’ line of sight. Then he waited. If the cat approached and backed away, he considered that a denial... After each success or denial, he’d wait about five minutes for the cat to relax, then try again with another plant type.”

Bol found that around 80% of cats responded to silver vine – which makes it even more potent than catnip – and 40% to valerian root and honeysuckle. 

We still don’t know exactly why catnip or silver vine work so potently on cats – but until we do, we can enjoy watching our cats get smashed.