's cat friends have heard of catnip, but not necessarily all of them have smoked their cat. Recently, Pug also asked some feces scavengers who keep cats around him. Z1z found that many friends still have only a little knowledge of catnip.
For this reason, Pug specially opened up the "Cat Health Encyclopedia" column. In this issue of , we will take a look at how this legendary "cat world hemp" catnip makes the cats head overwhelmed.
01
What is catnip?
Catnip, officially called Nepeta in Chinese, is a perennial herbaceous Nepeta in the Lamiaceae family. Its origin is Eastern Europe and then spread to all over the world. Its altitude distribution ranges from sea level to nearly 2500 meters above sea level. It has adaptability. Very strong and very easy to grow.
It is worth mentioning that catnip also has an English name catmint, which means: a plant favored by cats. How does
cat like catnip? We continue to look down...
is so drunk that it’s like being drunk...
spins...jumps...you can’t stop...
put such a small drop in the cat group, you can “poison” "Turn over a group of cats
, look at these ordinary high-cold cats who are indulged in "drug-taking" and become unable to extricate themselves. There is no such thing as a reserved look
02
One thing is one thing, the magic of "cat world cannabis" People who suck cats at
, cats suck it, seemingly "flat-looking" catnip, why can it make cats want to stop?
The leaves and stems of catnip originally contain a chemical substance of nepetalactone. The chemical formula is as shown in the figure below: ↓
When the stem or leaf is damaged, this aromatic hydrocarbon substance will be released into the air. If the smell happens to be smelt by the cat, it will make it very excited and roll around, or keep rubbing the body to meow, and occasionally eat a few mouthfuls of catnip happily. Not only that, some cats even squint. The upper eyes became unusually intoxicated, and various reactions were mixed, and they were like cats before smelling catnip. The addictive behavior of
cats is a bit similar to the reaction of humans after smoking marijuana. This situation of usually lasts for 5 to 15 minutes, and the longest addictive time generally does not exceed 1 hour. After , the cat will gradually After returning to normal, will no longer be interested in catnip for 2 hours.
Research shows that this addictive behavior in the cat world is mainly due to the binding of nepetalactone to the olfactory protein receptor on the cat's olfactory receptor neurons, and the resulting stimulus is transmitted through the olfactory neurons to the olfactory bulb responsible for processing odors Finally, the olfactory bulb sends signals to the amygdala (responsible for emotions) and hypothalamus (responsible for behavioral responses) and other brain regions to stimulate the cat to produce a stress response.
Not only that, reports have shown that tigers, leopards, jaguars (jaguars), cheetahs, lynxes and other big cats will also be attracted by the smell of catnip and produce a stress response, which is really amazing. plant.
03
mint, catgrass, and catnip are silly and unclear.
Many shit shovel officers are always stupid to distinguish mint, catgrass, and catnip, but they don’t know that the three plants are not only different in purpose, but also not long enough. same.
First talk about the difference between catnip and mint.
catnip is a distant cousin of mint. The two look similar, but from the perspective of the leaves, the leaves of catnip are thicker than mint, and the color is whiter, and there is a layer of fine fluff on it. Not only that, although catnip It can make cats hallucinogenic, but it has almost no taste and effect for humans, and it is not as cool as mint.
Let's look at the difference between catnip and cat grass.
Catnip can make cats fall into a psychedelic realm, so cool to fly, but unlike humans smoking marijuana, catnip is non-toxic and will not negatively affect cats.On the contrary, it can also help regulate the mood and train the cat.
and cat grass is a collective name for many kinds of plants, including wheat sprouts, barley sprouts and dog's tail grass, etc. It can not only help cats digest some indigestible foods, supplement them with minerals and trace elements, but also help cats to induce vomiting Hair ball in the belly.
Catnip is good, but it is not suitable for all cats.
research shows that one third of cats are insensitive to catnip, and it should not be used on pregnant female cats. Catnip can cause nervous excitement in cats, and may stimulate uterine contractions in pregnant cats and cause miscarriage .
But in addition, catnip is a rare "magic pill" for most cats. Once it hits the soul, it is so refreshing that it is not addictive and harmless to the body.
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Editor: Xuelang
