Why don't all cats like catnip?

As we all know, catnip has an extraordinary position in the hearts of cats. With catnip, it also brings some convenience to the owners. When promoting cat's appetite, you can put catnip on the food; when you want to keep the cat away from the sofa, you can put catnip on the toy, the cat will be attracted quickly. However, many friends should have discovered that not all cats like catnip. So why is this?

Before we know why some cats don't like catnip, we can first understand what catnip is. Simply put, catnip can be used as medicine; catnip is not equal to peppermint; the smell of catnip can cause excitement in cats. The official explanation about catnip is very long. You may not be interested in watching it, or you may not remember it, so just know these three points. If you want to know more about what catnip is, you can check it out yourself, you can find it easily.

Some cats do not appear to be hallucinating and wandering. The difference is related to genes. Either you are born with addiction, or you don't, conditioning has no effect on this. But this is not to say that catnip is useless. Studies have shown that about 70% to 80% of cats respond to catnip to varying degrees.

So, why don't all cats like catnip? To answer this question, we also need to understand the cat's sense of smell. Cats' sense of smell is much more sensitive than humans. So he can distinguish the smell very easily. Even if you smell the urine of other cats, you can tell whether the urine is a male cat or a female cat, a cat in heat or a cat that is not in heat.

Underage cats will never appear to be hallucinating and wandering. All kittens will avoid catnip for two months after birth, and will not respond enthusiastically until they are three months old. The reason lies in the juvenile cats. Because of the imperfect brain development, nepetalactone will cause a tingling sensation in the juvenile cats. Therefore, according to the nature of seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages, kittens can only stay away from catnip.

So why do some cats dislike catnip? This is because catnip has a smell similar to the urine of a female cat during estrus. Therefore, male cats are more sensitive to this smell than female cats, and unneutered male cats are more sensitive to this smell than neutered male cats. Therefore, naturally some cats don't like catnip. In my own cat raising experience, it is true that the unsterilized male cat went crazy when seeing catnip; and the female cat had no preference for catnip at all, or even ignored it.

Therefore, why not all cats like catnip, because cats have a sensitive sense of smell, and catnip has a smell similar to female cats in estrus, so male cats naturally prefer it. In fact, only 50% of cats like catnip, and this number corresponds to the ratio of male to female cats.