CATNIP could turn a house cat, one of the world's top predators, into a rolling, adorable ball of fluff.
It is common knowledge among cat lovers that the plant is irresistible to most cats. But does it have the same effect on big cats?
Verdict:
TRUE
70% of domestic cats are susceptible to catnip, and so are big cats such as lions, tigers, and panthers, among many others.
In the 1970s, zoologists from the University of Tennessee and the Knoxville Zoological Park gave catnip to 33 big cats, and the responses were mostly positive.
The park’s lions and jaguars reacted most strongly to the catnip.
Animals of reproductive age were more sensitive than cubs, immature adults, or very old animals.
Just like cats, not all of them are susceptible to the charms of catnips.
Tigers, cougars, and bobcats reacted less strongly, while the park's two cheetahs never even approached the catnip.
Talk about living up to their image of being nature's ferocious beasts.
Animal content creator Landon Scherr filmed a video in May 2023 at the Zoological Wildlife Foundation in Miami, Florida, in which he gave catnips to big cats.
In the video, Scherr gives paper bags laced with catnips and oil to lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars, just to name a few.
The animals that did respond to the catnip reacted in much the same way that domestic cats do—by sniffing and licking the catnip toy, rubbing their chins and cheeks on it or rolling over and rubbing their body on it.
Just like regular cats, they look so cute when they go crazy for catnips!
References:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEdpDl1hSz4&ab_channel=LandonScherr
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/53291/do-big-cats-also-love-catnip
https://bigcatrescue.org/cats-in-a-spin-over-catnip/
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2274319-science-with-sam-why-do-cats-go-crazy-for-catnip/
