If you want to see a cat behave like it’s on drugs, give them a bit of nepeta cataria, better known as catnip. Dried or fresh, the catnip leaf has a clear effect on most cats, making them behave like they are “high.”

But why? What is it about the catnip plant that creates this reaction? And what, if any, purpose does the plant serve for our feline friends beyond euphoria?

The chemical compound that gives them the high

As explained in a TedEd video by Jaap de Roode, these were questions Japanese cat behavior expert Masao Miyazaki and chemist Toshio Nishikawa set out to study in 2013. Their research teams started studying a plant called silver vine, which sparks a similar response in cats. 

First, they extracted individual chemical compounds from the plant and dribbled them in various combinations onto filter papers. When they brought........

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