WEBVTT - How does catnip work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff from house Stuff Works dot Com, where

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<v Speaker 1>smart happens him Marshall Brain with today's question, how does

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<v Speaker 1>catnip work? Catnip is the common name for a perennial

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<v Speaker 1>herb of the mint family. It's a native to Europe

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<v Speaker 1>and is an import to the United States and other countries.

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<v Speaker 1>The cat nep plant is now a widespread weed in

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<v Speaker 1>most of North America. Given to the right cat, cat

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<v Speaker 1>ip can cause an amazing reaction. The cat will ruvenant,

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<v Speaker 1>roll over it, kick at it, sometimes foam at the mouth,

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<v Speaker 1>and generally go nuts for several minutes. Then the cat

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<v Speaker 1>will lose all interest and walk away. Two hours later,

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<v Speaker 1>the cat may come back and have exactly the same

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<v Speaker 1>response again. Because there really isn't any scent that causes

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<v Speaker 1>this sort of reaction in human beings, catip is hard

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<v Speaker 1>for us to understand. However, it's not an uncommon behavior

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<v Speaker 1>in animals that rely heavily on their noses. For example,

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<v Speaker 1>there are many sense that will trigger intense hunting behaviors

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<v Speaker 1>and dogs, and other sense will cause dogs to stop

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<v Speaker 1>in their tracks and roll all over that set. Although

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<v Speaker 1>no one knows exactly what happens inside the cat's brain.

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<v Speaker 1>It is known that there is one particular chemical and

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<v Speaker 1>cat nip that is the thing that triggers this weird response. Apparently,

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<v Speaker 1>the chemical somehow kicks off as stereotypical patterning cats that

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<v Speaker 1>are sensitive to the chemical. The catnip reaction is inherited,

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<v Speaker 1>and some cats are totally unaffected by it. Large cats

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<v Speaker 1>like tigers, can be sensitive to it as well. The

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<v Speaker 1>reaction to cat nip only lasts for a few minutes,

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<v Speaker 1>then the cat acclimates to it, and it can take

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<v Speaker 1>an hour or two away from the catnip for the

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<v Speaker 1>cat to reset, then the same reaction could occur again.

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<v Speaker 1>Very young kittens and older cats seem less likely to

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<v Speaker 1>have a reaction to at now. Do you have any

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<v Speaker 1>ideas or suggestions for this podcast? If so, please send

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<v Speaker 1>me an email at podcast at how stuff works dot com.

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