Does Catnip Increase a Cat’s Appetite?

Catnip can help cats increase appetite, including seniors, sick, and picky cats, but it isn’t a magical pill that resolves the issue once and for all.

Catnip can be an occasional appetite stimulant but isn’t helpful for cats with chronic appetite loss. Furthermore, some cats are unresponsive to the herb.

The best way to find out whether catnip will help increase your cat’s appetite is to try it out. However, be aware of catnip’s adverse effects and safe dosage.

Understanding Catnip Effects on Cats

Cats can react to catnip differently, either becoming hyperactive or sleepy depending on whether they’ve inhaled or ingested the herb.

Catnip does its magic on cats by mimicking feline mating pheromones. When a cat sniffs catnip, vapors of nepetalactone, the active ingredient in catnip, hit a cat’s olfactory organs and travel into the brain through the bloodstream.

As a result, a cat exhibits a reaction similar to mating behavior, rolling on the ground, meowing, and rubbing against the floor and furniture. In other words, catnip works as a mild stimulant when inhaled.

Some cats start running around the room or become very playful after sniffing catnip. Unfortunately, the herb may make some kitties aggressive towards people and other animals, but only until the effect wears off.

When a cat ingests catnip, it acts as a sedative and has the opposite effect, making it sleepy and mellow. Some cats may be disoriented or lethargic after eating catnip.

The effect doesn’t occur instantly as in the first scenario because nepetalactone must first reach the cat’s digestive tract, where it enters the bloodstream through the stomach tissue and intestines and is metabolized by the liver.

How quickly the catnip effect wears off varies. If inhaled, catnip only works for 10-30 minutes, depending on the dosage and potency. If ingested, the herb can work for several hours.

Some cats experience food cravings after the catnip effect wears off. Whether catnip will stimulate appetite depends on a cat’s peculiarities, but the effect is more likely after smelling catnip than eating it.

Can Catnip Help Sick Cats Increase Appetite?

Catnip can help increase the appetite of a sick cat, but the odds aren’t 100%. Firstly, not every cat is equally responsive to the effects of catnip. Secondly, severely ill cats may feel too bad to care.

Smelling catnip is more likely to increase a cat’s appetite, whereas eating it may have the opposite effect, making a cat lose interest in food. Both effects only occur for a short while.

But even if catnip increases a cat’s appetite, it isn’t a long-term solution. Cats shouldn’t have catnip more frequently than once a week because they develop tolerance to its effects.

Immediately after catnip kicks in, cats become desensitized to its smell and lose interest in the herb.

Most cats regain interest in catnip after a few hours after the effect wears off, but too frequent consumption quickly leads to lasting tolerance.

In other words, catnip may encourage a cat to eat once, but owners may need to seek other solutions if decreased appetite is a chronic problem.

Furthermore, some cats experience gastroenteric upset from catnip, particularly from eating it in large amounts. Vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach aches don’t stimulate appetite and may only worsen a sick cat’s health.

If a loss of appetite occurs from anxiety or physical pain, catnip can help because it relieves stress and eases body tension.

Can Catnip Help Picky Cats?

Some owners wonder whether catnip can help convince picky cats to eat their food. Like in the scenario with a sick cat, catnip can be of great help but only occasionally.

Picky cats don’t eat food because they don’t like it but because of a lack of appetite. A cat with post-catnip munchies may eat its food if it has no other option.

However, it is unlikely to eat the food the next day when the catnip’s effect wears off. Some feline owners mix dry catnip with cat food.

That’s a working trick. However, cats sometimes outsmart the owners and lick the herb from the food without actually eating anything.

How to Give a Cat Catnip to Increase Appetite

The best way to give a cat catnip to increase appetite is to let it sniff the herb. Catnip has sedative properties when ingested and may have the opposite effect.

You can experiment with different catnip products and see which works the best for your cat. For example, you may sprinkle some loose catnip around your cat’s bed, spritz its bed with catnip spray, or give it catnip toys to play with.

Fresh catnip plant also does the job, but be careful because it’s more potent than dry catnip. Dry catnip is also easier to administer than a fresh herb.

If you want to convince a picky cat to try its food, mix a little bit of catnip with the food. However, note that your cat may lose appetite for some hours after the effects wear off.

Catnip Dosage to Increase a Cat’s Appetite

How much catnip to give a cat depends on whether the cat has tolerance, herb potency, and other factors. If you’re giving catnip to your cat for the first time, start with a small dose and increase it gradually as your cart builds tolerance.

Cats have an innate knowledge of how much catnip is too much, so your cat is unlikely to overdose on catnip.

Your cat will sniff as much herb as necessary for the effect to occur and lose interest because its olfactory receptors will become desensitized.

In other words, your cat will lose receptivity to catnip until the effect wears off and its pheromone receptors reset. This could take anywhere from a few hours to several days.

Loss of receptivity occurs because nepetalactone mimics feline mating pheromones. After mating, cats lose interest in the opposite sex for some time and may even become aggressive towards other felines.

Start with half a teaspoon or less if you plan on mixing catnip with cat food. Your goal isn’t to sedate your cat but to attract your cat to the food with catnip’s smell, so you don’t need much of the herb.

If you have a large cat like a Maine Coon or your pet already has tolerance, you may put a teaspoon of the herb into its food.

Don’t overuse catnip because cats can build tolerance and become unresponsive to catnip effects. This effect occurs when a cat has catnip too frequently or in large doses.

Does Catnip Work on All Cats?

Catnip has a different effect on different cats, and some felines are unresponsive to the herb entirely. Some cats lack a gene responsible for recognizing and reacting to nepetalactone.

How many cats are responsive to catnip is unknown – perhaps, the numbers range from 50% to 75%. This means that every fourth to every second cat shows no changes in behavior after sniffing or ingesting catnip.

According to recent research, receptivity to catnip is inherited, so if a mother cat is responsive to the herb, so will her kittens. However, kittens don’t begin responding to catnip as soon as they are born.

Because nepetalactone mimics mating pheromones, it only affects sexually mature cats.

Kittens can’t yet recognize mating pheromones, although they can respond to other pheromone types necessary to recognize other cats from their social group.

Kittens begin sexually maturing at six months to one year of age, depending on the breed and particular cat’s peculiarities. Only after a kitten is six months old can the owners find out whether it reacts to catnip.

So, if your kitten doesn’t want to eat, catnip won’t help. It isn’t dangerous to kittens, but it will have no effect whatsoever. In contrast, catnip is an excellent option to encourage a senior cat to eat.

Old cats may be less responsive to the herb because some of them have already developed tolerance, and others have problems with olfactory organs, losing the sense of smell. Still, many senior cats retain an interest in catnip.

A Word of Caution

Although catnip is generally safe and can help increase a cat’s appetite, be mindful of adverse reactions. Supervision is always necessary after a cat has sniffed or eaten catnip because it may accidentally injure itself.

Catnip makes cats hyperactive or, on the opposite, mellow and disoriented, so a cat can crash into furniture or fall off a cat tree. Some cats may behave aggressively towards people and other animals.

When ingested, catnip can cause stomach irritation, vomiting, and diarrhea, but this adverse effect is more common with large doses. Small doses are known to improve digestion.

Some cats have an allergy to catnip, although the herb isn’t a common allergen. If you aren’t yet sure whether your cat is allergic, watch out for gastroenteric and respiratory symptoms.

Don’t give catnip to a pregnant cat refusing to eat. Because catnip is a stimulant, it may induce premature labor or affect the placenta. There are numerous safer ways to encourage a pregnant cat to eat.

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