If you’re wondering how often to give catnip to a cat, learn how the herb affects the feline brain and what catnip tolerance is.
Many cats go crazy about catnip and are ready to consume it daily, but should they?
Catnip is generally safe for cats. There are no know cases of death from catnip or lasting adverse effects. However, everything has risks.
The primary risk with frequent catnip consumption is loss of responsiveness to its effect. A cat eating catnip or playing with catnip toys every day will quickly become desensitized to the herb.
To avoid tolerance, use catnip consciously. Whenever possible, seek alternative ways to enrich your cat’s life or reduce stress.
Catnip Tolerance
To understand why catnip shouldn’t be a daily pleasure for your cat, you should learn about catnip tolerance. Over time, cats frequently exposed to catnip may become desensitized to its effects.
Catnip is a psychoactive stimulant, so it’s in a way similar to caffeine or nicotine. If we drink coffee or smoke cigarettes often, we need more and more to feel the effect.
And if we smoke for years or drink five cups of coffee daily, we become immune to their effect. Cats are no different in this regard, although catnip doesn’t cause addiction like caffeine or nicotine.
Learning how catnip works may clarify why catnip tolerance occurs in cats. The active ingredient in catnip, nepetalactone, mimics feline mating pheromones.
Simply put, it causes cats to exhibit mating behavior, rolling on the floor, rubbing against furniture, and vocalizing.
After mating, cats lose interest in the opposite sex for some time and can even behave aggressively towards their partner. The reaction to nepetalactone is similar. Cats only smell or eat catnip until it kicks in.
Then, they become desensitized to the nepetalactone vapors and lose interest in the herb. Most cats regain interest after several hours of the effect wearing off, but some felines need more time to feel the effect again.
When you think of catnip’s effect on cats, tolerance build-up makes perfect sense. Like caffeine, nicotine, or drugs, nepetalactone increases happiness hormone production in the brain.
If our brain gets overstimulated with happiness hormones, it soon loses the ability to feel content from the same amount of the hormone.
Nepetalactone molecules work the same way as caffeine molecules. They bind to receptors intended for neurotransmitters, interfering with natural messaging between the brain and body.
Catnip tolerance builds up gradually. Cats that only have catnip occasionally may not experience it because their olfactory receptors have enough time to reset. However, cats that have catnip often may become entirely unresponsive to its effects.
Senior cats tend to be less responsive to catnip than young cats because they’ve been exposed to the herb more times throughout their lifetime.
The good news is that catnip isn’t the only natural stimulant for cats, so if your cat develops tolerance, you can try catnip alternatives such as silvervine or Tatarian honeysuckle.
Do All Cats Develop Tolerance?
All cats develop catnip tolerance, but the speed varies depending on how frequently a cat has catnip. If a cat has catnip every day, it will soon become desensitized to its smell.
Sometimes, a cat not responding to catnip isn’t caused by the herb’s frequent consumption but by natural immunity. About 25%-50% of cats are unresponsive to catnip on a genetic level.
Some felines simply lack the gene responsible for recognizing and responding to nepetalactone, so they aren’t interested in the herb, and some may even find its smell repulsive.
Kittens, too, don’t react to catnip because they are yet unable to recognize mating pheromones rather than because of tolerance.
Can You Give Catnip Multiple Times a Day?
The catnip effect is short-lived. How long the catnip effect lasts depends on whether a cat has ingested or inhaled the herb.
When catnip is inhaled, it kicks in almost instantly because nepetalactone enters the bloodstream and travels into the brain through the nasal membrane.
Consequently, the effect only lasts for a short while, about 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the dosage and whether a cat has a tolerance. Many feline owners use catnip to calm cats in heat, but it only gives brief relief.
When a cat ingests catnip, nepetalactone must first reach the digestive tract, where it enters the bloodstream through stomach tissues and is metabolized by the liver. In this case, the herb kicks in after half an hour or more.
The effect of ingested catnip lasts for several hours. Still, it isn’t sufficient to sedate an anxious cat for a long car trip. As a result, many owners wonder whether you can give a cat catnip multiple times a day.
Giving a cat catnip twice a day isn’t a good idea. Firstly, the effect won’t be as prominent because a cat’s pheromone receptors need time to reset. Secondly, frequent catnip consumption promotes tolerance.
A cat won’t overdose on catnip if you give it twice a day, but it will be a waste of the herb. Furthermore, you may have trouble calming down your cat later if it becomes immune to catnip effects.
If you need to sedate your cat for longer than the catnip effect lasts, consult your vet regarding mild medications. Alternatively, try other herbs like Indian nettle because their effect is longer-lasting.
Giving a cat catnip every day isn’t wise either. The effect will be strong initially, but the cat will soon lose interest in the herb. There are safer ways to stimulate a cat daily than giving it catnip.
Use It Wisely
One of the most common mistakes in giving a cat catnip is perceiving it as a treat or substitute for environmental enrichment. Some owners give their cats catnip whenever they appear bored.
However, you shouldn’t give out catnip like candy, even if your cat craves it. Catnip is a beneficial plant, provided that your cat isn’t immune to it since birth.
This herb can stimulate a cat’s appetite, encourage a lazy cat to play, calm a cat in heat, or relieve stress. Simply put, catnip is a natural remedy against many behavioral issues in cats.
Perceive catnip as an alternative to chemical medications rather than a treat. If you give your cat catnip too frequently just for fun, your pet may not respond to the herb in a situation when it is vital.
This doesn’t mean that catnip is only for emergencies, but it shouldn’t be the equivalent of morning coffee for your cat. Occasional playing sessions with a catnip toy won’t hurt your pet, but don’t make it a daily pleasure.
Catnip isn’t a toy. Yes, cats behave silly after having some catnip, which may be very entertaining for the owners, but don’t take catnip lightly.
Most healthy adult cats simply don’t need extra stimulation. They are motivated enough to play without catnip. However, senior cats will benefit from more frequent catnip use to promote an active lifestyle.
As a rule of thumb, give catnip to your cat no more than once a week. Over time, you may need to administer your cat larger doses of catnip or find more potent catnip products.
Can a Cat Have Too Much Catnip?
Now, you may wonder what happens if a cat has too much catnip or gets it too often. Fortunately, there’s no such thing as “too much catnip” or “catnip overdose.”
Nepetalactone is non-toxic to felines. It doesn’t cause poisoning even in large amounts, but this doesn’t mean that catnip is risk-free to consume in large quantities every day.
Cats are born with a knowledge of how much catnip is necessary for them. If you look at catnip packaging, you won’t find any dosage guidelines because they are individual.
A cat will simply stop sniffing or eating catnip when it has had enough. But after several hours, it will regain interest in the herb. What happens if a cat eats catnip the second time on the same day?
Nothing. Frequent consumption of catnip doesn’t increase the risk of adverse effects. The worst thing that could happen is that the cat will become immune to catnip effects.
So, there’s no need to worry if your cat has had catnip twice a day. However, if your cat has eaten a large amount of catnip, it may experience gastroenteric symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea.
Some cats become dizzy and disoriented after ingesting catnip, but the effect wears off after approximately an hour. Supervision is necessary to prevent a cat from unintentionally hurting itself.
Overeating catnip is unlikely when the herb is dry, but adverse effects often occur when a cat eats fresh catnip because it’s significantly more potent. Most nepetalactone is contained in catnip flowers and leaves.
Too much catnip cannot kill a cat unless the cat is allergic to the herb or jumps out the window while running around.
The bottom line is that catnip is safe, but you don’t want to use it too often to maintain its effectiveness.