In the 1970s, zoologists from the University of Tennessee and the Knoxville Zoological Park gave catnip and smooth rocks sprayed with catnip extract to 33 of the park's big cats to see what theyâd do. The responses were mostly positive.
The parkâs lions and jaguars reacted most strongly to the catnip, even at very low doses. Both the males and females of these species responded the same way, but reproductive-age animals were more sensitive than either cubs, immature adults, or very old animals.
Tigers, cougars, and bobcats, meanwhile, reacted less strongly, and the park's two cheetahs never even approached the catnip or control objects. The researchers noted that the animals that responded to the catnip arenât ones that would normally encounter it in the wild, since the catnip plant is native to North America and Europe. Except for the cheetahs, the cats that didnât respond as much would encounter catnip in their natural habitat, and the researchers thought that the difference in the speciesâ reactions might be because of the plant's novelty, or lack thereof.
The animals that did respond to the catnip reacted in much the same way that domestic cats doâsniffing and licking the catnip or sprayed rocks, rubbing their chins and cheeks on it or rolling over and rubbing their body on it. The big difference the researchers found in responses was that, while domestic cats will usually respond to catnip for up to 15 minutes and then take an hour or so of âreset timeâ before responding again, the big catsâ response can last an hour or more and they show the same response if they lose interest and then return to the catnip just a few minutes later.
Check out some of these big cats playing with catnip below.
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