BuyCatnip / Catnip
Catnip for cats: will yours react?
Catnip does not work on every cat, and it does not work on kittens. Here is how to tell what to expect from yours before you buy, and what to try if nothing happens.
Will my cat react to catnip?
| Kitten under six months | Wait: kittens that young usually do not react yet. |
|---|---|
| Adult, never tried | About two out of three cats react, so the odds are on your side. |
| Adult, no reaction | Your cat may be one of the cats that ignore catnip. Silver vine is worth a try: in the same 2017 study, more cats reacted to it than to catnip. |
| Adult, it reacted | A normal episode lasts about 10 minutes, then the cat loses interest. |
What the numbers mean for you
When a study counts cats one by one, roughly a third of them simply walk past catnip. That is not a sign of a stale bag or of a sick cat: those cats do not react to the smell. If yours has ignored catnip twice, with a fresh product, you have your answer, and buying a stronger form will not change it.
Age matters too. A young kitten that sniffs and wanders off may react a few months later, so it is worth trying again once your kitten is past six months.
When a cat does react, the show is short. Plan on about ten minutes of rolling and rubbing, then let your cat rest; put the catnip away in a closed jar so the smell does not keep the cat waiting by the cupboard.
Before you buy
- Start with a small amount of loose catnip or one toy, and see how your cat responds.
- If nothing happens, try silver vine before you buy more catnip: see our silver vine page.
- Read the label: catnip is Nepeta cataria. Plants sold as catmint are often other species, see catnip and catmint.
Good to know
- About two out of three cats react to catnip: 68 of 100 cats in a 2017 study, about 70 percent in other counts.1,2,3
- Kittens under about six months old usually do not react to catnip yet.2,4
- A catnip episode usually lasts about 10 minutes.2,5
- In a 2017 study of 100 cats, 79 reacted to silver vine and 68 to catnip.1,3
How we checked this page
Checked on October 20, 2026. We kept a fact only when two independent publishers agree, and each one is numbered to its sources below. Where sources give different numbers, we keep only what they share. We never write a price. This page was written with an AI assistant and checked against the sources below.
Sources
- Responsiveness of cats (Felidae) to silver vine, Tatarian honeysuckle, valerian and catnip (Bol et al., 2017), BMC Veterinary Research
- Why Do Cats Love Catnip?, Scientific American
- Eufloria: Catnip Isn't the Only Plant Scent Cats May Love (Dr. Tony Buffington), Vetstreet
- What is catnip and what does it do to cats?, Cats Protection
- catnip, Encyclopaedia Britannica