In article <pppnic.6.00189A23 at actrix.gen.nz> pppnic at actrix.gen.nz (Rowena Cave-Lynch) writes:
>From: pppnic at actrix.gen.nz (Rowena Cave-Lynch)
>Subject: Re: catnip :)
>Date: Fri, 19 Jan 1996 01:27:43 GMT
>>Hi nice people,
>>I've always been curious about this, but couldn't find it
>>anywhere.
>>Um, does anyone know what the "drug" is in catnip? And
>>why does it only work on cats (or is that not true)?
>>Any hints or conjectures would be very much appreciated,
>>or you can tell me where to go (which newsgroup, that is).
>>Always curious (as is Rollie, my beloved Tabby)
>>P.S., I'm a grad student in Pharmacology, so I'll use this
>>information for good, not evil.
>>Sandra
>>----------------------
>>sandraw at U.Arizona.EDU
>Catnip (Nepeta Cataria): a perennial of the mint family. My "Grieves" Herbal
>says of it that it is the bruised plant cats like - if not bruised, they
>ignore it. Rats, apparently, hate it. It is carminative, tonic, diaphoretic,
>refrigerant and slightly emmenagogic, particularly anti-spasmodic, and mildly
>stimulating. etc. She doesn't, however, go into the chemical constituents as
>she does with many herbs. However, I have read (I also have catnip-intoxicated
>cats) that the scent is very close to a pheromone produced by lactating female
>cats, which would explain the almost orgasmic writhing of our cat in the
>catnip!
>Rowena
Somewhat on the same subject, does anyone know if there are any compounds in
spider plants that would make a cat want to eat it several times a day? One of
our cats seems to prefer the plant even though he has several pots of grass to
eat, too (he's an indoor cat). My husband and I jokingly tell each other that
he is addicted to the spider plant--maybe someone knows if this is possible or
not. He doesn't eat much at each 'snack' and never throws it up.
thanks,
Nadine Henderson
nhende at scri.sari.ac.uk
