A study published in BMC Veterinary Research confirms catnip works. Olfactory enrichment, i.e. great smells, can cause a “euphoric” reaction in most domestic cats, says the study, which compared catnip to other plants.
Nearly all the cats in the study responded positively to olfactory enrichment. Only one out of three cats did not respond to catnip (the study included 100 domestic cats and nine tigers; tigers do not respond to catnip, in case you need to know).
Almost 80 percent of the domestic cats responded to silver vine and 50 percent to Tatarian honeysuckle and valerian root. Although cats predominantly responded to fruit galls of the silver vine plant, some also responded to its wood. Of the cats that didn’t respond to catnip, 75 percent responded to silver vine and 33 percent to Tatarian honeysuckle.
The study concluded silver vine and Tatarian honeysuckle are good choices for cats not into catnip.