When you’re watching your cat play with some catnip you sprinkled on the floor, it’s pretty common to wonder, "does catnip get cats high?”. After all, the way cats roll around and act silly looks just like it – but is that how catnip works?
When I was a veterinary student, I fostered cats for a local charity. It was a great way to gain experience with my feline patients and I learned loads about their quirks. I especially loved trying them with catnip – although, disappointingly, half of my charges didn’t react to it, even with the best catnip toys.
After graduating as a vet, I even worked in feline-only practice for a time – I truly appreciate cats and their quirks, both medical and behavioral. So, you can imagine I was all too excited to write this article about catnip!
Does catnip get cats high?
The million-dollar question – is catnip a drug for cats? Does it get them high? Well, let’s first define a ‘high’. For the purposes of this article, we’ll say it’s a feeling of extreme wellbeing and happiness – a ‘euphoric’ reaction.
In this case, I think we can safely say catnip gets cats high. After all, their reaction is definitely euphoric, with initial excitement and hyperactivity followed by a relaxed and happy state.
Some people associate a ‘high’ from drugs with hallucinations, but there’s no evidence that cats have this reaction. And, unlike drug highs in humans, a catnip high for cats doesn’t seem to have negative impacts.
In fact, when cats smell catnip it releases a lot of endorphins – it’s quite similar to the ‘natural high’ humans get from exercise. It’s thought that cats have evolved this reaction because the endorphin release causes behaviors like rolling, which increases the contact of the cat with the catnip, improving their protection against mosquitoes and other insects.
The endorphins released when cats sniff catnip work on the opioid receptors. ‘Opioids?’ I hear you say – yes, these are the same receptors that opioids like morphine and heroin act on, which definitely adds weight to the idea that catnip gives cats a high!
What is a catnip ‘high’ like for cats?
When cats smell catnip, their body reacts to a natural compound in the plant called nepetalactone by releasing lots of endorphins. These endorphins act on opioid receptors in the body, causing feelings of pleasure and relaxation.
Not all cats respond to catnip (studies show that about one in three don’t!) but for those that do, the response is very fast. Cats initially sniff and chew the leaves, then become excited within seconds, rolling in the scent and sometimes running about from room to room.
The effect wears off after about 10 minutes. The cat won’t then respond to catnip for a couple of hours, but during this time they may be sleepier than usual.
Can cats overdose on catnip?
The good news for our catnip-crazy felines is that it isn’t possible for cats to overdose on the smell of catnip. Once the initial excitement has worn off, the cat becomes uninterested in the catnip for a couple of hours.
Even if they were to then sniff the catnip and have another high, there is no harm in this – it’s all natural and caused by their endorphins.
That said, catnip can be bad for cats if they eat too much of it, so if your cat tries to eat catnip as part of their reaction you may have to prevent them from eating it. It’s not toxic as such, but it can cause an upset stomach if they eat a lot.
Can cats get addicted to catnip?
One of the major concerns with human opioids and human highs is over-reliance and addiction. Since the last thing we want is a crazy catnip-addicted moggy, it’s worth exploring whether cats can get addicted to catnip.
Luckily, there’s no evidence that this is the case. Even cats who are used to regular catnip highs don’t seem to have withdrawal symptoms when it’s removed, and because it uses natural endorphins, it’s less likely that any sort of addiction could be created.
That said, some humans get addicted to the natural endorphins from exercise, so it’s possible that some cats would miss the catnip reaction and come to crave it, it’s just that we don’t recognize these behaviors as addiction.
How does catnip compare to a human high?
When humans seek a ‘high’, they’re wanting to experience intense feelings of pleasure and relaxation, sometimes alongside ‘out of body’ experiences and hallucinations.
They seek the drugs most likely to give them this feeling. Since the feeling is very pleasurable, it becomes something people want more of and, for some drugs, their body becomes used to the drug, meaning they need to take more and more often to get the same effect.
Catnip isn’t like that. Firstly, as far as we know, cats don’t crave catnip or don’t go looking for catnip as a way to get high. They probably aren’t thinking “I fancy a high, where’s my catnip?” – it’s a more natural, instinctive reaction than that. The smell of catnip sets off a chain reaction – not dissimilar to the way the smell of your favorite food might cause you to salivate.
Secondly, cats don’t usually become immune to catnip or seek it out in greater and greater amounts. If a cat reacts to catnip, they usually react to it for the rest of their lives (bar the couple of hours after the excitement phase, where they seem to have no interest in it).
Catnip does become less potent over time though, so if your cat seems to be becoming immune to their catnip, try buying some new catnip.
Lastly, there’s no evidence that cats have hallucinations or out-of-body experiences while on catnip. Although some pet parents report that cats run from room to room and assume this is hallucinations, it might just be a way of cats burning off extra energy and excitement.
In my opinion, the answer to “does catnip get cats high?” is yes, but it depends on how you define a high. Since my definition is “feelings of intense pleasure and relaxation”, and this seems to be what cats feel when they sniff catnip, I think cats do get a ‘high’ from catnip.
That said, it’s important to remember that this is a ‘natural high’ stimulated by the cat’s own endorphins. The good news is that there doesn’t appear to be anything harmful or addictive about catnip, so you can safely let your cat play with their favorite catnip (or silvervine!) toys.
Read next: What does catnip do to cats? or Can kittens have catnip? or Can cats eat catnip?
After graduating as a vet from the University of Nottingham, Joanna went on to practice companion animal medicine in the Midlands. She quickly developed a love of consulting and helping clients with medical problems such as dermatology, behavior and nutrition - anything that involved helping clients understand their pets better.
Edited by Megan Milstead.
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This page was last updated in April 2025 by Joanna Woodnutt.
