Check out http://science.howstuffworks.com for more specific information. I'm just going to paraphrase what I found from the site and a few links that it mentions, in case you can't access it yourself. I don't think cats actually get high in the way a marijuana smoker gets high, although the effects of catnip on cats have been compared to those of hallucinogenic drugs on humans. There is a chemical in catnip (a plant related to mint) called nepetalactone, and this is responsible for the cat's reaction. It is "chemically similar" to hallucinogens, but it doesn't seem to be exactly the same. (This is my inference from what I've read; I've seen cats with catnip, but I have no experience with human drug use!) The reaction (rolling ecstatically, licking, etc.) is triggered by the catnip's scent. Some think that the reaction provoked by catnip is somehow related to cats' predatory instincts, because of similar behaviors in both hunting and catnip situations. It seems like scientists haven't completely solved the mystery, but here's what they do know about catnip and its effects on cats: -- reaction to catnip is hereditary (autosomal dominant for those who are better at genetics than I am!); some cats don't react to catnip at all, but there are both domestic and wild cats who do -- reaction to catnip is strongest in cats of reproductive age; kittens aren't affected as strongly -- whatever it is that happens when a cat reacts to catnip, it only lasts 10-15 minutes-- the cat then abandons the catnip and is unaffected by it for at least an hour (but after time has passed, the cat can return to the catnip it previously abandoned and go through the same cycle all over again)

I don't know but you should see my cat on the stuff! MAN! He goes NUTS... rolling around all on the floor, eyes all big and wild, playing with things that aren't there and then BAM! Just like that, he's ZIPPING around the house like he's on speed or something! LOL Crazy cat!

yeah its a cat narcotic!!

maybe to some. some don't pay any attention to it. they sniff and walk away. maybe it's some saying NO to drugs.

What I've heard is that it's like a drug, but it's not addictive... I'd like to try once... If only I were a cat!!

Some cats are "addicted" to it and others dont seem to be affected by it at all. Mine never seemed interested in it....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catnip#Effects_on_cats This tells you lots about catnip, and it's effects on cats.

Well we give our cats catnip,...and they love it. My uncle told me that his wife said why do you give your cats catnip?.. that is live giving them a drug. Which I did not believe so I looked it up online and found out from Vetinarians & science pros. that cat nip is an herb from the mint family & is not a drug & is completly safe for your Cats!... So your cat's can enjoy it! By Lillian

My cat has indulged a couple times a year for 11 years. Once, he got so paranoid, he stayed under the bed in my boys' room for 3 days. Most the time he just rolls around and makes out with the soft cat nip toy. It's like pot.

It makes them "high" like weed does to people, but it is harmess, they love it. They get playful, happy and then fall asleep

Mine act a little hyper and parnoid.

No one knows exactly what happens in the cat's brain, it is known that the chemical, "nepetalactone", in catnip is the thing that triggers the response to roll around, leap, chew, act silly. Apparently, it somehow it act like a cat pheromone to those that are sensitive to the chemical. The catnip reaction is inherited, and some cats are totally unaffected by it. only about 70% of cats are affected and it runs in families. The reaction to catnip only lasts a few minutes. Then once they have to wait about 2 hours for it to affect the cat again. It really is a short high:-)

Most cats are attracted to it and do like toys with the scent of catnip, it also seems that it has little effect on Siamese cats . My neighbor bought some for her cat and said the cat wasn’t attracted to the catnip at all, I replied that I’d seen that reaction before but only in Siamese cats , then my neighbor replied that her cat was ½ Siamese (without Siamese markings).

We have a two year old Marnmalade cat. I bought a gallon sixed live plant which we leave outside on the porch. Whenever he likes, he walks to the plant, eats a few leaves, races around the house, the yard, eats a pint of ice cream, and passes out. He's a very mellow fella.

Cat nip releases a scent better for your cat if you pinch the cat nip before giving it to him. IF you have tried to give cat nip to your cat and they didn't "take" to it - try again with this technique. Your cat will eventually start going to the place where you keep it and start asking you for it!!! Believe me to be true, beacause my cats knocks it off the shelf if he wants it!!!

My cat gets a bad trip on catnip! She becomes violent, scratching and biting and goes crazy in a scary way, literally eating the carpet like an addict trying to get every last bit of the stuff. She's normally extremely cuddly, lovable and docile and the one and only time she ever bit or scratched me was when I gave her that catnip. I swear she starts seeing things and gets paranoid. It does something to her sensory perception. She definitely gets tripped out, but in a bad way! And I only gave a little bit! So I'm throwing away the rest of the stuff. According to this website, http://www.animalhealthcare.ca/contents/content.asp?id=45&cat=cats,..... 'Since catnip is biochemically related to marijuana and other so-called psychedelic drugs, another theory suggests that the pleasure response in cats is actually similar to that experienced by humans taking similar drugs.'

No one knows exactly what happens in the cat's brain, it is known that the chemical, "nepetalactone", in catnip is the thing that triggers the response to roll around, leap, chew, act silly. Apparently, it somehow it act like a cat pheromone to those that are sensitive to the chemical. The catnip reaction is inherited, and some cats are totally unaffected by it. only about 70% of cats are affected and it runs in families. The reaction to catnip only lasts a few minutes. Then once they have to wait about 2 hours for it to affect the cat again. It really is a short high:-)

I don't know, but my 2 cats rather attack the tabacco in my cigs! They go nuts!

dont know but ear wax is

I hear it is like a drug to them. I don't think it hurts them but I know that not all cats like it. Most do, and they roll around and act drunk or get more crazy, but I have seen some that sniff it and jump back, then avoid it.

I dunno. My cat doesn't seem affected by catnip at all.