Cat Is Playing With A Catnip Ball.
Like 1 Dislike 0 Published on 19 May 2017
See how my little cat plays with a catnip ball.
This video is a re-edit of an older video. I am republishing this video because YouTube has muted the previous version. YouTube did that because Gentilly Records claims that the music I have used in this video is their copyrighted content. At the time when I used this music for my video it was given to me by Flip Video Music as I bought a Flip Video Camera for the expressed use for posting it on YouTube with a video. The company Flip does not exist anymore and all their assets are sold off. I assume Gentilly Records bought the music rights and is asking YouTube to mute every video which contains their music. I am not willing to fight with such a shady company and therefore I just re-edited the video for your viewing pleasure. I am sory that the quality I re-edited the video from the original raw video files and enhanced the quality of the video.
Nepeta cataria (and some other species within the genus Nepeta) are known for their behavioral effects on the cat family, not only on domestic cats but also big cats. N. cataria is used as a recreational substance for pet cats' enjoyment, and catnip and catnip-laced products designed for use with domesticated cats are available to consumers. Not all cats are affected by catnip. The common behaviors when cats sense the bruised leaves or stems of catnip are rubbing on the plant, rolling on the ground, pawing at it, licking it, and chewing it. Consuming much of the plant is followed by drooling, sleepiness, anxiety, leaping about and purring. Some will growl, meow, scratch, or bite the hand holding it. Some cats will eat dried catnip; often eating too much can cause cats to be aggressive, typically making them hiss.
Nepetalactone
Nepetalactone acts as a feline attractant. Roughly half to two thirds of cats will be affected by the plant. This chemical enters the feline's nose. Cats detect it through their olfactory epithelium, not through their vomeronasal organ. At the olfactory epithelium, the nepetalactone binds to one or more olfactory receptors. Some have speculated that it may mimic a cat pheromone, such as the hypothetical feline facial pheromone or the cat urine odorant MMB. However, this has not been tested.
Approximately two hours after an exposure, the feline will be sensitive to another dose. The phenomenon is hereditary. There is some disagreement about the susceptibility of lions and tigers to catnip.
Other plants that also have this effect on cats include valerian (Valeriana officinalis) and plants that contain actinidine.
The domestic cat (Felis catus or Felis silvestris catus) is a small, usually furry, domesticated, and carnivorous mammal. It is often called the housecat when kept as an indoor pet, or simply the cat when there is no need to distinguish it from other felids and felines. Cats are valued by humans for companionship and their ability to hunt vermin and household pests.
Cats are similar in anatomy to the other felids, with strong, flexible bodies, quick reflexes, sharp retractable claws, and teeth adapted to killing small prey. Cat senses fit a crepuscular and predatory ecological niche. Cats can hear sounds too faint or too high in frequency for human ears, such as those made by mice and other small game. They can see in near darkness. Like most other mammals, cats have poorer color vision and a better sense of smell than humans.
Despite being solitary hunters, cats are a social species, and cat communication includes the use of a variety of vocalizations (meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling and grunting) as well as cat pheromones and types of cat-specific body language.
Cats have a rapid breeding rate. Under controlled breeding, they can be bred and shown as registered pedigree pets, a hobby known as cat fancy. Failure to control the breeding of pet cats by spaying and neutering, and the abandonment of former household pets, has resulted in large numbers of feral cats worldwide, with a population of up to 60 million of these animals in the United States alone, requiring population control.
Since cats were cult animals in ancient Egypt, they were commonly believed to have been domesticated there, but there may have been instances of domestication as early as the Neolithic.
A genetic study in 2007 revealed that domestic cats are descended from African wildcats (Felis silvestris lybica) c. 8000 BCE, in the Middle East. According to Scientific American, cats are the most popular pet in the world, and are now found almost every place where people live.