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TED-Ed 4 Jun 2026 30 here now

Why does catnip make cats go crazy? - Jaap de Roode

Explore the fascinating reason why cats go crazy for catnip, and what evolutionary purpose the plant served to feline species.

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Of the many bewildering behaviors cats display, one of the strangest

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Smart kitties
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Sniffs "It's catnip."

"That's, uh, not mine."
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Not the first ad being the Grammarly cat essay ad 😂😂
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All 4 of our cats respond to catnip, but one of them turns into a mean drunk. The other 3 say “we’ll come back later…thanks”.
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@hanchen267 From YouTube ↗ 21 Jun 2026 83
2:45 if my cat were to saw a mosquito existing in the same room as she is, 5 minutes later the mosquito wouldn’t be anymore
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So, if I spray catnip essential oil on myself, will my cat love me more and mosquitoes will stay away from me? A win-win situation!
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Surprised that obvious follow-up questions like 'is it harmful to cats?' and 'overtime do they need higher and higher dosage?' weren't discussed.
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shout out to the sound team
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Cat to hooman: "I have no idea where that catnip comes from"
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Always wondered why my cat acts so weird around catnip! Super interesting. 🐱🌿
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When I click the like button, there's a cat animation before the thumb is filled-in!!!
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Two of my last three cats liked catnip; the third one seems to have no reaction whatsoever. The third one is a weirdo in more ways than just this “meh” to catnip.
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“Cat Behavior Expert” I found my dream job!!!
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Cat: It’s not mine Officer, I was holding it for a buddy of mine.
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@cglacarion From YouTube ↗ 21 Jun 2026 142
I say we should make catnip-based bug repellent for humans. Getting protected from mosquitoes AND attracting cats? Win-win
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When my cats do drugs they are "applying insect repellent" but when I do drugs I am "harming myself and others around me". That doesn't seem fair
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It’s crazy how science has become so advanced that we can:

1. Know that animals are attracted to specific chemicals rather then a whole plant
2. Separate these chemicals in a lab
3. Analyze animal blood to detect specific chemicals molecules in said blood
4. Know the effects these molecules have on any living organism
5. Trace the evolutionary lineage of animals millions of years into the past to figure out who’s related to whom
6. Deduce from the reaction different animals have how long ago a certain behavior developed and even speculate and test reasons why based on well known patterns in evolutionary biology

And all of this when 210 years ago or roughly 7 generations the smartest most educated people on the planet weren’t even sure that different star systems atoms or even evolutionary chains really existed and now every school child knows this!

I don’t think we appreciate the modern scientific revolution and how bonkers it truly is enough.
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In an alternative universe, there's a video on CatTube called "Why does poppy plant make humans go crazy"
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never missing ted-ed's cat content✌✌
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@spicysmooth2 From YouTube ↗ 21 Jun 2026 1100
That cat animation was fantastic