Cats Attracted to Marijuana?
Answered by: Conrad Richter
Question from: Lynn Rinke
Posted on: September 4, 2002

I thought I would get the correct answer from the pros. I am having a discussion about the male and female plant of marijuana and am curious if the male plant is grown and used similar to catnip for cats. Could you please explain or advise me as to where I might find this information about the plants? I am certainly uninformed even at my age of 63. Thanks for your help.

We have not heard that cats are particularly attracted to either sex of the marijuana plant. They may well be, but we have no evidence that they are.

It may be coincidental, but there was once a belief that the active constituent of catnip, nepetene, that is thought to cause the behavioural changes seen in cats is related chemically or pharmacologically to constituents in marijuana. I cannot vouch for this, and I don’t know the current status of this line of thought. But I do recall that some people sold "legal highs" in the 1970s based on catnip extracts and nepetene. However, even if there is a basis for a pharmacological connection between the effects of the two plants on humans, it does not necessarily follow that cats be attracted to marijuana.

Back to | Q & A Index

Copyright © 1997-2024 Otto Richter and Sons Limited. All rights reserved.