Common cat behaviors with smelling silvervine include sedation, hyperactivity, rolling and licking. A cat's reaction to this herb is known as the "matatabi dance". Matatabi literally means "travel again" in Japanese and is also a nickname for silvervine as it causes some cats to wiggle around the floor!
Research done at Harvard University, found that one of the active ingredients in silvervine, nepetalactol, activates the reward & pleasure center in a cats brain. Comparable to the opioid system's response to morphine in humans. Although, silvervine is not addictive in cats!
