Not all wine is aged, and not all wine is age-worthy. Some wines are bet consumed young, the most popular of which is France’s Beaujolais Nouveau. Drinking a young wine means that you’re sipping juice that was recently bottled. These wines often display their fruit up front, and might become dull after prolonged exposure to oxygen. Generally speaking, white wines rather than reds are best in their youth, like Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio and rosé. And the rest is history.

Nepeta cataria, or “catnip,” is an herb belonging to the same plant family as mint. Although it originated in parts of Europe and Asia, the plant is now common across several continents, including North America.Because, like regular mint, catnip proliferates easily, many cat owners grow the plant in pots as a special treat for their feline friends. As part of the mint family, fresh catnip also smells minty, though this is not the case for the dried catnip sometimes present in commercial cat treats or toys, which may smell more like dried grass.

Why is catnip such a special treat? People who share their life with a cat will know that this plant often has a marked, and sometimes very funny, effect on these beloved animals — not unlike the effect that a mild recreational drug might have on humans.

Do all felines react to catnip? Why does this plant affect cats, exactly? Is it really akin to recreational drugs? Read on to find out.

In his book Intoxication: The Universal Drive for Mind-Altering Substances, psychopharmacologist Ronald Siegel estimates that around “70% of domestic cats respond to catnip,” and that those who do have reached sexual maturity. Cats reach sexual maturity at around 6 months of age.

Cats who react to catnip will sniff the plant, or any toys that contain it, and then start chewing on it. Following this, they may start rubbing their head against the plant or toy, and then roll or flip from side to side.

“Both of [my cats] love it, and it makes them go crazy,” one reader told Medical News Today. “[The female] likes to lick it, then she attacks the toy it’s on, often adopting the bunny leg attack. [The male] goes more soppy with it, often rolling around with the toy in his paws,” they said.

Although in most cases, when it does affect them, catnip stimulates cats in a pleasurable way, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals deem it “toxic to cats.” They warn that some domestic felines may experience adverse reactions after coming into contact with this plant. These effects can include vomiting and diarrhea, as well as states of sedation.

Some cats may even become aggressive when they encounter the plant.

Another reader told MNT that she avoids giving her cat any catnip for this very reason. “[My cat] just gets a bit like she wants to fight me [and] starts punching my foot,” they said.

For the many cats that respond well to catnip, Siegel notes, this may be “an example of animal addiction to pleasure behavior.” Both male and female cats respond to catnip in a way that is reminiscent of sexual arousal among these felines.

Because of these similarities, some researchers have suggested that the plant may once have been a timely and natural enhancer of reproductive behaviors.

“These displays have prompted naturalists to speculate that catnip once served the evolutionary function in the wild of preparing cats for sex, a natural springtime aphrodisiac.”