--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Catnip is vodka and whisky to most cats." description: "\"Catnip is vodka and whisky to most cats.\" — Carl Van Vechten" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98d/carl-van-vechten-27250_cat_catnip-is-vodka-and-whisky-to-most-cats_731202.jpg" --- # Catnip is vodka and whisky to most cats. ![“Catnip is vodka and whisky to most cats.” quote by Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98d/carl-van-vechten-27250_cat_catnip-is-vodka-and-whisky-to-most-cats_731202.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98d/carl-van-vechten-27250_cat_catnip-is-vodka-and-whisky-to-most-cats_731202.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98d/carl-van-vechten-27250_cat_catnip-is-vodka-and-whisky-to-most-cats_731202.jpg) > “Catnip is vodka and whisky to most cats.” [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cats are drawn to catnip much humans to alcohol, indicating its strong, intoxicating appeal to them. **In simple terms:** Catnip is like alcohol for cats. Key Takeaway Provide safe stimulation for cats. Themes pleasure addiction animal behavior Mood playful cautionary Type informative practical When to use this quote - pet enrichment - training - stress relief for cats Key Concepts neurochemistry behavioral triggers Questions to Reflect On - How much catnip is safe? - What alternatives can satisfy cats without over‑stimulating? A Different Perspective Overuse can lead to dependence or health issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Whisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whisky/) ## Related quotes > [You would wind up as a cat, I told her. They don't need anyone else. I need you, she replied. Well, I said. Maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/you-would-wind-up-as-a-cat-i-told-her-they-don-t-need-anyone-else-i/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“She drowned all of the catnip mice in Nike's water bowl and I had to take them away after he began drinking the resulting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-petrie-shaw/she-drowned-all-of-the-catnip-mice-in-nike-s-water-bowl-and-i-had-to/) [Amy Petrie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-petrie-shaw/) > [I'm an artist; affirmation is like catnip to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-riseborough/i-m-an-artist-affirmation-is-like-catnip-to-me/) [Andrea Riseborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-riseborough/) > [Dogs are high on life. Cats need catnip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eloisa-james/dogs-are-high-on-life-cats-need-catnip/) [Eloisa James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eloisa-james/) > [Up you go, Catnip. -Gale Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunger-games/up-you-go-catnip-gale-hawthorne/) [Hunger Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunger-games/) > [David was catnip and kryptonite to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/david-was-catnip-and-kryptonite-to-me/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Wasn't growing catnip in one's yard the kitty equivalent of giving candy to children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-paul/wasn-t-growing-catnip-in-one-s-yard-the-kitty-equivalent-of-giving/) [Caroline Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-paul/) > [“There was something about Lea, this power or strength that lurked below the surface of her small, fragile frame. He wanted to grab that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-erickson/there-was-something-about-lea-this-power-or-strength-that-lurked/) [Megan Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-erickson/) > [“There's no thrilling anticipation of the day's first cup of coffee...nor the eye-closing delight of that first swallow of sauvignon blanc in the evening.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-michie/there-s-no-thrilling-anticipation-of-the-day-s-first-cup-of-coffee/) [David Michie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-michie/) > [“The only way to stop the tears was to keep drinking the whisky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/the-only-way-to-stop-the-tears-was-to-keep-drinking-the-whisky/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [I haven't had an alcoholic drink in 22 years, but when I did drink I'd go for either Canadian whisky or Budweiser. Sometimes both.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cooper/i-haven-t-had-an-alcoholic-drink-in-22-years-but-when-i-did-drink-i-d/) [Alice Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cooper/) > [“Nota mental: invitar a Pedro a un whisky doble, sin hielo.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorena-pacheco-fi-rrez/nota-mental-invitar-a-pedro-a-un-whisky-doble-sin-hielo/) Lorena Pacheco Fiérrez > [God is a spirit. Jesus was led up of the Spirit to be tempted of the Devil; and it is also true that spirits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bradlaugh/god-is-a-spirit-jesus-was-led-up-of-the-spirit-to-be-tempted-of-the/) [Charles Bradlaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bradlaugh/) > [Nights without work I spend with whisky and books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/nights-without-work-i-spend-with-whisky-and-books/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [My dad worked for different companies that made whiskey for a long time, so we were definitely whiskey drinkers. Growing up, my friends would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-krieger/my-dad-worked-for-different-companies-that-made-whiskey-for-a-long/) [Mike Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-krieger/) ## More by Carl Van Vechten > [The cat seldom interferes with other people's rights. His intelligence keeps him from doing many of the fool things that complicate life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/the-cat-seldom-interferes-with-other-people-s-rights-his-intelligence/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [Cleanliness in the cat world is usually a virtue put above godliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/cleanliness-in-the-cat-world-is-usually-a-virtue-put-above-godliness/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [Is a little experience too much to pay for learning to know oneself?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/is-a-little-experience-too-much-to-pay-for-learning-to-know-oneself/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [I've photographed everybody from Matisse to Isamu Noguchi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/i-ve-photographed-everybody-from-matisse-to-isamu-noguchi/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [There is, indeed, no single quality of the cat that man could not emulate to his advantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/there-is-indeed-no-single-quality-of-the-cat-that-man-could-not/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [A cat is never vulgar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/a-cat-is-never-vulgar/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [The lack of imagination or invention most people display in naming pussies is almost beyond credence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/the-lack-of-imagination-or-invention-most-people-display-in-naming/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [There are ... two kinds of people in this world, those who long to be understood and those who long to be misunderstood. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/there-are-two-kinds-of-people-in-this-world-those-who-long-to-be/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [Cats have gnosis to a degree that is granted to few bishops.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/cats-have-gnosis-to-a-degree-that-is-granted-to-few-bishops/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [Note 4. For these and other reasons the cat is also very hard to photograph. The best photographs are instantaneous, as the mere breathing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/note-4-for-these-and-other-reasons-the-cat-is-also-very-hard-to/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [As an inspiration to the author, I do not think the cat can be over-estimated. He suggests so much grace, power, beauty, motion, mysticism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/as-an-inspiration-to-the-author-i-do-not-think-the-cat-can-be-over/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [The cat, it is well to remember, remains the friend of man because it pleases him to do so and not because he must.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/the-cat-it-is-well-to-remember-remains-the-friend-of-man-because-it/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [An ordinary kitten will ask more questions than any five-year-old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/an-ordinary-kitten-will-ask-more-questions-than-any-five-year-old/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [Paris is not a city I should care to approach for the first time after I had passed forty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/paris-is-not-a-city-i-should-care-to-approach-for-the-first-time/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [Cats seldom make mistakes, and they never make the same mistake twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/cats-seldom-make-mistakes-and-they-never-make-the-same-mistake-twice/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) [Explore all 20 Carl Van Vechten quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) ## More Cat quotes > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Okay, so I'll admit I'm curious. Big deal. We both know what that leads to. Dead cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/okay-so-i-ll-admit-i-m-curious-big-deal-we-both-know-what-that-leads/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) > [One reason why my memory decays is that I have three cats, all so loving and insistent that they play cat's-cradle with every train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/one-reason-why-my-memory-decays-is-that-i-have-three-cats-all-so/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [It's an interesting fact that fewer than 17 % of Real cats end their lives with the same name they started with. Much family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/it-s-an-interesting-fact-that-fewer-than-17-of-real-cats-end-their/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [The dog is guided by kindly instinct to the man or woman whose heart is open to his advances. The cat often leaves the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/the-dog-is-guided-by-kindly-instinct-to-the-man-or-woman-whose-heart/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [If you ask me to tell you anything about the nature of what lies beyond the phaneron… my answer is “How should I know?”……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-gardner/if-you-ask-me-to-tell-you-anything-about-the-nature-of-what-lies/) [Martin Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-gardner/) > [Is man no more than this? Consider him well. Thou ow'st the worm no silk, the beast no hide, the sheep no wool, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/is-man-no-more-than-this-consider-him-well-thou-ow-st-the-worm-no/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [One cat just leads to another. The place is so damned big it doesn't really seem as though there were many cats until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/one-cat-just-leads-to-another-the-place-is-so-damned-big-it-doesn-t/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [In the olden days in England, you could be hung for stealing a sheep or a loaf of bread. However, if a sheep stole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-harding/in-the-olden-days-in-england-you-could-be-hung-for-stealing-a-sheep/) [Mike Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-harding/) > [Kittens can happen to anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gallico/kittens-can-happen-to-anyone/) [Paul Gallico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gallico/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“All right, you deadly little ghostlings,” I muttered. “Mama says go back to bed! - Cat”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/all-right-you-deadly-little-ghostlings-i-muttered-mama-says-go-back/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [Man wishes woman to be peaceable, but in fact she is essentially warlike, like the cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/man-wishes-woman-to-be-peaceable-but-in-fact-she-is-essentially/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [There are videos I used to take at home, pretending to be a newscaster, interviewing the teapot or my house cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-wagner/there-are-videos-i-used-to-take-at-home-pretending-to-be-a-newscaster/) [Alex Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-wagner/) [Browse all 2,996 Cat quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Catnip is vodka and whisky to most cats.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carl Van Vechten" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/catnip-is-vodka-and-whisky-to-most-cats/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cat" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/catnip-is-vodka-and-whisky-to-most-cats/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98d/carl-van-vechten-27250_cat_catnip-is-vodka-and-whisky-to-most-cats_731202.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98d/carl-van-vechten-27250_cat_catnip-is-vodka-and-whisky-to-most-cats_731202.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98d/carl-van-vechten-27250_cat_catnip-is-vodka-and-whisky-to-most-cats_731202.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Catnip is vodka and whisky to most cats.” — Carl Van Vechten", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Carl Van Vechten", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Catnip is vodka and whisky to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/catnip-is-vodka-and-whisky-to-most-cats/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/catnip-is-vodka-and-whisky-to-most-cats/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```