Cats on Catnip

Andrew Marttila has been a professional animal photographer for the past five years and most of that time has been dedicated to photographing cats exclusively. With his set-up he's able to cap ture wonderful split-second images of'cat's most abandoned expressions as they enjoy every cats favourite treat, catnip. Andrew res cues and raises orphan kittens with his partner Hannah Shaw (the internet's famous Kitten Lady), and many of the models were hand-raised by Andrew and Hannah from newborns.

Catnip, or Nepeta cataria, grows wild in many parts of the world and is extremely easy to grow at home in most climates. It's part of the mint family and contained within the bulbs, stems, and leaves is an oil called nepetalactone. Once eaten, rolled on, or crushed, the oil binds to the cat's nasal receptors and stimulates a response that affects a number of areas in the brain, includ ing the hypothalamus and amygdala, two regions that are key in regulating emotional and behavioral responses to stimuli. This produces a mild euphoric effect and typically lasts about ten to twenty minutes.

Catnip is non-addictive and harmless and provides a temporary respite from your cat's gruelling workload of napping all day.

About the Author

Andrew Marttila is a professional animal photographer best known for his captivating images of felines. He reaches hundreds of thousands of cat lovers through social media where he documents his travels promoting shelters across the country, taking photos for clients, and snuggling his cat, Haroun. Andrew's photography has been featured in Catster, Vanity Fair, Real Simple, and The Guardian, and on CNN and MSNBC, among others. Andrew is the photographer behind Shop Cats of New York

Andrew is 'friends with and [has] photographed nearly all the "famous" internet cats.' He dates Hannah Shaw, known to the internet as 'Kitten Lady', whose life purpose has been dedicated to rescuing, fostering, and advocating for kittens. Kitten Lady has an extremely powerful social media presence; every week Andrew personally generates over 700,000 unique impressions to his social media images.