Nipheads

Nipheads (Snoopus Cattus) are a species of cat found in Russia. They evolved from feral cats and are close relatives to Needletooth Cats, despite their extreme differences. Their coat is light brown and they have a white underbelly. They measure in at 2.5 feet in length.

The evolution of the niphead is the same as the evolution of catnip. In the late Holocene, feral cats who used catnip during its bloom accidentally pollinate the plant by rubbing up against it. The flowers have a greater chance of being pollinated if they were closer to the cats. In order to bring the cats closer to the flowers, the nepetalactone became way more concentrated in the flowers and nectar and not in the leaves and stems. The nectar induces a sort of trance-like, highly addictive state which gets cats to come back for their fix while the catnip gets pollinated. The flowers of catnip bloom year-round and have a bowl shape, the flower releases only releases upon contact with a mammal's tongue. With their addiction to catnip and threats of a withdrawal-related heart attack, the cats slowly evolved a long-bristled tongue that they use to lick the flower and coax out nectar. When they lick themselves, they transfer nepetalactone to their fur, which acts as a mosquito repellent.

Nipheads, when not tripping on catnip, eat rodents as bone marrow. They climb up trees with their wide feet and retractible claws to snatch up any rodents, birds, and eggs they can find. Kittens get an early exposure to catnip when their mother begins to bathe them, thus ensuring that the cycle of addiction continues.

The catnip that nipheads are obsessed with measures in at 4 feet in height as well as diameter. The flowers measure at 3 inches in diameter and 1 inch in length.