7 Reasons Cat Lovers in Japan Have Sworn by Matatabi for Generations (and What New 2026 Research Found)
By the Meowie team · 5 min read · Updated October 2026 · Sources below
Walk into a cat-loving home in Japan and there's a good chance you'll find matatabi, the plant the rest of the world calls silvervine. Cats there have been going wild for it for generations, and two studies published this year help explain why. Here's what it does, what the science says, and why cat parents everywhere are catching on.
1.Japan even has a saying for it
Neko ni matatabi, "matatabi to a cat," is how people in Japan describe something nobody could resist. The plant earned that reputation honestly: one sniff and many cats roll, rub and purr. Meowie sticks are cut from the same plant, Actinidia polygama.
2.A 2026 study: cats chose matatabi over catnip
In a 2026 study in the Journal of Chemical Ecology, researchers at Iwate University in Japan found that free-roaming cats mostly ignored catnip but kept coming back to silvervine to rub and roll on it. In a second test, cats offered both extracts side by side chose silvervine too. The catnip wasn't weak, either: it had plenty of its active compound.
That fits earlier work. About a third of cats don't react to catnip at all, and in a 2017 study in BMC Veterinary Research, most of the cats that ignored catnip (22 of 31) responded to silvervine fruit gall powder. So it's worth a try even if catnip let you down.
“Mochi ignored catnip her whole life. I've bought every toy. One sniff of this stick and she was rolling, drooling, headbutting my hand. Ten minutes of pure joy.”
3.The gall fruit is the part cats go for
Not every part of the plant is equal. In the 2017 BMC Veterinary Research study, 8 of 9 cats responded to the silvervine gall fruit, compared with 1 of 8 to wood chips.
That's why every Meowie stick comes with a dried gall fruit on its twine loop, right next to the wood.
4.Even feral cats respond to it
Another 2026 paper in the Journal of Chemical Ecology tested silvervine on 12 feral cats in Australia. All three silvervine products in the study got responses, and the cats' favourite was the one with the most actinidine, another of the plant's cat-attracting compounds.
The researchers note that the plant part and how it's processed change the chemistry, so not every silvervine product smells the same to a cat. Every Meowie stick pairs silvervine wood with a dried silvervine gall fruit.
5.Your cables and plants get a break
Cats chew to play and explore. Without an outlet, that urge lands on phone chargers, plastic bags and houseplants, and some common houseplants are toxic to cats. A silvervine stick gives it a safer place to go.
“He went after my laptop cable every night. I gave him a stick on the couch and he switched over. Cords untouched for two weeks now.”
6.Real wood, jute and fruit. Nothing sprayed on
Each stick is natural silvervine wood wrapped in jute twine, with a fibre tassel on one end and a dried silvervine gall fruit on the other. Nothing is sprayed on, so what your cat smells is the plant itself.
“My 11-year-old skips most treats. She took to this right away. Gentle chewing, then a nap. Not wild, just happy.”
7.A fresh stick every few days, and it's risk-free
Depending on how hard your cat chews, one stick lasts about 4 to 5 days before the scent is chewed out. For one cat, that makes a 5-pack about 3 weeks, a 10-pack about 6 weeks and a 20-pack about 3 months. At $4.25 a stick, the 20-pack works out to about a dollar a day, and it comes with our free Cat Wellness Planner (digital), added to your cart automatically. Keep spare sticks sealed in the zip pouch so the scent stays strong.
Standard shipping takes 7 to 10 days, and every order comes with a tracking number and is tracked and insured. US orders of $45 or more ship free, so the 10 and 20-packs ship free. Every order is also covered by our 60-day money-back guarantee: if your cat isn't into it, email us within 60 days of delivery and we'll refund your order. You don't need to send anything back.
“I assumed gimmick after all those ads. Tracking was accurate, it arrived in four days, and the reaction was real. Keeping it.”
