When my husband and I visited the Pittsburgh Zoo last spring we stopped by the cheetah exhibit to watch these graceful cats and learn about them from the zoo’s cheetah experts.  We were amazed to find out that cheetahs like perfume. It keeps them from being bored.

Zookeepers have known for years that big cats, including lions and tigers, react to some perfumes the way housecats react to catnip.  They sniff and flehmen and rub their faces on the scented spot.  My cat Emmalina (Emmy) shows how it’s done with her catnip toy.

Instead of catnip the big cats prefer perfume and they don’t like the expensive stuff.   Watch how perfume turns them on in this National Geographic video.

Apparently Calvin Klein’s Obsession for Men is catnip for cheetahs.

(photos by Kate St. John; video by National Geographic on YouTube) flemen