Your Own Catnip

Catnip is a 50-100 cm tall herb resembling mint in appearance, with greyish-green leaves; the flowers are white, finely spotted with purple.Catnip is a 50-100 cm tall herb resembling mint in appearance, with greyish-green leaves; the flowers are white, finely spotted with purple.

Catnip (or catmint) produces Nepetalactone oil and that acts something like an aphrodisiac for cats. Is it harmful to them? Experts say no, there are no short term or long term ill effects on a cat.Although approximately 1/3 of cats couldn’t care less about catnip, the rest flip for it. And drool. And race around! Why do cats love it so much? It’s great for cats that are a little too laid back (ummm, lazy). They get a good workout and a little exercise with their happy time. If your cat is really old or has health problems, it’s probably not a good idea to give it to her since she will get excited and hyper.

Tips

The best luck I’ve had with growing catnip is planting it in a hanging basket, then hanging it off a tree branch at the very end. Strong enough to hold the pot if it’s windy out, yet out of reach of climbing kitties.

If you live in an apartment but have a balcony, see if you can’t have a plant hanger bracket off the outside wall to hang the pot on. You could also try a high stool or tall legged plant holder with nothing around it for the cat to crawl up on and tear into it. Make sure it’s very sturdy–cats are smart when it comes to catnip and they’ll bulldoze the legs out from underneath if they realize they can flip it over!

As the plant grows, pinch the the new leaves frequently so that it bushes out, it will produce a lot more that way.

The downside of planting outside is neighborhood cats. I don’t get armies of cats milling about, but I did have a nightly visitor or two trying their best to get at the plant. If you don’t like other cats in your yard, plant the catnip inside.

If you decide to try growing it as a houseplant, you will need to grow it in a place that gets some sun–but protected from the cat somehow. The high stool or tall legged planter are probably your best choices. If you don’t mind ceiling hooks, try an indoor hanging basket. The sunnier the spot–the better.

You can grow catnip from seed, but check the local greenhouse for a plant that’s already started. It’s a little more money, but well worth it since it’s healthy and hardy, raring to go right from the start.