Why Cats love Catnip

Why Cats Love Catnip?

Cats love catnip. This fact is well-known across the globe and throughout time, suspected of even reaching as far back as ancient Egyptian culture.

While cats and catnip have a long history together, how much do cat lovers really know about this perennial plant?
we know cats go crazy for the fragrant herb and the resulting euphoria provides hilarious entertainment but did you know not all cats react to catnip? or the reactions can vary from cat to cat?.

Plant catnip in spring, once all chances of frost have passed. You’ll want to plant it in an area where your cats can roll in it without damaging neighbouring plants. Space catnip plants 18 to 24 inches apart in a very sunny area with fertile, well-drained soil. Give your native soil some nutrient love by mixing in several inches of aged compost or other rich organic matter. Check the soil often and water when the top inch of soil becomes dry.

Catnip can enhance a cat’s hunger. As an appetite stimulant that also encourages cats to get frisky and exercise, catnip will probably send your cat in search of snacks after the high wears off. After curing his case of the munchies, your kitty man will most likely crash for a nap too.

Fertilizing The Catnip Plant

Feed catnip with a water-soluble fertilizer every two weeks. Begin fertilizing the soil two weeks after planting and continue until the first week of the summer season. Suspend fertilizing during fall and winter as the plants will not use the nutrients.

Follow instructions on the label for proper application.

Heaping mulch around plants too early in the winter or not removing the extra layers at the end of winter can do more harm than good. A heavy layer of mulch keeps the sun from warming the soil during the periods when the ground isn’t frozen. On the other end of the spectrum, putting glass or plastic over the crown can cause heat stress in warm weather. Finally, avoid fertilizing catnip in late fall or in winter. Feeding plants — especially with nitrogen-rich fertilizer — encourages new stem growth, which makes the entire plant more vulnerable to winterkill.

Pests and Plant Diseases

Catnip has a tendency to be susceptible to
whiteflies and spider mites, but cases of infestation are rare, and there are
no other common pest issues or diseases involving catnip. The main bugs that catnip is known to attract to your garden area are insects that benefit your garden, such as bees and butterflies, which will help to pollinate your plants, as well as predatory insects that will make a meal of any other pests in the vicinity.

Pests: catnip rarely suffers from insect pests, but cats may nibble its leaves and can crush young plants. A spray of catnip and water will deter Colorado potato beetles. Diseases: catnip can be attacked by fungal diseases including anthracnose and rust. Avoid overhead watering; space plants so that there is plenty of air circulation. Catnip can suffer root rot in wet soil; let the soil dry out between waterings.

Uses For The Catnip Herb

Catnip is a herb native to Eurasia. It’s a member of the mint family, closely related to spearmint and peppermint, and it has a long medicinal history for humans. It’s also known as catnip, catmint, catrup and catswort. All felines, including mountain lions, are attracted to catnip. They’ll roll around in catnip plants, rub against them and sometimes chew on them. Cats are more likely to eat fresh catnip leaves, although dried catnip consumption is also common.

Catnip propagates easily from both leaf-tip cuttings and seeds. To take a cutting, simply remove a small piece of new growth early in the growing season and pot it up a new pot of sterile potting soil. give it plenty of moisture and filtered light until new growth emerges. Catnip is also a common herb sold in garden centres, so you can always buy new seedlings and put them in larger pots until it’s time to discard the plant.

A fluffy green plant with heart-shaped leaves and scalloped edges native to the Eurasian continents but now grown worldwide, catnip (nepeta cataria) is in great demand for cat parents who want to please their kitties. As the plant is part of the mint (Lamiaceae) family, its related to other savoury herbs such as rosemary, sage, oregano, and basil. Catnip leaves and stems contain a fragrant oil responsible for getting cats ‘high’.

How can I grow catnip at home?

Catnip is well known for the euphoric effect that it can have on cats. You’ve probably bought dried catnip from the store to amuse your cat, but did you know that it’s easy to grow organic catnip at home?
catnip is a hardy herb that can withstand dry spells and varied temperatures. Catnip can grow in full sun or partial shade. Growing it at home adds beauty to your yard and provides a constant source of fun for your cat.

Check out this video for a tutorial on how to grow catnip in your home garden, both for the benefit of your own health and the wellbeing of your cats:
watch this video to learn how to plant and germinate catnip by seed:
this video dives into the science behind catnip, a favourite herb of many cats, and it also answers the question, “what does catnip do to cats?”.

Let’s learn more about why growing your own catnip is a great option and how you can get started growing catnip at home. Quick navigation
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Cut catnip

Buying catnip for cats

Wondering how to grow catnip? for the past several years, we’ve grown catnip for our cats, drying the leaves for use in toys. It’s easy and fun; the plant takes very little work. I always grow our catnip from seeds but you can also buy small catnip plants. I like buying the seeds since I know the plant hasn’t been treated with any kind of chemicals.

Cats seem to love catnip. Why? catnip produces nepetalactone oil which is like an aphrodisiac for cats. Catnip is a tall herb, resembling mint, with greyish-green leaves and white flowers. Catnip can grow to be 50-100 centimetres tall which makes it the perfect feline companion. Cats love fresh catnip is most loved by cats and it is so easy to grow
first, take a trip to your local pet or garden store. You can either buy catnip seeds or buy baby plants. Buying a plant makes life easier because it is already strong.

Growing catnip from seed

Growing a meadow of catnip for your kitty is pretty simple!
when choosing what to plant for your cat, be sure you select seeds or plants of the right nepeta. Garden & happy explains, “catnip (nepeta cataria) usually refers to the herb, whereas catmint (nepeta mussinii) is more ornamental and less attractive to cats. ”@toomanyfuzzylumpkins/Instagram
in the springtime, plant seeds or plant starts in a sunny location after all danger of frost has passed. And be warned, catnip plants can spread easily. Standing up to 3 or 4 feet tall, the plant takes up some room, so be sure you place seeds and starts around two feet apart when planting.

Catnip is a perennial that generally grows to 2 to 3 feet when planted outdoors. Indoors, providing you give it enough light and water, it’s conceivable you’ll get a 2-foot plant, but in reality, indoor catnip doesn’t have the potency of outdoor catnip and it seems more reasonable to grow plants for a single growing season, then replace them either through sowing new seeds or cuttings. If you do want to re-pot a smaller catnip, go up one pot size and use fresh soil, being careful not to damage the roots.

Do you worry a lot about where your cat’s food came from? if sourcing is important to you, then growing your own catnip is an obvious choice. A lot of commercially available catnip is grown organically, meaning it was grown without chemical pesticides or fertilizers. Sometimes that isn’t enough—you’d rather know exactly how your catnip was grown from seed to plant. If you grow your own catnip, you’ll know exactly how it was grown and won’t have to worry.

What are catnip’s growing needs?

Select a container that is a minimum of 8 inches deep and wide. This will provide enough room for the plant to grow and thrive. Once the plant outgrows the current pot, repot it to one or two sizes bigger pot (10 to 12 inches). During repotting, divide its rootball into two sections and plant them into separate pots to have more catnips. Quick tips
if you’re growing this herb for your furry friend, select a wider pot, and grow several plants together.

Introduction to growing catnip in pots
the catnip plant is grown for its leaves that are used for making medicinal preparations like herbal tea. The catnip plant is also called the nepeta plant. The catnip plant is a hardy, low-maintenance plant. It grows up to 4-feet tall. Catnips are used for creating contrasting landscaping due to their compact, perennial green foliage. The seasonal bloom consists of bright and purple flowers. Growing catnips indoors is very easy. It can be grown in containers and requires little maintenance. In this article, we also discuss below topics.

Harvesting and storing catnip

Growing: catnip does very well in containers, raised beds, or borders in full sun to partial shade. Cutting just above a joint, or where a leaf or leaves spring from the stalk, will promote more rapid new growth. Growing catnip plants: catnip can be grown in garden beds or pots. Any average, well-drained soil. When you’re ready to harvest, choose a dry day and remove only flowering catnip. Known for its ability to trigger a “high” in cats, catnip has been attracting cats for more than two documented centuries. Dry catnip by trimming the leaves off of stems and laying them on a paper towel beneath a sunlit window for 2-3 days. Your email address will not be published.

Plants like catnip and catmint should be the first choice for gardeners with cats – and you can grow catnip yourself at home!

It grew, it flowered. It thrives on sunny ledges, with ample and regular water, and good drainage. Proper transplanting keeps your catnip from becoming root-bound. Once while many people report that they like the fragrant, herbal smell of catnip, some people find that it has a vaguely skunky odour to it that is off-putting. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time i comment. Lux for plants: everything you need to know! place young plants away from kitty until they are large enough to withstand some serious loving. Catnip is a plant—known scientifically as nepeta cataria—that is a member of the mint family. Catnip seeds are very small and so are difficult to handle.

Catnip Plant, Nepeta cataria – How to Grow and Care

Posted in cook, garden, herbs
I have a good-sized patch of catnip growing in my garden that’s threatening to overtake one of my pepper plants. So I decided that it was time to dry some catnip for tea. Catnip (nepeta cataria) is a member of the mint family and is apparently quite entrancing to cats. I don’t have cats so I can’t speak to that. Catnip acts as a sedative in human and is thought to calm the stomach and the nerves ( source ). I drink it in the afternoon or evening, as a caffeine-free alternative to green tea. It does have it’s own flavour and is similar to mint. When I make my tea I like to mix catnip with a little bit of dried stevia for sweetness.

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catnip is a common herb that thrives in much of North America and is very easy to grow. While you’ve probably heard that catnip makes cats tipsy, you might not know that this effect is an inherited trait and it does not affect all cats. Catnip grows to a height of 3 to 4 feet and has featherlike, light green foliage and small clusters of lavender flowers that grow on spikes. A member of the mint family, catnip is also used in the food and herbal remedies. For example, tea made from the leaves and flowers of nepeta cataria is said to relieve coughs. The oil extracted from catnip plants is even used in natural mosquito repellents.

Also called catmint, catnip (nepeta cataria) is a hardy perennial herb that is a member of the mint family. It is native to the area known as Eurasia: southern and eastern Europe, the middle east, central Asia, and parts of China. Fairly easy to grow, it is now widely naturalized in northern Europe, New Zealand, and North America. Catnip grows outdoors in USDA growing hardiness zones 3 to 9 and makes great container plants for growing indoors, allowing you to extend its growing season to year-round.

Aster Plant Care – How to Grow and Care for this Flower

Catnip is not an especially difficult plant to grow indoors. It thrives on sunny ledges, with ample and regular water, and good drainage. If your plant goes into flower, snip off the flower buds to encourage stronger and better leaf growth. Indoor catnip will not have the same potency as outdoor catnip, but your cats will still like it plenty. Be careful not to mist your plant too much to discourage mould growth. Catnip is vulnerable to pests including aphids, mealybugs, scale, and whitefly. If possible, identify the infestation as early as possible and treat it with the least toxic option.

With proper growing and catnip plant care, you will easily grow catnip and help it produce more flowers. While planting catnip, till the soil to a depth of 3″ to 4″ inches, and add 1″ inch of compost. Work the compost into the topsoil. Catnip does well in many soils but prefer a moderately rich loam and good drainage soil. Plant catnip seedlings 15″ to 18″ inches apart with the seeds slightly covered. Water the seeds lightly after planting, try to keep the soil moist during the growing season.

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Why Cats love Catnip

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Why Cats Love Catnip?