Growing your Own Cat Nip

So I want to start a veggie garden this summer, and as I was perusing some seeds I could not help but notice the Cat Nip plant. Obviously I would grow it inside to not attract strays, but does anyone have any experience growing the plant?

I was wondering if I grew it, would my cats go crazy? Would they eat the plant before it even grew?

One of them is a bit of an addict and he has been known to eat entire tubs of cat nip (he climbed into the cupboard, got the sealed container, pried the lid off, and went mental..) so I wonder if he would just devour it?

 

I've never had experience growing it, but I feel like it'll be difficult if your cat goes that crazy over it! Is there anywhere you could put it where he doesn't go? A bedroom where he's not allowed, somewhere he can't reach, etc? If not, I might not bother, because he'll just get into it, I think! I wish you luck if you do try, though, and let us know if you succeeded!

 

I second blurinoctober's request to let us know how it goes! I've thought about growing catnip for ours but I don't know if they even like it. We'd have to buy a toy with some and see.
Also, does catnip have to be dried or is it potent no matter what the appearance?

 

My cats aren't huge fans of it, I think it just varies! Your best bet would be that, I believe. Buy a small toy that contains cat nip and see how they react. They may just ignore it like mine do!

I did a quick Google search and I believe it has to be dried? But I am nowhere near an expert.

 

I have a feeling Sassy won't care but Dusty will like it. Sassy really only cares about few things and doubt she'll feel any certain way about catnip.
If it has to be dried then maybe Scottyxx can get away with growing it, but the cat will go nuts when the drying process starts?

 

If one of them will like it, it may be worth buying in a toy! Catnip really isn't expensive.

Oh, yeah, that might not be good. From what I read, the drying process can take weeks or months. You're supposed to hang it upside down somewhere dark and let it dry out naturally. A cat could easily get into it during that time!

 

I convinced my mom to get a cheap toy from the store soon, so we're going to find out!

I found out from my mom that the plant by itself is still pretty powerful. Scottyxx might want to consider growing it someplace weird where the cat can't access it and then bringing it to the cat after it's dried. The drying is going to be a really long process!

 

Interesting! Honestly, he goes insane for it, its unbelievable! I just figured it might be a nice thing to try since I dont have any plants in my house. I am having grand plans in mind for this summer and growing some veggies!

 

You're going to need to hide it.

Cats will eat it fresh and if you keep an eye out at stores, you'll sometimes even see the fresh plants being sold. It won't have quite the same effect as the dried version, but it's still potent enough to attract your cats.

 

Be careful! This reminded me: if we ever had plants inside, Sibyl would eat the leaves. Regardless of what plant it is or how old it was, she would munch on it. Keep an eye on your kitty when you start growing anything to be sure he doesn't devour your plants!

 

That's my worry! I hear bad things about cats being poisoned by certain plants which is why I thought Catnip might be less harmful than something else.

 

It would probably be less harmful, but still not good if it's something he really likes and will eat a lot! I'd just make sure to do a lot of internet research on any cat you plan to get, in order to be sure it's not harmful to the poor kitty.

 

Yeah, I think given how my cats are research is best! Pussington thinks everything is food, she even ate a silaca gel pack one time, totally ignored the poison labels all over it.

 

Whaaaaaat?! Did it harm her at all?

 

Not at all! I was crying and stayed up all night to watch her just in case she died, because obviously, it is poison! I fed her a big bowl of milk in hope it would help her "move things along" or at least give her a nice last meal. She was totally fine, neither up nor down! Cannot believe it, maybe I just got lucky!

 

http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/ask-the-expert/ask-the-expert-poison-control/silica-gel

I found it interesting to see that the same stuff is actually often used in kitty litter, so they likely ingest a little bit on a regular basis anyway.

I'm glad your kitty was okay!

 

I'm glad she ended up being okay! I would've been freaking out in that situation, nothing would've calmed me down. But it's interesting to hear what Jessi posted about it being used in kitty litter. The more you know, I suppose!

 

Yeah I think I just initially panicked and I started googling it, and no one else's cat had done something so silly. But the fact that she was acting normal put me at ease, the worst part is I saw her chewing and ran down to grab her and had my fingers in her mouth as she swallowed it, if only I had been a second earlier!