Catnip is a perennial herb and a member of the Mint family, Labiatae, and is most commonly known for its ability to get cats “high”. Here are some interesting facts and uses that you didn’t know about this wonder plant.

• Not all cats are crazy for catnip – While many cats are obsessed with the catnip, other cats ignore it completely. Moreover, fascination and indulgence or disliking of catnip by your kitty, it all comes down to genetics and is inherited from a cat’s parent.
• The response may vary from cat to cat – Different cats display different reactions just as the human reacts differently to recreational substances. Besides this, the basic behaviour of the cats to catnip includes rubbing, sniffing, licking, chewing, rolling, and vocalizations.
• Nepetalactone is the key ingredient – This is an organic compound and also a secret ingredient of catnip. Nepeta lactone consists of nepetalic acid which is metabolic by product and is extremely powerful. When the smell is ingested in kitty’s nostrils the trick begins to play and arouses interest in them for catnip.
• Mosquitos don’t understand all the fuss – In one way the cats are crazy and go wild for nepetalactone, the other way it gets failed to please the mosquitos.
• Underage kittens are out of luck – Catnip is considered as an adult only substance. Though it’s perfectly safe, it seldom has any effect on the younger ones. The response of catnip in the kittens takes time to develop and due to this most kittens won’t react to catnip until they are older.
• Catnip’s scientific name is Nepeta Cataria – The first fragment of the name that is ”Nepeta” is originated from a place called Nepeta, which once cultivated catnip. Meanwhile, the second fragment which is cataria comes from the Latin word catari, which in English means “cat.”
• Belongs to the Family Lamiaceae – It is interesting to note that sometimes people called Catnip as Catmint and guess what. They aren’t wrong because Catnip is an undeniably a member of the family Lamiaceae which should be better known to most people as the mints.
• Catnip is good, safe fun – There are no known negatives so fear not and it’s totally okay to include some catnip from time to time. The only condition in which the parents must avoid catnip is when their cats/kittens are suffering from feline asthma.
• Most popular uses of catnips–
• It’s utilized in a crate to help calm down a cat during a tour.
• It’s used in the toys for cats to arouse interest and excitement.
• On scratching posts to encourage their use.
• Human used catnips for centuries – Yes, you read it right, humans have used catnips for centuries. It’s been used in teas, herbal cigarettes as the main ingredient and also as a cooking herb.