Catnip isn’t just intensely pleasurable for cats. It’s also practical – chewing and licking the leaves of the plant releases compounds that repel pesky insects like mosquitoes.

Catnip drives her wild and seems to give a wonderful euphoric feeling, whether it is sprinkled around her or buried within an unsuspecting toy. But, why exactly does catnip have this effect on her?

Catnip is an herb that has an animated effect on most cats. For cats that are sensitive to the plant, just a sniff will put them in a state of euphoria for around 10 minutes. Fresh or dried catnip ...

Although the herb is best known as a drug of sorts for cats, humans can use it too (generally in herbal tea) without the psychedelic effects.If you’ve smelled dried catnip before, you’ll ...

Gather the ingredients for your homemade bug spray. Catnip contains nepetalactone, which attracts cats but repels bugs naturally. Using dried catnip, which you can find for a few dollars at any ...

Then you can stuff the dried catnip into something as simple as a small fabric pillow, tightly machine-stitched closed, or make a pattern for a small stuffed toy. Your cat will love you forever.

Catnip-infused tea has been used to treat indigestion, induce menstruation, increase appetite and as a sedative. People sometimes smoke the dried leaves to cure respiratory infections.

As catnip dries, its heavy, musty smell gets stronger and more unpleasant.

Nepeta cataria L., the catnip plant, is important in the pet industry for cats and as an herbal medicinal treatment for the fevers, diarrhea, insomnia, and lacking menstruation of humans. A natural ...