How to grow catnip: planting, care and what it actually does to cats

Catnip earns its pot twice over. For the cat it is a safe, non-addictive ten-minute event. For the grower it is one of the most forgiving herbs there is, a plant that shrugs off missed waterings and poor soil and asks only for sun.

What catnip is

Catnip (Nepeta cataria) is a member of the mint family native to Europe and Asia, long since naturalized across most of North America, and hardy in USDA zones 3 through 9.^[2] Left alone in a bed it makes a loose, grey-green plant up to three feet tall and wide, flowers white with purple spotting, and reseeds with enthusiasm, which is why NC State’s plant profile suggests growing it in a container just to keep it in one place. Indoors, a pot does the same job while putting the leaves within reach year-round.

One naming trap: catnip is not the “catmint” sold in perennial borders. That plant is Nepeta × faassenii, a sterile blue-flowered ornamental hybrid that behaves better in a bed and does far less for a cat. If the point is the cat, the label must say Nepeta cataria.

Why cats react the way they do

The active compound is nepetalactone, an oil concentrated in the leaves and flowers. For decades the explanation stopped at “it mimics a pheromone.” A 2021 study in Science Advances did considerably better: sniffing the compound raises β-endorphin in the cat’s blood, and blocking the cat’s μ-opioid receptors with naloxone switches the rolling and face-rubbing off. The high runs through the cat’s own opioid system.^[3]

The same study answered why cats rub their faces in the plant rather than just sniffing from a polite distance. Rubbing transfers the compound onto the face and head fur, and treated fur repelled mosquitoes in controlled trials.^[3] A follow-up showed that chewing and crumpling the leaves multiplies how much of the oil they release.^[4] What looks like intoxicated vandalism is a grooming behaviour with a function: the cat is applying insect repellent.

The response itself is inherited. In the classic 1962 pedigree study about a third of cats showed no reaction,^[1] and a 2017 survey found 68 percent of cats responded to catnip.^[5] Kittens do not respond until roughly three to six months old, whatever their genes say. A typical session lasts around ten minutes, rarely more than fifteen, and is followed by a refractory hour or two in which the plant is ignored entirely.

Using it with your cat

Sniffing is the reliable route to the classic rolling, rubbing, kicking display. Eating the leaves is commonly said to sedate instead, though the veterinary literature is thinner on that than the repetition suggests; chewing may simply be how cats release more of the oil.

Practical uses hold up well. Rub fresh or dried leaves on a scratching post and most responders will redirect their claws to it. A pinch on a new bed, carrier or climbing tree makes the unfamiliar thing interesting instead of suspicious. Keep sessions occasional, a few times a week, so the novelty holds.

On safety: catnip is non-addictive and a normal session costs the cat nothing. A determined cat that eats a large amount may vomit or have loose stools, and both resolve on their own.^[6] A few cats tip into rough, overstimulated play rather than bliss; if yours is one, offer less, or offer it in a toy rather than loose.

Catnip plant care

Most catnip problems come from treating it like a delicate herb. It is closer to a weed with good qualities, and the care list is short:

• Light. Full sun, meaning six or more hours a day; in hot climates it appreciates afternoon shade.^[2] Indoors that translates to your sunniest south-facing sill or a grow light; our lighting guide covers the options. Unlike its cousin mint, catnip does not carry a dim window gracefully; short of light it grows lank and thin-leaved.
• Water. Drought tolerant once established.^[2] Let the top inch of mix dry, then water until it runs from the drainage holes. Constantly wet soil is the one reliable way to kill it; see our guide to root rot for what that looks like.
• Soil and feeding. Average, well-drained potting mix, and stop there. Wisconsin’s extension notes it thrives in poor soils,^[2] and heavy feeding works against you: in the words of NC State’s herb guidance, large amounts of nitrogen decrease the concentration of essential oils in the lush growth they produce.^[7] Lean soil grows a stronger-smelling plant, which is the entire point of this one.
• Pruning. Shear plants back after the first flowering and they rebound and often rebloom.^[2] Outdoors, cutting to the ground after flowering also stops the aggressive self-seeding. Indoors, pinch growing tips the way you would basil to keep the plant compact.

Growing it in a pot

A 12-inch pot suits a full-grown plant, and wide beats deep for the same reason as with mint: new shoots rise from spreading roots. This is also the herb where terra cotta earns its keep. Catnip wants to dry between waterings, and an unglazed clay pot breathes moisture out through its walls, insurance against a heavy hand with the watering can. Any standard potting mix drains well enough; our growing media guide has the details.

Expect a potted plant on a sill to stay smaller than the three-foot garden version, which is no loss. Compact, frequently pinched plants produce the usable leaves.

Starting plants

From seed. Catnip germinates in 7 to 10 days at 60 to 70°F, needs light to trigger germination, so press seeds into the surface rather than burying them, and requires no cold stratification.^[8] Sow a few seeds per pot in pre-moistened mix, keep the surface damp until sprouts show, and thin to the strongest seedling once plants have five or six leaves.

From a cutting. Like the rest of the mint family, a 5 to 6-inch tip cutting with the lower leaves stripped roots readily in a glass of water. Pot it up when roots reach an inch or two. If a neighbour grows catnip, this costs nothing.

Harvesting and drying

Timing changes potency more than anything else you control. Measured across the growth cycle, essential oil roughly tripled from the vegetative stage to full flowering,^[9] and the nepetalactone fraction peaks from bud stage into early bloom.^[10] So harvest whole stems from bud break through early flowering, in the morning once dew has dried, when oils are at their day’s peak.

Dry them the way the National Center for Home Food Preservation recommends for herbs: small bundles hung in a warm, dark, well-ventilated spot, or loose in a paper bag with holes punched in it. When leaves crumble off the stem, strip and store them in an airtight jar in the dark. Dried this way the leaves stay interesting to cats for months, long past the point supermarket catnip has gone flat, and refill toys are a five-minute sewing job.

Catnip for people

Catnip tea, two teaspoons of dried leaf steeped in a cup of hot water, has centuries of use as a mild calming drink, and that is honestly where the human evidence stops: no controlled trial backs any medical use, and ordinary tea amounts are consumed without trouble while very large doses can cause headache or vomiting.^[11] Skip it during pregnancy; catnip has a traditional reputation as a uterine stimulant, and the standard references advise against it.^[11]

The genuinely interesting human application is the insect repellent. Catnip essential oil and its isolated nepetalactones blocked more than 95 percent of mosquito landings for two to four hours in controlled trials, outperforming DEET at the lowest doses tested,^[12] and the mechanism is now mapped: nepetalactone fires TRPA1, the same irritant receptor wasabi triggers, in insects but not in humans.^[13] Note what that evidence is about: extracted oil on skin or fabric. A living catnip plant on the porch repels nothing, however often the claim gets repeated.

Questions & answers

Does catnip come back every year?

Yes. It is a hardy perennial in zones 3 through 9. Outdoors it dies back in winter and returns from the roots; cut it down after flowering unless you want volunteer seedlings everywhere. An indoor plant just keeps going, more slowly in winter light.

Why does my cat ignore catnip?

Two likely reasons. The response is inherited, and roughly a third of cats simply lack it.^[1] And kittens under about three to six months do not respond regardless of genetics, so a young cat may grow into it. Some “non-responders” also react quietly, settling into a calm sphinx posture rather than rolling, which is easy to miss.^[5] For confirmed non-responders, silver vine is the usual alternative and works on most cats that ignore catnip.

Can a cat have too much catnip?

Overdoing it looks like vomiting or diarrhea, both uncommon and both self-resolving.^[6] Catnip is non-addictive and there is no meaningful toxicity at the amounts a cat can get from a plant or toy. Cats also self-limit; after a session they lose interest for an hour or two.

Will catnip take over my garden?

It reseeds aggressively and has naturalized across most of North America, though it is rarely formally listed as invasive. The two controls are deadheading before seed set and growing it in a pot, which is the arrangement this guide assumes. Never tip spent potting mix with seed heads into a bed you care about.

Does growing catnip repel mosquitoes?

The plant, no. Catnip essential oil is a genuinely effective repellent in controlled trials, blocking over 95 percent of mosquito landings for two to four hours,^[12] but that evidence is about extracted oil applied where mosquitoes land. No study shows a living plant protecting the space around it.

What is the difference between catnip and catmint?

Catnip is Nepeta cataria, the weedy white-flowered species rich in nepetalactone, the one cats respond to. Catmint usually means Nepeta × faassenii, a tidy, sterile, blue-flowered border ornamental with far less effect on cats. Nurseries mix the names freely, so buy by the Latin.

Catnip’s cousin mint is the better kitchen herb and the more shade-tolerant plant; grow both and the sunniest spot goes to the catnip. It also earns a place in our roundup of the most aromatic herbs, where the aroma is doing a different job entirely.

References

1. Todd, N. B. (1962). Inheritance of the catnip response in domestic cats. Journal of Heredity, 53(2), 54–56. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a107121 ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

2. Wisconsin Horticulture, Division of Extension. Catnip, Nepeta cataria. https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/catnip-nepeta-cataria/ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

3. Uenoyama, R. et al. (2021). The characteristic response of domestic cats to plant iridoids allows them to gain chemical defense against mosquitoes. Science Advances, 7(4), eabd9135. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abd9135 ↩︎ ↩︎

4. Uenoyama, R. et al. (2022). Domestic cat damage to plant leaves containing iridoids enhances chemical repellency to pests. iScience, 25(7), 104455. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2022.104455 ↩︎

5. Bol, S. et al. (2017). Responsiveness of cats (Felidae) to silver vine (Actinidia polygama), Tatarian honeysuckle, valerian and catnip. BMC Veterinary Research, 13, 70. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-017-0987-6 Passive-response finding: Espín-Iturbe, L. T. et al. (2017). Behavioural Processes, 142, 110–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2017.06.008 ↩︎ ↩︎

6. PetMD, reviewed by M. E. Miller, DVM. Does catnip make cats high? https://www.petmd.com/cat/general-health/does-catnip-make-cats-high ↩︎ ↩︎

7. North Carolina Cooperative Extension. Growing herbs for the home gardener. https://franklin.ces.ncsu.edu/news/growing-herbs-for-the-home-gardener/ ↩︎

8. Johnny’s Selected Seeds. Catnip: key growing information. https://www.johnnyseeds.com/growers-library/herbs/catnip/catnip-key-growing-information.html ↩︎

9. Mohammadi, S. and Saharkhiz, M. J. (2011). Changes in essential oil content and composition of catnip (Nepeta cataria L.) during different developmental stages. Journal of Essential Oil Bearing Plants, 14(4), 396–400. https://doi.org/10.1080/0972060X.2011.10643592 ↩︎

10. Gomes, E. N. et al. (2024). Nepetalactone dynamics in Nepeta cataria across ontogeny. Molecules, 29(9), 2001. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29092001 ↩︎

11. Drugs.com professional monograph, Catnip, and RxList, Catnip. https://www.drugs.com/npp/catnip.html ↩︎ ↩︎

12. Reichert, W. et al. (2019). Repellency assessment of Nepeta cataria essential oils and isolated nepetalactones on Aedes aegypti. Scientific Reports, 9, 1524. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-36814-1 ↩︎ ↩︎

13. Melo, N. et al. (2021). The irritant receptor TRPA1 mediates the mosquito repellent effect of catnip. Current Biology, 31(9), 1988–1994. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.02.010 ↩︎