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5595906 tn?1370579645

Legal Herb For Pet

Legal herbs has an impressing effect to change the mental health of your pet. I have heard this several time. But I do not know whether legal herbs are safe for my pet or not!
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1110049 tn?1409402144
Catnip is the dried flower heads once the flowers have died, not the leaf, like in ordinary mint.  

The dead flowers can be harvested and then kept  for quite a while, and will not lose their smell.  It can then be used for a long time.  
Helpful - 0
740516 tn?1360942486
I knew about  capnip tea use for humanes - since I'm nor a "tea lover" I guess I wont try that :-)
In fact,thats the reason you can find seeds here,cats products market are not very big here and seller want to be sure SOMEONE will but those.
Only one seed store here has Catnip and another has an ordinary cat grass that mine didnt like...
On pet shops you only get dry an expensive one
Btw,Loreena keeps enjoying grab the  leaf from my hands.Im wishing the thing become a "invasor" soon the way ordinary mint does for having material enough for more experiments.
I guess I will give some to Luck and Joy this weekend - day time ,hoping it work and they waste part of their "charge" and sleep in the night!
Helpful - 0
681148 tn?1437661591
It's cute how much some cats love catnip.  On the other hand, some cats actually just don't care and will completely ignore the plant.  It's common for them to like it, but it's also not unheard of for individual cats to just not care and to ignore the plant.  And, then, you get one like Akira who doesn't want anything to do with it if the plant is fresh and living but who goes nuts and enjoys it very much when it's dried.

You will find that what AnnieBrooke mentioned about bruising the fresh catnip in your fingers to release the natural oils in the leaves to be true of your fresh culinary herbs, too.  You save less of the natural oils when you dry any herb, but some is still there.  With ANY herb that you dry, you should dry the leaves WHOLE and don't crush the dried leaves until you are ready to use it.  If you buy dried catnip for your cat, it is obviously already crushed or cut after it's dried.  But, you can entice your cat more if you take a portion of the dried catnip and crush it some more just before you give it to the cat.  It will still release some more of the oils.  By the way, I learned this from watching cooking shows.  What is true of one culinary herb is true for another culinary herb and will also be true of catnip.

Here is a little FYI:  In some stores that sell bulk herbs and spices, you can buy organic dried catnip.  You can definitely buy it there for your cat, but did you know that catnip is used as an herbal medicinal tea for people?  Catnip tea for people is meant to be a calming tea.  I'm not sure how sedating it is, so when you first try it you would try it before you go to bed at night.  I haven't tried it yet, so I can't say how it will taste, but I am certain that it won't taste nasty like valerian root tea does.  Catnip in bulk is fresher, too, since it gets turned over at a faster rate.  So, people aren't affected in the same way by catnip as our kitties are affected.
Helpful - 0
1110049 tn?1409402144
The catnip in my garden has now dried.  I harvested some and put it into a pouch for Smudge.  He smelt it straight away, and went crazy for it, rolling around with it in his paws.  He just loves it!!
Helpful - 0
134578 tn?1693250592
If you have a cat that shows little interest in the fresh plant, pick a stalk and crush the leaves in your fingers, then set the crushed leaves down for the cat.  Sometimes the fragrance doesn't come on for the cat until the leaves are bruised.
Helpful - 0
740516 tn?1360942486
Plant keeps growing - slooowly ...
And Loreena keeps ignoring it - I had decided dry a few for testing,but Im hoping plant get bigger.
Some  tiny bugs are already tasting the leaves ( some tiny holes found  there...)
But yesterday I ofereed here a leave in my hands - and she ATE! Aparently, she liked and wanted more, so I gave one more, that she grabbed again
Not sure if it was because those leaves were becoming "naturally dry" (old) ou because she is a so polite cat that DONT SPOIL plants in pots, just pick the ones her mother provides her :-)
Helpful - 0
681148 tn?1437661591
Oh, that's good.  On the other hand, it's not allowed in a p-patch type of garden, because it's in the mint family.  Plants in the mint family aren't allowed, because they become invasive like weeds.  It's that sprawling that I was thinking of with the catnip.  But, yes, if you're discreet about where you plant it, your cat will totally leave the rest of the garden alone, because of how appealing the catnip is to cats.

Of course, Akira doesn't seem to like fresh catnip.  I've offered it to her before.  As I live in an apartment, it wouldn't do for me to try to plant it outside unless I were to plant it in a pot with the intention of drying it for Akira.  
Helpful - 0
1110049 tn?1409402144
Catnip is not invasive like the herb mint, and I don't think it needs to be grown in a pot.

it can grow tall and sprawl a lot that is the only thing.

My cat does not seem to harm my garden when he sniffs and lies in the catnip.  It is not in the middle of a garden bed, but on the edge of a path, so no damage occurs.  If it is in a pot, it is not so accesible for the cat.  Just my observation.
Helpful - 0
681148 tn?1437661591
I completely agree with you.  I have read Dr. Becker's (from Mercola Pets) posts on FB and one was about animal emergencies due to pot making their pets seriously sick.  It has even killed some pets.  And, it isn't fair to your pets to do that to them.  It's also not fair to your neighbors in an apartment to send pot smoke up the bathroom vent.
Helpful - 0
874521 tn?1424116797
catnip is very safe...I hope NO one got the impression that it wasn't by my above post.....there are a whole lot of what is termed 'legal herbs' out there meant for the soul purpose of getting a person high, and I wasn't sure but I got the impression this is the herb the OP was referring too??? hope not..and sure hope people are very careful of any herbs they use for cats...other than catnip of course...:)
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681148 tn?1437661591
I would keep it in a pot, then continue to get bigger pots as the plant grows.  Any of the plants in the mint family will take over if they're planted directly in the ground.
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740516 tn?1360942486
Common mint just finished its  cycle here,they have lost almost all leaves , big branches are getting dry and now you can see new sprouts growing.
Its winter here, girls .Just Winter plants are in blosson :-)
Helpful - 0
740516 tn?1360942486
I do know some cats dont give a damn for the thing :-)  - maybe mines are this kind of.
Or she enjoys only dehidrated herbs ( its my first try with any kind of catnip, so ...)It happened with a kind of grass once.
Plant is growing in a pot, but I guess I will move some seedlings to the floor when they were bigger ( not sure about how much bigger, however)
Dont worry about a main garden - I'm not having gardens for a long time-I  gave up til the moment I can be living in a home of my own AWAY from boring relatives,neighbors and co ( I have to believe there're chances of it someday for not to be crazy...)
Problem of planting on the floor will be the competition with wild weeds or so.And I need some in a pot for Lucky and Joy since they are not allowed to be outdoor.
Helpful - 0
681148 tn?1437661591
Yes, this is the time of the year for the catnip mint, and all of the mint family to be at their best.

Some cats are like mine and could care less about the fresh stuff, though.  If you're growing catnip for your fur babies, I would personally recommend growing the catnip away from your main garden, since cats simply love to roll around in the catnip patch.

Akira does like catnip, but she isn't attracted to fresh catnip.  She seems to only like the dried stuff.
Helpful - 0
1110049 tn?1409402144
My cat nip is high now with purple flowers, but I think the smell is there from when they are quite small.  I am not sure if all cats love catnip.  I have a neighbour's cat who comes into my garden to sniff it.  

These plants can grow quite big.  I love watching my cat put his nose deep in the plant.  He absolutely loves it.  I took photos of my cat last year having a sniff.  I will try to download so you can see.
Helpful - 0
740516 tn?1360942486
Is the capnip  atracctive for cats since they are very young plants ( about 6 or 8 cm tall) or just need to be bigger to get the pleasant smell?
Mine is this size and Loreena shows no interest for yet .
I know some cats do not care for, I hope is not the reason for -since this is genetic , kids wont care for as well.
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874521 tn?1424116797
NO...these are not safe..do NOT use any herbs not recommended by a trusted Veterinarian on any pet please...
Helpful - 0
1110049 tn?1409402144
What legal herbs are you thinking of?  I know that my cat adores the catmint I grow in my garden.  He rolls around it and chews it.  He is in ecstasy!!  I have read many times how cats love catnip.  I dry the seeds and put them into pouches.

You have seen how cats love playing with catnip toys.  Is this what you mean?
Helpful - 0
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