# Has anyone tried catnip tea? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 1, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-tried-catnip-tea/729561 "2015-09-01T00:34:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-tried-catnip-tea/729561/1 "2015-09-01T00:34:21Z")
Supposedly people like catnip too. I also read that it has mild sedative effects. It’s very easy to grow around here. I’m assuming it’s legal but I have never heard of people using it in tea until 3 or 4 minutes ago when I was looking up facts about catnip to see if it was safe for my cat to eat fresh(not dried) catnip. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-tried-catnip-tea/729561/2 "2015-09-01T00:36:23Z")
I use an infusion of catnip tea to make a mosquito repellent. Works great! Doesn’t last long. You have to re-apply the spray every 15 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-tried-catnip-tea/729561/3 "2015-09-01T00:49:07Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > I use an infusion of catnip tea to make a mosquito repellent. Works great! Doesn’t last long. You have to re-apply the spray every 15 minutes. It keeps the mosquitos away, which is good, but then don’t you end up being bothered by cats? ---
**Author:** ![mistymage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mistymage/32/459_2.png) [@mistymage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mistymage)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-tried-catnip-tea/729561/4 "2015-09-01T01:32:06Z")
It’s ok but I prefer other mints. My favorite right now being chocolate mint. Catnip doesn’t have that much mint flavor and the smell can be off-putting. The 3 cats that like nip don’t bug me when I drink tea whether catnip or any of the 6 other varieties we’re growing. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-tried-catnip-tea/729561/5 "2015-09-01T01:37:06Z")
Sure. It doesn’t get people high. But it’s good for relieving some of the symptoms of the common cold. Not really the tastiest tea ever, though. I usually mix it with some linden bracts and schizandra berries or hisbiscus flowers to improve the taste. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-tried-catnip-tea/729561/6 "2015-09-01T02:20:55Z")
> [@Mr.Nylock](#): > > It keeps the mosquitos away, which is good, but then don’t you end up being bothered by cats? Cats have never bothered me. In fact, I enjoy their company. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-tried-catnip-tea/729561/7 "2015-09-01T04:30:50Z")
Is there such a thing as dognip? ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-tried-catnip-tea/729561/8 "2015-09-01T05:23:13Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Is there such a thing as dognip? It’s the stuff that catnip is transformed into once it’s done passing through the cat. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-tried-catnip-tea/729561/9 "2015-09-01T11:13:49Z")
I made some once. It was just mildly minty. The cats fell in love with the teapot. ---
**Author:** ![mistymage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mistymage/32/459_2.png) [@mistymage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mistymage)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2015, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-tried-catnip-tea/729561/10 "2015-09-02T11:57:32Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Is there such a thing as dognip? Bacon. ---
**Author:** ![ASGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@ASGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2015, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-tried-catnip-tea/729561/11 "2015-09-02T15:17:55Z")
I have it occasionally, spring through mid summer, when the leaves are vigorous. Harvest the leaves and crush, then infuse. I make mine strong because I have many large plants and thus plenty of leaf stock. Never been a hot tea drinker, so mine is iced. I’ve not experienced anything, good or bad, from it. It’s just a tasty and free cooler. I make sure to grind up some extra leaves for my feline duo and put them on a piece of cardboard on the ground. The released catnip oil really gets them going. P.S. Not the fastest process in the world as you need a lot of leaves for a gallon of iced product. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2015, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-tried-catnip-tea/729561/12 "2015-09-02T15:45:44Z")
Have any of you ever brewed it for your cat? We have an elderly cat whose appetite needs perking up. It helps when we sprinkle a little dried catnip on top of his canned food, but then he eats those bites that have catnip on them an leaves the rest. I wonder if stirring in a little catnip tea would be better. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2015, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-tried-catnip-tea/729561/13 "2015-09-02T16:05:25Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > Have any of you ever brewed it for your cat? > > We have an elderly cat whose appetite needs perking up. It helps when we sprinkle a little dried catnip on top of his canned food, but then he eats those bites that have catnip on them an leaves the rest. I wonder if stirring in a little catnip tea would be better. Definitely worth a try. I know cats who like catnip tea as much as the dried leaf. They also like the tincture (alcohol extract) as I discovered one day when I came home to find a 16 ounce bottle of catnip tincture shattered on the floor, and one very drunk/stoned cat rolling around in the glass shards. :smack: I keep all my catnips in the freezer now. They haven’t yet figured out how to get the freezer door open. (I don’t let them watch[YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmTxB5nXlzk).) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-tried-catnip-tea/729561/14 "2015-09-07T06:49:20Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Is there such a thing as dognip? > [@mistymage](#): > > Bacon. Yeah, or horse shit. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-tried-catnip-tea/729561/15 "2015-09-09T18:33:16Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > Have any of you ever brewed it for your cat? The way I’ve seen them go after it, it honestly seems more like a food thing. They want to eat those toys infused with it. I’ve always wondered if it’s really addictive or just smells really yummy. Because, if it’s not addictive, I can’t see any trouble. If it is, then I’d expect it to stop working or need stronger tea over time.