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BuyCatnip / Buying guide

Buying catnip: what to look for

Catnip is sold loose, in toys, and in bulk bags. Here is what to check before you buy, and when to buy something else.

Check the label

  • The name: Nepeta cataria is catnip. A plant sold as catmint is often another species.
  • The form: loose leaves and flowers, buds, pellets, or toys filled with catnip.
  • The amount: start small for one cat; buy in bulk once you know your cat reacts.

Buying in bulk

Bulk bags make sense for a home with several cats, for a shelter, or for refilling toys. Keep a small jar for daily use and store the rest closed, out of light and out of reach.

When catnip does nothing

About one cat in three ignores catnip. Before buying more, try silver vine: in a 2017 study more cats reacted to it than to catnip. Read our silver vine page.

Good to know

  • The garden plants sold as catmint are usually other Nepeta, such as Nepeta x faassenii, not catnip itself.1,2
  • Catnip is given fresh, dried, or inside toys stuffed with it.3,4
  • In a 2017 study of 100 cats, 79 reacted to silver vine and 68 to catnip.5,6
  • Silver vine, Tatarian honeysuckle and valerian root are other plants that some cats react to.5,6

How we checked this page

Checked on October 20, 2026. We kept a fact only when two independent publishers agree, and each one is numbered to its sources below. Where sources give different numbers, we keep only what they share. We never write a price. This page was written with an AI assistant and checked against the sources below.

Sources

  1. Catmints and catnip: which is purrfect for your garden?, University of Minnesota Extension
  2. Catnip and Catmint (Jeff Schalau, 2017), University of Arizona Cooperative Extension
  3. What Is Catnip and What Does It Do to Cats? (Heather Hoffmann, DVM), PetMD
  4. Feline Fine: The Benefits of Catnip (2019), Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine
  5. Responsiveness of cats (Felidae) to silver vine, Tatarian honeysuckle, valerian and catnip (Bol et al., 2017), BMC Veterinary Research
  6. Eufloria: Catnip Isn't the Only Plant Scent Cats May Love (Dr. Tony Buffington), Vetstreet
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