Catnip, It Seemed To Clearly Do Something

When I give it to my cat, he appears to be very strongly affected by it. He will stare at things, get extremely hyper, and generally act as though he is extremely high. While going through a very druggish phase in my late teens, I ate large amounts of catnip hoping to have similar effects that the cat was experiencing. Of course, that didn't happen. It affects humans completely differently. I did notice extremely strong sedative effects. While falling asleep, the quality of 'sleep' was distinctly different from normal. Then, after being quite depressed and dealing with various issues, I decided to give it another try. I chewed a small amount of it, which tasted awful. I chewed it thoroughly, and had very limited expectations for what it was going to do. I hoped that maybe it would help me to feel better. To my surprise, this time it felt as though IT DID have an affect. For the first time, I felt completely rational and fully was able to trust my thinking I felt very insightful and also music definitely sounded a bit better. I also had much more energy and the sluggish quality I had before was gone completely. A couple of pinches, well chewed seemed to work wonders for me. I have tried it a few times, and it seems effective. Of course, it may be placebo, but part of me thinks not. Has anyone else had experiences with catnip? If so, was it effective? I have heard it is quite safe and some people use it every day!

Haha, I may just try it now... was this fresh catnip leaves, or dried?

Not all cats "get high" from catnip. Mine didn't.

"The catnip response is hereditary. It is estimated that about 1/3 of the cats lack this gene. Additionally, kittens less than three months old don’t respond to catnip." Catnip | Why Cats React to Catnip

I've never tried it. I know that catnip tea is supposed to be relaxing. I've never seen it in the flavors of tea at the grocery store, so I've never bothered to seek it out to try it.

One of the anti-anxiety teas I drink has catnip in it. Drives the cats mental when I drink it, and when I'm done they try to stick their heads into the cup.

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I tried catnip a long time ago. I mixed it with hops in a pot of tea and it had a mild hypnotic effect.

Yes^^^

Also, you can buy bulk (loose) catnip at a natural foods store.

I think I will give this a try- nothing else seems to help much and the cat isn't interested in it either...

The mint family has uplifting, soothing, and pain relieving qualities

Interesting! My cats get high as a kite off of catnip. I've wondered lol

Catnip is in the mint family, and as such makes excellent tea! I find it perfect for an upset tummy, and it's refreshing iced without being to sharply minty, if that makes any sense.