# Catnip for ratties?



## Felcore99 (Mar 8, 2012)

I was just curious if catnip is good, bad or indifferent for rats?


----------



## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

I wouldn't give it to them. It can make humans high if smoked..that makes me wonder if there might be something yucky in there that could hurt a rat. They're SO small.


----------



## Cloud (Jan 16, 2011)

Kinsey said:


> I wouldn't give it to them. It can make humans high if smoked.


actually it cant. First hand experience here. It did feck all lol


----------



## TheServalRat (Feb 21, 2012)

.........I really hope that's just schmuck bait to see if anyone would actually smoke catnip, because you can't. Either that or the store that sells your catnip might not be actually be catnip, lol.

As for Catnip and rats, my rats couldn't care less about it. xD


----------



## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

I just heard that from a couple of people. Ha.


----------



## PipRat (Jan 24, 2012)

I put a little cat toy in my rat's cage that had catnip in it, they were totally indifferent to it so I took it out.


----------



## aurag2 (Dec 12, 2010)

The rat whisper does a dig box with cat grass, which is the same thing, just in grass form.


----------



## PipRat (Jan 24, 2012)

I thought cat nip and cat grass were two different things?


----------



## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

They are different, cat grass is just grass.


----------



## aurag2 (Dec 12, 2010)

Oh, my stepmom told me they were the same.

Well thanks for making me look like a fool.

*Slowly backs out*


----------



## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

Haha. Some people call catnip cat grass for some reason, but the stuff sold at the store as seeds is just plain grass.


----------



## shawnalaufer (Aug 21, 2011)

aurag2 said:


> The rat whisper does a dig box with cat grass, which is the same thing, just in grass form.


Hee hee thats me! 

I saw catnip sold as seeds in the garden section of my local home improvement store but never tried growing any to see if its the same as the cat grass. I gave my ratties toys with catnip in them years and years ago, back when I had my very first pet rat, and it didn't seem to have any negative effects on him. He chewed up the toy and got the catnip stuff everywhere but didnt act any differently like cats do when exposed. I stick to the cat grass just because I know its safe and its easy to grow. But now that you mention this, I think I might grow some catnip in my herb garden I was planning, just to see if its the same. Either way, my cats would love it!


----------



## Felcore99 (Mar 8, 2012)

Thanks for the info guys! I think I'll try both and see what .


----------



## Iheartroxyrat (Feb 22, 2012)

geez gals! be nice lol catnip cant make you high, but it sure makes kitties high  and its a member of the mint family! random fact of the day. i can smell it everytime i go fishin! it grows wild around water sorces in my area, that and stinging nettle, thats no beuno! my cats would have nothing to do with the fresh catnip, but as soon as it dried they were all over it haha. i took my rats outside today because it was 60!!! yay anyways, i put them in a playpen on the grass and they loooved it, they dug lil holes and ate grass roots


----------



## Iheartroxyrat (Feb 22, 2012)

shawna, have you ever tried catnip tea?? i heard its really good!!


----------



## Lioness (Nov 11, 2011)

Iheartroxyrat said:


> shawna, have you ever tried catnip tea?? i heard its really good!!


Yup, catnip is a mint.  It is also called catmint, in fact.
Catnip tea is good. I like it when paired with another mint (peppermint, spearmint, or lemon balm), but I'm a sucker for mints. ♥

I highly doubt that it would be toxic to rats, but it won't have the same effect as it does on a cat.
The chemical in catnip that cats react to is called Nepetalictone. It is thought to mimic feline pheromones, but nobody is really sure.. also, not all cats are affected by catnip. Fun facts.


----------

