All catnip is not created equally. I find the catnip spray is just not that good. The dried is pretty good, however, there is no way of knowing what is the REALLY good stuff until you get it home and try it. The last I bought, I got at a cat show $3. for a quart bag (dried catnip) and I have to keep it in a metal can or they would have it all over the house. If I forget and leave the can out, they will work all day to get that can open! ( I only buy the dried)

What we do is we "marinate" the toys in a ziplock bag of this good stuff and everytime we take out new marinated toys, we replace with older ones that the "goodie" has wore off of. Those toys you bought in the store were probably sprayed and then sat on the shelf for months.

Opps, to answer your question, catnip is a plant that grows.