Originally posted by Tubby & Peanut's Mom

I was wondering what the difference is between catnip and cat mint.
This gets confusing because catnip and catmint can be used interchangeably for the most part because what cats typically like is catnip which is also a catmint, but not all catmints are what cats like although some cats DO like them because some cats like ALL mints. Get it? But some catmints are just for ornamental use. The stuff you normally think of as the cat *drug* is Nepeta Cataria
but some cats don't even like that one! Clear as mud now?? Here is a thread I found just now - maybe it helps a little..

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/l...414729082.html

I grow several varieties but they prefer the cataria that I refer to as "catnip" just to keep it simple Supposedly, it has more of the "drug" Kinda like the morphine of the opiods. Also why I call their round padded bed the "Opium Den" as that is where I give them their nip.