Important reminder:
Cats should always have access to fresh water. Catnip tea should only be offered as an occasional treat if your cat enjoys it, larger amounts can cause digestive upset. Ask your vet for advice before offering your cat new foods and treats, as these may not be suitable or safe for all cats depending on their age, underlying health or any medication they are taking.
Sometimes, you want to improve your cat’s diet. After all, eating and drinking the same thing every day must be boring, right? But you know that you shouldn’t give your cat a ton of food, and you know that people food is definitely out of the question. So, how can you give your pet a nice change of pace when it comes to what they eat or drink?
With catnip tea! Wait, tea for cats? Yes. This tea is made with catnip (which we know most kitties love) and offers your cat a refreshing alternative to plain, boring water (which should entice them to drink more). You can make catnip tea in different ways (not all of them are exactly tea), but no matter how you make it, your cat should be happy with the drink.
6 Easy Recipes for Catnip Tea for Cats
1. Catster Recipe – Simple Catnip Tea
Simple Catnip Tea
As the name of this recipe suggests, this is the simplest, most basic form of catnip tea you can make. It only involves two ingredients and only takes a few minutes to complete! When it comes to catnip, it is advisable to start with a small pinch first to see if your cat likes the tea. If they do, you can add another pinch later.
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Pot or kettle
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Serving bowl or bowl
- 1 cup Water
- 1 pinch Dried or fresh catnip
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Boil water
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Add catnip to a mug or bowl
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Once the water is boiling, pour it over the catnip
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Let the tea steep for 3 minutes
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Allow the tea to cool, then serve to the cat
2. Honey, the Cat Dipped the Nip Again (Catnip Tea)
This fun recipe enhances the original catnip tea recipe above with chicken broth. Catnip tea alone can drive your cat wild, but add in some delicious chicken broth, and you’ve got a drink that’s sure to please even the pickiest of cats. Choose chicken broth made specifically for cats.
| Calories: | 0 kcal. |
| Number of Servings: | 4 |
| Difficulty level: | It’s easy |
Ingredients:
- 1 cup hot water
- 3 tsp dried or fresh catnip
- 1/4 tsp instant powdered cat-safe chicken broth (no or low sodium, no onion or garlic)
Instructions:
- Put the water in the container.
- Add the other ingredients.
- Shake until the broth dissolves and the catnip turns the water green.
- Serve 1/4 cup to your cat.
- Refrigerate leftovers.
- Reheat leftovers just a touch before serving.
3. Iced Catnip Tea
Iced catnip tea is essentially the original recipe, just with ice. Or rather tea strained over ice, in this case. When you use iced catnip tea, you save on waiting for the tea to cool and make sure your cat doesn’t burn their tongue!
| Calories: | 0 kcal. |
| Number of Servings: | 4 |
| Difficulty level: | It’s easy |
Ingredients:
- 17 oz of water
- 2–3 tsp organic catnip
- ice
Instructions:
- Bring the water to a boil, then remove from the heat.
- Add catnip and let cook for 5 minutes.
- Strain the tea over ice using a strainer.
- Serve the tea to your cat.
4. Catnip Tea Ice Cubes
If your kitty doesn’t dig catnip tea in a bowl, or you just want to make things more fun for them, you can make catnip tea ice cubes! These fun frozen treats are perfect for hot days and are a great way to add some extra water to your cat’s day.
| Calories: | 0 kcal. |
| Number of Servings: | 12 |
| Difficulty level: | It’s easy |
Ingredients:
- How much hot water your ice cube tray holds
- 1 tsp dried catnip for every 8 oz of water used
Instructions:
- Measure how much water your ice cube tray holds, then boil it.
- Add 1 teaspoon of catnip for every 8 ounces of water and stir.
- Let the tea cool.
- Pour into an ice cube tray and freeze.
- Serve to kitty.
5. Catnip Ginger Tea
Is your cat suffering from an upset stomach? Then, this catnip ginger tea can help soothe their stomach. Ginger is traditionally used to help with vomiting and nausea, although too much ginger and catnip can have the opposite effect.
| Calories: | 0 kcal. |
| Number of Servings: | 12 |
| Difficulty level: | It’s easy |
Ingredients:
- 1 tsp dried catnip
- 1 tsp goat’s milk (or Cat’s Milk)
- 1/2 cup of hot boiling water
- Dash of ginger (about 1/2 cm of ginger root)
Instructions:
- Take the ginger root and cut about 1/2 centimeter.
- Cut the ginger into small pieces.
- Place the ginger and catnip pieces in a tea diffuser.
- Place the diffuser in hot water and wait about 6 minutes.
- Add a little goat’s milk or Cat’s Milk, cool to room temperature, and serve to your cat.
6. Champagne tastes like Catnip Tea
This catnip tea recipe is meant for people, but with a few subtle tweaks, you can easily make it cat-friendly. Just leave out the sugar and honey and discard the lemon. Then, for an herbal variation, add a cat-friendly herb, like basil!
| Calories: | 0 kcal. |
| Number of Servings: | 4 |
| Difficulty level: | It’s easy |
Ingredients:
- A few pinches of fresh or dried catnip
- 2 cups of water
- A couple of basil leaves or other cat-friendly herbs
Instructions:
- Rinse the catnip and herbs.
- Boil the water.
- Add the catnip to the pot and stir with the back of a wooden spoon.
- Add the herbs.
- Steep for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Strain with a strainer.
- Allow to cool and serve to the cat.
Conclusion
Making catnip tea for your cat is a fun way to get them to drink more and let them enjoy the “high” of catnip. Making this type of tea is incredibly simple and only takes a few minutes to complete; plus, you can make many variations on the very basic catnip tea recipe! So, if your kitty is a big catnip fan, try one of these recipes and see how much they enjoy it.
Featured Image Credit: TarasBeletskiy, Shutterstock
