Does anyone have any experience with Valerian and cats. I have not grown Valerian but have a bottle of it. This cat absolutely loves the smell of it! And to me, it smells like "stinky socks". He goes bonkers over it, a much more exaggerated reaction than he has with catnip. He becomes quite aggressive and is not an aggressive feline normally. I have only let him smell, am afraid it might be like hard narcotics for him. Is this unusual?
I do grown the plant and my outside cats could seem to care less. How ever, I also have some bottled Valerian and my inside cat (who certainly cannot be called energetic at any given moment) also get extremely excited when she smells that bottle opened.
BTW...what do you use the Valerian for?
Dee
Wow! That might explain a perplexing phenomenon here. I received 3 Valerian plants from a friend here on DG and put them into my herb border. One of them expired due to my not getting them transplanted as soon as I should have, 1 died at the paws of one of our cats (who seemed dedicated to digging the poor thing up), and one is still living, but plagued by said cat as well as bugs.
There might be a cat - drug connection, hmmmm.
I have a friend that uses it to sooth her intestinal tract. I wanted to use the valerian as a muscle relaxer after a hard day of manual labor. If I take a pain reliever, I bruise too easily. The first (and might I add, last) time I took it, I slept like a baby and bodywise, felt great. I got up with the worst headache and nausea. I don't normally have headaches. Ended up taking the pain reliever for the headache after all. Grumbling about feeling so crummy later, DH mused if it was caused by Valerian. Well, I got out my trusty herb book and it says if Valerian causes headaches or nausea, stop using it." Go figure, I did it to myself!
Valerian is an herbal sedative. Tincture of valerian used to be manufactured by the standard pharma companies. If you had a headache and nausea from it, you probably took too high a dose for your constitution. From an ayurvedic standpoint, standard valerian (Valeriana officinalis, called Tagar in Hindi/Sanskrit) is considered tamasic, or dulling to the mind. There is another related herb called Jatamamsi or Indian Spikenard (nardostachys jatamamsi) that smells and tastes like valerian but is not dulling to the mind that I would recommend instead. It's a standard item in our medicine cabinet. We use Wood Betony for headaches. It works well for tension headaches and offers good pain relief for that.
http://medherb.com/Materia_Medica/Valerian_-_Valerian_Trials.htm
http://www.itmonline.org/arts/valerian.htm
Valerian tablets for children were commonly used in Europe for kids who had trouble falling asleep or who were "hyperactive" (the reason my mom gave them to me.) It was also customary to make a weak tea of rosehips and valerian for colicky babies. It would settle the digestive upset and calm them so they could sleep. My cousins used this remedy for their children.
My mom gave me tincture of valerian on a sugar cube to calm me before taking my high school SAT and ACT tests. I scored in the top percentage, so I know that dosage didn't dull my mind.
Back to the cats - mine LOVE the smell of valerian. It gets them far more excited than catnip. I haven't noticed any negative behaviour from them when exposed to it. The plant that serves as LSD for felines is ranunculus. These are banned from the house bouquets and garden at our house now. My Somali nibbled some ranunculus petals from a bouquet and started hallucinating and attacking everyone who can near her. Her pupils were dilated and she was on one fierce trip!
Ranunculus is going to be a no-no then. Never had heard that. Garden_Mermaid, any idea how much tincture on the sugar cube. I rested so well, I would willing try a reduced dose. I took this in capsule form.
Since I posted this, I have been doing some scouring thru my plant and herb books and am finding references to Valerian containing chemicals similar to those in catnip.
McCool, one book states that "intoxicated felines have been know to destroy plants, use chicken wire fencing if necessary". Do you suppose the fencing in for cat or plant? : ))
I would like to try growing Valerian but the Southern Herb book indicates that it doesn't like our hot and humid climate and will die down in the summer here. May still give it a go...
Can you DG'rs share any growing experiences beyond the cat attacks?
Garden_mermaid,
Thank you for the two reference articles. I have been interested in herbalism for quite some time. These articles were very informative.
Dee
Podster...
I have Valerian growing in two spots in my garden, both are in partial shade due to our terribly hot summers. Even during this bad summer we just had, it is still beautiful.
Dee
Dbibb, so stupid of me, I looked at your location and thought Mass ~ I know better, duh! Did you start from plant, roots or seeds. Is your plant the Valerian officinalis or the red Valerian (Centrantus ruber)? Do you find it invasive in the least? After THIS summer if it is still beautiful, I want some! : ] pod
Mass.......OH NO!! I could never stand all that snow and cold.
I have Valerian officinalis. I got it from my sister as a small plant 2 years ago. I was told by several people (not my sister) that it was extremely invasive, but I haven't had any trouble with it. However, it could be that where I have it, it has plenty of room without intefering with anything else.
Dee
Boy I hear you on Mass. Grew up in Minn. Hate the snow and cold... and short days! I will have to locate some plants. Do you harvest this herb for use?
No, I haven't. I don't know enough about doing that yet. I buy my Valerian that I use.
Dee
Do you use a tincture or a capsule?
I've been using capsule because where I get it hasn't had the tincture.
After my experience with capsule, I may have to track down some tincture as well as plants. BTW what do you use it for?
I have restless leg syndrome and it is a tremendous help with that. I didn't like the idea of taking a Parkinson's type drug to help...so I did research and found Valerian.
dbibb, you might want to try growing jatamamsi to see if it does better for your garden.
This relative of valerian is also spelled jatamansi, and also known as nardostachys grandiflora.
http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Nardostachys+grandiflora
You can get a cultivated plant from Horizon Herbs. It is currently endangered in its native habitat due to overharvesting. I'm growing one from Horizon to help keep the biodiversity alive. It it is ever needed, the many gardeners who are growing it can send some back to be reintroduced.
https://www.horizonherbs.com/product.asp?specific=jmmohqomc
Podster,
I think in my case, I'd have to fence in the cat! He's my "gardening buddy". If he sees me out there, he makes a bee-line to my feet, then carefully rolls over to have his tummy rubbed, incidentally landing on the seedling that I just transplanted. I picked up an artemesia at the nearest roundup this Summer and it was doing very nicely, forming a nice, rounded clump ---- until Somebody apparently sat in the middle and then dug up the middle of the plant. Oh well, he's a really nice cat otherwise (even if he does have a brain the size of a marble!)
I'd consult with your veternarian before giving valerian or any herb to any animal. What does one thing for us humans... might do something else to the animals. Valerian in particular, as I have taken it off and on for many years, does have it's issues... it can be addicting. I use it for sleep.
My dog Zeus is nuts over chamomile. I have researched it and found that it is okay for dogs to have chamomile... but I will certainly talk to my vet about it before giving him anything with that in it. I plan to grow some for him if the vet says okay.
Just my $.02 worth...
Donna
Hi Donna, I agree. Haven't let Scraps have anything but the smell. He is not an aggressive or playful cat, not even with catnip. But I would be scared to give him Valerian. He became very enthusiastic. As he stays at work and lots of people pet him, I don't want him to play rough or be mean at all. Give Zeus a scratch from me... Take care, pod
Valerian and cats :
The root of the plant contains a terpenoid chemical - valerinone. Valerinone is a chemical very similar to catnip's nepetalactone (the active ingredient in catnip that cats respond to).
Do all cats respond to valerian?
No, but I have found that my cats who happen to respond to both catnip and to honeysuckle, also adore their valerian toys. If your cat is not a catnip responder, I'd would try both honeysuckle and valerian toys.
Is valerian safe for my cat?
Valerian is a mild stimulant and, though it doesn't do any harm, it shouldn't be offered to cats with kidney ailments. By the way, both catnip and valerian produce ecstasy through the odor, not the taste.
Pure valerian root oil is too potent for cats
Hey VbSparky ~ Thanks for weighing in on this. That answers a question. I figured it was the aroma and although Scraps really wants in the bottle, I wouldn't give him anything but smell. He overreacts to it. This normally docile cat gets way to agressive. He does have the catnip gene but not this much. Honeysuckle is a new one on me. Never heard of it with cats. Thank you for joining us... pod
