Catnip calms the nerves, soothes digestion and lowers a fever without raising it first. It acts as a mild sedative and can help calm the nerves and promotes restful sleep of most animals. This would be another good herb to use in a stress tonic. For a more extreme stress, like after a predator attack for example, the tinctured catnip could be added to some water and administered orally. The herb is also a calming relaxant for the digestive system and can help ease a nervous stomach.

Catnip grows in USDA Zones 3 to 9, and prefers partial to full sun. A hardy perennial, it has a tangy-mint aroma and it blooms from late spring to midsummer. Characteristically a mint, catnip has square stems and opposite leaves. The entire plant is distinctively fuzzy with an almost flannel-like texture. Catnip blooms at both the upper leaf axils and in spikelike clusters, growing up to a height of 3 feet. The leaves, stems and flowers are collected before seeds begin to develop.