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Ireland's first catnip farm: 'Irish cats need good quality catnip'

We caught up with the woman behind Fred’s Catnip Farm at the National Ploughing Championship.

TheJournal.ie / YouTube

IRISH CATS ARE getting a raw deal when it comes to catnip – until now, the woman behind what is believed to be the first commercial farm growing the herb in Ireland says.

Aideen Day was inspired to set up Fred’s Catnip Farm after she discovered that her own cat, Fred, was a big fan of catnip but found most products to be low quality.

Catnip is a member of the mint family which some – but not all – cats adore. A chemical in the plant called nepetalactone has a high-life effect on felines; when they inhale its scent, they will likely get excited, play, and eventually relax or sleep.

Day started growing the plant herself in Co Offaly from seeds she bought online and decided to turn it into a business, growing it organically as well as picking and drying it by hand, when she realised just how much Fred loved it.

Watch the video above for our full report.

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    Mute ☘
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    Sep 20th 2018, 7:32 PM

    Cat cannabis

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    Mute TamuMassif2019
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    Sep 20th 2018, 8:30 PM

    @☘: Catnip doesn’t work on all cats, there is a fraction that it has no effect on…

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    Mute Bernie Roche
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    Sep 20th 2018, 9:25 PM

    @TamuMassif2019: Like cannabis

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    Mute Ken Loughman
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    Sep 20th 2018, 10:37 PM

    @☘: I read somewhere a few years ago that catnip does in fact have the same effect on cats as cannabis does on humans. The only difference is that the effect on cats is apparently completely reversible.

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    Mute Lion Giggs
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    Sep 20th 2018, 8:00 PM

    Not to take away from cats having fun but it’s amazing that this is celebrated while cannabis use is illegal.
    Legalise cannabis. Tax it. Take all of the poor quality back alley potentially dangerous stuff off the streets, cut out the shady dealers who more than 5 in 10 of your sons and daughters have dealt with at some stage and use the money for education, housing, water… the list goes on.
    It’s a far less harmful plant when it’s just a plant and not subsided by fiber glass and anything else that will give the dealer a few extra bob and it causes an awful less harm, heartache and death than our most celebrated drug. Drink.
    Again apologies if this is the wrong thread!
    Cheers

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    Mute Neal Ireland Hello.
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    Sep 21st 2018, 10:37 AM

    @Lion Giggs: I never cease to be impressed at the determination of cannabis enthusiasts to shoehorn the topic into every neews story, no matter how irrelevent.

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    Mute WoodlandBard
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    Sep 20th 2018, 7:36 PM

    Facebook users dream

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    Mute Ken Loughman
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    Sep 20th 2018, 10:42 PM

    @WoodlandBard: Watching videos of chilled-out cats? Definitely!

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    Mute No One Important
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    Sep 21st 2018, 1:12 AM

    You can smoke catnip lads!

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    Mute DeFonz
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    Sep 21st 2018, 8:27 AM

    The anti-social feckless behaviour of cats that sit around our cat mint bush is appalling, this drug is a menace..

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    Mute Vinny Turley
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    Sep 21st 2018, 2:25 PM

    Cats are dicks

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