Crazy Over Catnip

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I raise my own catnip and stuff it inside home-sewn fabric mice. The little toys are a hit with cats—and their owners. There's no mistaking the fact that cats love the scent of catnip's aromatic oils. My tabby will smell, toss, chew and fondle her herb-stuffed mouse until she's in a state of euphoria.

You can sew up a few catnip mice just to keep your own pet happy, or you can think in bigger terms. I started making and selling the mice seven years ago, when I was nine years old, as a way of earning some money at home. I didn't need any expensive machinery or a lot of capital to start the business and could grow the main ingredient in my own herb garden. My mouse business has worked out well. In fact, it's turned out so well that, after I was selling 300 or 400 mice a year, I let my father take over running the business. My whole family, including my three brothers and sisters, now helps make the mice. They're sold all over the country; in fact, in the past year, we marketed almost 7,000 mice!

Growing the Crop

One of my favorite parts of the business is growing Nepeta cataria. Catnip is a member of the mint family and, like most mints, is easy to grow. Once established, the hardy perennial should thrive for years. The seeds are sold in just about any hardware or gardening store, as well as by mail. Sow them indoors in early spring, then set the young plants out (harden them off first) about six weeks later. You can also sow seed directly outdoors in the fall.

Catnip likes full sun but will tolerate some shade. It tends to be most aromatic if grown in a sandy soil, but will do well in most any ground but heavy clay. It's a very low-maintenance plant, except for one thing: You need to protect a new stand from cats! Otherwise, they may roll and play in it and the young plants may not survive.

Harvest the tops when the plants are in full bloom, then hang them upside-down in a warm, dry, shady place (or place them in an oven set on its pilot light or lowest heat). And you don't have to stuff your entire crop into fabric mice; the leaves can be used to make an herb tea that's so soothing you'll want to take a catnap yourself.

Mice Making

When you're making mice to sell, you should use bright-colored calicos. In my experience, these sell best. Pastels don't do well, but fabrics that go with the season (red and green for Christmas, heart-patterned material for Valentine's Day) sell fine. Felt works well for the eyes, ears and tail because it's stiff and doesn't fray at the edges.

For each mouse, cut two body pieces out of calico. Each piece should be shaped roughly like half a Valentine heart, about six inches long and two and a half inches at the widest point. The bottom can be rounded instead of pointed like a heart would be. Then cut the felt pieces: a long, thin triangle for the tail, a double-lobed two-and-a-half-inch-long ear piece (it looks sort of like a footprint) and two small circles for eyes.

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