Catnip or Cat grass?

Catnip is derived from plants from Europe and the Far East such as the Catnip, Marum, and Matatabi plants. They contain a substance that triggers short-lived euphoric reactions in many cats that eat these plants:

• Sniffing 
• Licking, chewing, shaking of the head 
• Chin and neck rubbing 
• Rolling on their back
• Pawing
• Neck rubbing 
• Frantic running 

Cats can also become very affectionate or very aggressive. 

Cat grass is sold commercially and resembles long baldes of grass. 

They are young sprouts such as barley, wheat, oat, or even an herbal plant known as Cyperus alternifolius. 

Cats like to chew on this grass for reasons that are unknown. Some think that they do so to help pass hairballs. Others believe that it is an inherited behaviour from their feral ancestors to eliminate parasites. 

One thing is certain: cat grass does not produce the euphoric effect that catnip does!