Can Goats Eat Catnip?

Can Goats Eat Catnip? (Revealed!)

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Yes, goats can eat catnip just fine. Don’t feed them too much, though, because it isn’t really nutritionally complete, and they need to get a good balance in their diet. It’s good as something to have growing in their pasture, that they can eat on their own terms.

 

Goats may love catnip, but there are really not a lot of benefits to going out of your way to provide them with catnip.

It’s better if it is just something growing that they can have foraging access to.

They shouldn’t decimate the plant and will allow it to grow back.

Let’s look further into this.

Can Goats Eat Catnip?

 

Is catnip good for goats?

Yes, it is, in a number of ways.

The main thing is that goats are foragers.

Ruminants like goats and deer like to have a wide range to be able to explore and find food for themselves.

Though they do eat grass, they are not grazers, like sheep and cattle.

They are not content to just eat grass all day—they need other things.

So, ideally, the best way for them to eat catnip is to have it growing in their pasture.

This way, they can explore and forage for it themselves, and eat it as and when they wish.

They shouldn’t gorge themselves on it.

This is great enrichment in and of itself.

But goats will also benefit from the fiber content in the catnip.

All plants are made up of mostly fiber, and this is really the backbone of your goat’s diet.

The fiber in the catnip will help their digestion run smoothly, and provide them with energy.

Catnip is also a reasonably good source of antioxidants.

Antioxidants prevent the formation of free radicals in the body’s cells, which can damage them over time.

Finally, there is a good mineral content in catnip, which can contribute their overall diet in a really great way.

As always, though, there are multiple caveats to this question.

 

Is catnip bad for goats?

No, catnip is not inherently bad for goats.

It’s not toxic or poisonous, and it won’t cause them any immediate issues if they eat it.

That said, you still need to be careful about incorporating it into their diet.

Catnip is good, but it’s not good on its own.

It is a good treat and addition to their diet, but it shouldn’t make up any significant part of it.

As I said, it’s really best as an occasional treat to spice things up.

If they eat too much, they may not get the nutrition they need elsewhere in their diets.

As with anything, catnip is not bad for your goats, but it’s still really important that you moderate the amount they have.

Now, the question we’re all wondering—does it get them high?

 

Do goats get high from catnip?

To the extent that it does with cats? No.

That said, a lot of folk wisdom does suggest that goats very much enjoy getting high from various natural substances.

One story even suggests that coffee was discovered by a goat herder, who found his goats chowing down on coffee beans one day.

So, goats probably do feel the psychoactive effects of catnip.

However, they would need to eat a pretty huge amount to get significantly high from it, so it’s overall likely not to be something you would notice.

They will certainly get high from it, though, to a degree—and they may even enjoy this.

After all, cats seem to enjoy it, so why wouldn’t any other animal?

 

Can goats eat Greek catnip?

There is more than one variety of catnip, though, so let’s just look at a couple of the more common ones.

One of those is Greek catnip, which is perfectly safe for goats, too.

Greek catnip, as the name suggests, originates in Greece, and isn’t found indigenously in many other parts of the world.

So, you don’t really have much to worry about from this one.

The more common variety is known as true catnip.

Can goats eat that?

 

Can goats eat true catnip?

Yes, goats can eat true catnip, and this is really what we’ve been framing our discussion around in this article.

True catnip is found in many places around the world, and is what we think of when we use the term catnip,

So, yes, goats can eat true catnip—in moderation it is perfectly safe and even beneficial.

 

So, the short answer is that catnip is perfectly safe for your goats and they will even enjoy it.

The longer answer, though, is that you need to be very careful about how much they eat.

If you are giving them catnip as something you’re encouraging them to eat, then do so only once or twice a week at most.

Make sure it is in small quantities. Balance it out with other things in the rest of their diet, and you’ll have a very healthy goat on your hands!

 

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