DIY Kitty Crack: ultra-potent catnip extract

Why is there no such thing as dognip? (Woo hoo! Chihuahua on crack!)

My dog actually goes just as mental over catnip as my cat does. So try catnip, just make sure it's a dog-proof toy, because my dog completely destroyed all the cat's toys =(

Cool.

going to open a vial at my local animal shelter, hopefully it will make everyone's day.

catnip is a hallucinogen for cats, even in its regular form. so this is basically making DMT for cats. probably not the best idea to have a cat tripping serious balls on this, potentially could kill kitty.

The LD50 mentioned above is the amount that will KILL half of the people or animals who consume it; it's short for "Lethal Dose for 50%". An LD50 of 1.5 g/kg means that if you feed your 5kg cat 8 grams of nepetalactone, it has a 50% chance of DYING -- not just "being harmed". I suggest staying FAR, FAR away from that 8 gram dose.

i agree. Also, ld50 is for acute, not chronic, so get puss to rehab if he gets a catnip monkey on his back! I'm a research chemist and I don't see many instructables like this - nice! I hope your boss doesn't find out you used the gc for this. Note your links to 3 papers are broken - for me at least. I'm guessing those are pay sites for articles.

Hehehe... all I can say is, *sweet* - I've just discovered my next project. :-D Nice work!!

lmao weed

Sorry to say, this is not weed...

its weed for cats. chill. he was making a funny.

LOL

The fact that rabidrabbit made "a funny" himself makes it more funnier.

XD

xD xd Xd XD

Release it from a plane flying over your town. Like a crop duster.

Yikes! I wouldn't let my kitties anywhere near this, because of the toluene. Toluene is touted as "safe" by irresponsible companies who still use it in their products, but has been shown to be extremely toxic. I understand that the toluene supposedly evaporates away in this catnip extract -- like the alcohol does if you cook with wine, for example. However, I don't trust that the toluene wouldn't leave some trace, and that's not something I'd take a chance with.

After reading the comments I'm feeling a little nervous about this. Some are saying that all the chemicals are safe (as long as you're careful) and in almost non-existent quantities. Others are saying that if you even think about buying ether or toluene then you'll go blind and your cat will explode. I'm not a chemist by trade but I've handled dangerous chemicals before and know (more or less) what I'm doing. I'm not worried about myself but how dangerous is this for my cat?

Dear lord, someone is recommending the use of organic solvents as non or low toxicity? This isn't the 1950s anymore, ether and toluene are incredibly toxic, even in low concentrations. Check an MSDS before you follow any directions here...

if i can refin this better can i splash it on some one and have a ton of cats eat off there skin

could this be done with cannabis??

I'm afraid not, but there is other ways of extracting the THC (the junk that gets u high) from cannabis sativa. do a Google for "thc extraction" or something like that OR just click here:

http://www.truthtree.com/thc_extract.shtml

(removed by author or community request)

It's illegal...

I'm curious, is there any way to prevent the formation of the nepetalic acid? it seems like that would greatly improve your yield.

so not all cats like catnip? because i used to feed like 2 lbs of catnip to my cat and it had no effect on her behaviour....

Many herbs and plants can be concentrated in similar ways, creating near-drug like purity and percentages of active ingredients. Take poppy seeds. A jar of them. Boil. The eventual sludge? Pretty strong opiate. Do this with saffron, or sassafras, either. And you get a unique, strong amphetamine, sold everywhere everyday. Because all of this is about information, people must get good info. Hence, instructables!

saffron like the spice ? or the saffron crocus? cause the spice is ridiculously expensive.

Your GCMS trace doesn't start at 0 - I don't believe this was completely free of toluene - can you comment on this?
(Also 0.03% is an order of magnitude from 0.3%, which is far off to me)
Great Instructable though.

L

wow just use ephedra plant instead of catnip and you make meth

Wrong.

ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

shhhhhhhhhh

ssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss im a snake

Sssssssssssssssssssssssssssnape!

Could you just buy "catnip oil" and refine that into pure nepetalactone?

Where's the fun in that?

OMG, I HAVE to try this!!! Where do you get tolulene?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Hardware store.

Why waste diethyl ether on such frivolous endeavors? Also, as is mentioned below, there are serious flammability issues associated with diethyl ether.

so u basically made crack for furries xD does it make humans hyper as well?

actually catnip is a slight sedative for humans. As far as I have noticed my cat always crashes shortly after actually eating much of the stuff.

oh o.o

I am so glad you posted this article. As the Manufacturer of Bella Mira Essential Oils, (the Largest Selection and Highest Quality Available, Guaranteed) www.abundantlifeessentials.com. You have proven what I tell people everyday. Most essential oils are adulterated or use chemicals to extract them. How sad that you would use Toluene to extract a chemical meant for cats. Cats cannot handle chemicals (metabolize or break them down), even in the smallest amounts and anyone who uses enough of this chemical will possibly harm or kill their cats. This is why Vets (including myself) are so careful about what they prescribe for pets. It should also be noted for those who aren't' chemists, when the author says organic, he means in the chemical form, not organic as in USDA Organic etc.. Now, lets talk essential oil. If you got pure essential oil. It would be so potent every cat would run the other way if you opened the bottle. You would have to put say one drop on the carpet and after the scent really faded the cats would then be attracted to it. Cats hate strong smells. Cats also like oregano, nutmeg and evergreen tree essential oils more. Please just use regular organic catnip for your cats. If you really want to drive them crazy try mixing in a small amount of other herbs or teas until you find the perfect one for your cat. All cats are different, about 40% hate catnip anyway. Who needs all the hassle, it's not worth the risk.

is there any toulene left in it? like acetone or any other solvent, won't it just evaporate? I suppose you could light a match over it after it is dry. If it burns, it needs to evaporate more.

Got to agree with your assesment on the organic catnip: there has to be residual toluene in there, which I wouldn't give to my cat. However, you might try harder to resist the urge to plug the ol' website, tho. Seems cheap.

I wasn't plugging the ol website because I need to. i have over 2 million readers per day. But because it is the only place that you can get a real good explanation of what I was trying to explain. I post in Instructables all the time and this was the first time i listed it. Because I totally agree it is cheap. There is no toluene in catnip it's only left in the oil when you chemically distill it like in this article.

Best idea ever!! Get a small (tiny) glass bottle and take it to the kitty pound. Smash it where no one will see. Instant Kitty madness.

Using diethyl ether has some major downsides. Some folks may remember Richard Pryor, the comedian who recorded "Pryor on Fire" after a mishap with this stuff. I'm a chemistry professor. Been at it a long while, and I treat diethyl ether with a huge amount of respect, because it will catch fire in ways you may never have experienced. The fumes can travel across tabletops and floors quite some distance before reaching an ignition source, then nasty things happen fast. We don't turn light switches on or off when this is in use, there's a chance of triggering an explosion. So, while toluene certainly has toxicity problems, diethyl ether has huge flammability problems, vastly worse than gasoline (it's a starter fluid for use when it's too cold for gasoline to vaporize, that tells you how easy it is to light!). It's just not the sort of stuff to store around the house, especially if you don't live in a region with Arctic weather. Burn units are terrible places to spend months in, so think this through with care.