Silver Vine for Cats: Effects, Safety, Catnip Compared

Silver vine is an East Asian climbing plant whose dried fruit and wood set off the same rolling, rubbing and drooling that catnip does, and it works on many cats that ignore catnip. In the largest comparison published so far, Bol and colleagues (BMC Veterinary Research, 2017) offered four plants to 100 domestic cats: 79% responded to silver vine, 68% to catnip, 53% to Tatarian honeysuckle and 47% to valerian root.

The reaction itself is short. Wikipedia describes rolling, chin and cheek rubbing, drooling and licking lasting 5 to 30 minutes, followed by roughly an hour in which the cat does not respond again. PetMD, in an article by veterinarian Autumn Madden (updated 19 December 2024), adds that some cats become sleepy and others hyperactive.

The plant is Actinidia polygama, a relative of kiwifruit, sold as powder, chew sticks, leaf mixes and sprays.

The sources we checked found no poisoning risk. The 2017 study's authors write that silver vine, catnip, Tatarian honeysuckle and valerian are generally considered safe and not toxic or addictive for cats and humans, and note that none of them appears on poison control lists. PetMD's vet-reviewed article says the same, and adds that it is also safe for dogs.

What remains is the ordinary care you give any chew toy or dried plant material:

• Offer it in short sessions and put it away afterwards; the effect fades within half an hour anyway.
• Take away sticks once your cat has chewed them into small pieces.
• Call your vet if your cat vomits repeatedly, has diarrhoea, stops eating or seems unwell after a session. Neither source lists these as expected effects, so treat them as a reason to ask.

This is a comment on the plant sold for cats. It does not cover products that add other ingredients, so read the label.

They are different plants that trigger the same behaviour. Catnip is Nepeta cataria, a mint; silver vine is Actinidia polygama, in the kiwi genus. The overlap is chemical: a 2021 study summarised on Wikipedia identified the iridoids nepetalactol and nepetalactone as what cats respond to, and PetMD names nepetalactol plus actinidine and dihydroactinidiolide as the active compounds in silver vine.

The practical differences, from the 2017 study:

• More cats respond to silver vine: 79% against 68% for catnip.
• It reaches many catnip non-responders: of 31 cats that ignored catnip, 71% responded to silver vine, 32% to Tatarian honeysuckle and 19% to valerian root. (PetMD rounds this to about 75%; the paper's figure is 71%.)
• The form matters more than with catnip: dried fruit galls held cats' interest for significantly longer than normal fruit.

If your cat already loves catnip there is no reason to switch. If it ignores catnip, silver vine is the first alternative to try, and Tatarian honeysuckle the second.

Two explanations sit side by side. PetMD says nepetalactol activates the reward and pleasure centre of the cat's brain, which accounts for the rolling and rubbing. The 2021 study summarised on Wikipedia found that the same iridoids also repel mosquitoes, and its authors proposed that rubbing against the plant coats the cat's fur and protects it from bites. The first explains why it feels good; the second is a hypothesis about why the behaviour might have evolved.

Usually the same short episode as sniffing it: rolling, licking, drooling, rubbing, sometimes sleepiness or bursts of activity, all over within about 30 minutes (PetMD; Wikipedia gives 5 to 30 minutes). Drooling during a session is part of the normal response, not a sign of poisoning. Chewing sticks and licking powder are how the product is meant to be used.

If your cat swallowed a large amount of a product, or shows vomiting, diarrhoea, weakness or anything that does not settle after the session, call your vet. If a pet may have eaten a toxic plant, call your veterinarian, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center on (888) 426-4435 or Pet Poison Helpline on (855) 764-7661. For a person, call Poison Control on 1-800-222-1222 (US).

The 2017 study tested dried fruit galls, normal fruit, powder, fresh leaves, dried leaves and wood chips. Dried fruit galls were the clear winner: cats spent significantly more time with galled fruit than with normal fruit, and the authors single out silver vine fruit-gall powder and catnip as the most popular items overall.

What that means when you shop:

• Powder made from fruit galls is the form with the best evidence. Sprinkle a little on a toy or scratcher.
• Chew sticks are wood; the study tested wood chips, which cats engaged with less than galls. Many cats still chew them, and they last longer than powder.
• Leaf mixes and sprays are the least tested forms.

If your cat does not react to one form, try gall powder before concluding it is a non-responder.

You can offer it, but do not expect much. PetMD notes that kittens under about 8 months, and pregnant females, typically show little or no response. The 2017 study found no significant difference between males and females, and older cats in it responded to catnip more mildly but about as often. A young kitten that ignores silver vine may simply be too young; try again once it is an adult.

If you grow it or see it in a garden, the leaves give it away for part of the year. Wikipedia describes a deciduous climber reaching 5 to 6 m, hardy to about -30 C, with leaves 6 to 13 cm long whose silver-white markings make the plant visible from a distance until the flowering season, when the leaves turn fully green. White flowers about 2.5 cm across open in June and July, and egg-shaped fruit 3 to 4 cm long with orange flesh ripens in September and October. It needs moist, well-drained soil and partial shade to full sun, and it grows fast enough to cover a fence or trellis. PetMD adds that it is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants.

To check a vine in your garden, photograph a leaf with its markings, the whole vine and any flower or fruit, and compare the result against this description. See how to identify a plant from a photo.

Research and drafting for this page were done with the help of AI, and every figure was then checked line by line against the sources listed at the end of the page. Sources were opened on 2026-09-25. Where sources disagree, we give each figure with its source rather than picking one. If you find a mistake, tell us and we will correct it.