How To Make Catnip Bubbles

Bubbles are an excellent way to encourage your cat to play because catnip is a stimulant, making cats more energetic. Plus, many felines are fascinated by rainbow spheres floating in the air.

The secret to making the best catnip bubbles is finding natural, potent catnip. You will also need pet-safe soap and some equipment for boiling, straining, and storing the solution.

Although playing with catnip bubbles might seem foolproof, you should be aware of the possible adverse effects and not use them too often to prevent tolerance.

What You’ll Need

Start by gathering your supplies. Fortunately, the catnip bubble ingredient list isn’t long. All you’ll need is water, catnip leaves or dry catnip, soap, optional corn syrup, and a jar or bottle for storing the solution.

You will also need equipment – a kettle or pot, a bowl for mixing, a spoon, funnel, filter or fine strainer, and a bubble wand.

Finding the right ingredients isn’t as simple as it seems, though. Fresh catnip is the best for catnip bubbles because it’s much more potent than its dry variant. The problem is that fresh catnip isn’t widely available.

You can search your local farmer’s markets or plant catnip in your garden or on the balcony – this herb doesn’t require much care and grows year-round. Catnip flowers contain the most nepetalactone, but you can also use leaves and stems.

Dry catnip will also do the job, but you will need more. Ensure that the herb is fresh because it loses its potency over time, although it doesn’t go bad in the traditional sense.

Organic catnip is the best choice because it doesn’t contain add-ons and is grown without pesticides that might harm your cat.

If your cat isn’t interested in catnip, you can replace it with Tatarian honeysuckle, valerian root, or silver vine – other ingredients and their proportions remain unchanged.

Many cat owners are concerned – are catnip bubbles safe for cats? They are, but only if you use ingredients that won’t cause poisoning if ingested.

Don’t use regular soap for catnip bubbles because it may be irritating if it gets in your cat’s eyes or mouth. Some soaps even contain ingredients toxic to cats. Opt for pet-friendly soap that won’t harm your cat’s health.

Castile soap is your best option because it’s perfectly safe for pets. It’s natural and doesn’t dry or irritate sensitive cat skin.

Castile soap is also safe for ingesting in small amounts. Many pet shampoo manufacturers use castile soap in their products.

Some recipes recommend using dishwashing liquid. It’s less irritating than human shampoos or hand soap because dish detergents are made with safe ingesting in mind (in small amounts, of course).

However, the feline gastroenteric tract is more sensitive than ours, so even dishwashing liquid can be too irritating if your cat eats a bubble or it gets into the eyes.

If you cannot find castile soap, use some foaming products for babies, like wash gel or shampoo. Products for babies are usually hypoallergenic and don’t contain harsh chemicals.

Even though castile soap and baby products are mild, don’t let your cat lick the bubbles off the floor because it can cause a gastroenteric upset.

Corn syrup mixed with castile soap makes the soap thicker. As a result, bubbles don’t pop immediately, and the playtime lasts longer. Alternatively, use glycerin – you can find it at your local pharmacy.

Boil Water & Add Catnip

First, you need to boil two cups of water. If you want to make more catnip bubbles, adjust other ingredient amounts proportionately.

Pour water into a kettle or pot and let it boil. Once it boils, remove it from the heat. Then, put approximately eight catnip leaves or four flowers into the pot. If you use dry catnip, use several tablespoons.

If you use fresh catnip, muddle the leaves or flowers to release more nepetalactone essential oil. Nepetalactone is the chemical that makes cats behave so weird after smelling catnip.

It mimics feline mating pheromones, making cats act as if in heat. Stir the catnip gently. If you want the catnip aroma to be stronger, wait until the water cools a bit.

Some catnip bubble recipes recommend putting catnip right into the boiling water while the pot is still on heat. However, heat makes nepetalactone break down, so your catnip bubbles will be less potent.

If you use dry catnip, you can put it in a tea strainer to make the filtering easier, but this step is optional and won’t affect the bubble quality.

Let the Catnip Steep

After stirring catnip, let it steep for 15-20 minutes, stirring it occasionally. The time necessary for catnip to release nepetalactone may vary, so judge the solution readiness by its color.

The water should become greenish yellow with a distinct catnip smell. It’s a bit like making tea – there’s no right or wrong; you just feel it’s strong enough.

However, don’t let catnip leaves sit in the pot for too long because the bubbles might become too potent. Increased potency is great for cats with tolerance or large felines, but not for cats trying catnip for the first time.

By the time you move on to the next step, the water should be about room temperature and safe for handling.

Remove Catnip from the Pot

When you think the solution is ready, carefully remove the leaves from the pot. Use tongs or a spoon to ensure the mixture stays hygienic.

If you used dry catnip, the easiest way to remove it from the pot is by using a fine-mesh strainer or coffee filter. Put a funnel in a jar or bottle, then put a coffee filter inside and pour the solution.

The water will collect in the jar, while the catnip will remain in the filter. Squeeze the filter to ensure all the water gets into the jar and dispose of catnip. Boiled catnip has lost its potency, so it’s useless.

Add Soap

Now, you should have catnip tea. To make it bubble, you need to add castile soap. Pour one tablespoon of castile soap into your mixture and stir it gently until it’s fully incorporated.

The solution might turn a vibrant green color, like absinthe or Mountain Dew – that’s normal. Try to blow a bubble using a bubble wand to ensure you’ve added enough castile soap.

If the solution bubbles poorly, add more soap, but be careful not to add too much because even castile soap can be irritating in large amounts.

If you want to, add one tablespoon of corn syrup or glycerin into the mixture to make your catnip bubbles thicker and prevent them from popping too soon.

The proportion of castile soap or glycerin to corn syrup should be approximately 1:1.

Try to blow a bubble again to test the solution. If the bubbles still pop too quickly, add more corn syrup or glycerin. However, don’t add too much because corn syrup can make bubbles heavy, and they won’t float.

Finishing Touches & Tips

Now that your bubbles are ready, it’s time to transfer the solution into a jar or bottle of your choice. You can use a bottle from old kids’ bubbles but clean it thoroughly beforehand to ensure there is no soap residue.

Take a funnel, place it in the jar or bottle opening, and carefully pour the solution through it. You can make a fun label and stick it onto the bottle to easily find it.

Close the jar carefully, ensuring no air gets inside. Store in the fridge – cold temperatures don’t affect catnip potency but will prolong the bubble lifespan.

Many guides recommend discarding DIY catnip bubbles after several days, but there are no ingredients that can go bad as quickly unless some catnip leaves are left in the water.

You can store the solution for weeks, provided you close the jar’s lid carefully and keep it refrigerated. Direct sun rays, oxygen, and warmth are catnip’s worst enemies.

You can add food coloring into the solution to make your catnip bubbles red, pink, blue, or any other color you like. However, even coloring safe for ingesting can cause an allergic reaction in your pet.

If you don’t have a bubble wand, you can make a DIY bubble wand from a thick wire. You can even play with the shapes – for example, make a star or flower inside the circle.

For ultimate fun, consider getting a small catnip bubble machine – this way, you won’t need to blow bubbles yourself but can pour the solution into the machine and let it entertain your cat.

Lastly, don’t use catnip bubbles too often. Your cat might go crazy over them, but too frequent use of catnip leads to tolerance.

Over time, your cat will become unresponsive to catnip effects. As a rule of thumb, play with catnip bubbles once or twice a week.

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