Everyone likes natural products and that goes for the toys that our feline friends are licking and kicking around the house.

There's a plethora of cheap imported catnip toys available on the market, but we're usually oblivious to the the origin, work practices and chemicals used by the producers of these toys. Here are a few reasons why you might like to choose toys containing organically-grown natural catnip:

• Although catnip itself is a highly effective repellent of cockroaches and mosquitoes (even better than deet), the plants do succumb to insect infestations. Organic farmers use companion planting and other natural controls to preserve their crop but of course conventionally-farmed catnip is regularly treated with pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, which then also ends up in the soil and water system as well as on the plant

• Cats often like to eat catnip in small quantities, which is harmless if it's organic but can be a bit of a chemical cocktail if not

• Organically-grown catnip has been shown to contain much higher levels of the active ingredient Nepetelactone - the stuff that drives your cat wild!

• Check your cat toy packaging - most cat toys come from China and in order to clear Customs they have often been fumigated before arrival (it's not just cat toys that undergo this process). These treatments are designed to prevent introduction of pest species and use highly toxic chemicals such as Phosphine (which can kill at low concentrations).  Of course the catnip grown in China is usally grown with herbicides and pesticides too. What a lovely toxic treat to give you cat to chew on!

• Our Catnip is grown especially for us on a Certified Organic medicinal herb farm deep in rural France. As the majority of catnip is imported from the USA or the Far East, we’re pleased to be able to offer a potent European catnip that hasn’t clocked up thousands of airmiles or involved unethical trade practices.