I'll preface this with the fact that I have not owned cat mint because my research led me to believe that yes, cat mint is in the same family as "cat nip" and it indeed will attract cats.

I have a ferral cat problem in my neighborhood, and I bought a cat nip, "Walker's Low" from home depot, and did some googling on here and returned it.

Others with direct experience could speak up, but it sounds like that cat mint is just a weaker variety of "cat mint", but both are attractive to cats.

Catnip, Nepeta cataria, is the plant that cats go crazy over. It's not as ornamental as the cat mint, which apparently cats like too, but if catnip was available, they'd probably ignore catmint. If you're trying to not attract cats, then to be safe I wouldn't grow either.

Cats around here have gone crazy for my 'Walker's Low' catmint. Never bloomed very much since the neighborhood cats would roll on it and chew it down. I even potted some up to give away and I found the pots knocked over with cat fur stuck on it!! So yes, I would say catmint (some kinds at least) attract the kitties ;-) Although they don't seem to bother my Nepeta subsessilis...

'Vision Violet' perennial Geranium might be a good alternative. Mine do great in full hot sun and bloom for a fairly long time.
CMK

I'm another who has flattened Walkers Low and Little Titch regularly - cats both lay on it and chew it. I don't have a cat.

I found a Siamese I'd never seen before acting territorial over a clump in a front bed one afternoon, even picking it up and giving it a gentle toss with appropriate Shoo! noises away from my yard didn't disuade it til I got serious with the garden hose. Darned thing acted like a drunk without a care in the world, belly up to 'my bar' for the long haul and I was in its way :)

I just planted Walker's Low in my front bed and it's first time I've seen a cat in my yard! Yesterday and today shmoozing with the catmint. Wasn't even afraid of me either. Hmph.

I notice the neighbor has catmint and I asked her if it attracted cats. She indicated a stray often wandered around her yard but ignore the catmint. This is probably the same cat terrorizing the bird.

This mean growing catmint will probably be OK. I'll try to discourage the cat by installing plastic nails beds.

Paul

I planted three new Walker's Low a few weeks ago, and the other day my cat Mr. Black walked right past it and didn't care. I gave a little piece of it to my indoor cats and although they did eat it, they don't go crazy like they do with the nip. They love the nip, but the mint, not so much.

Karen

Isn't it funny, I have 3 cats, catmint, & catnip. None of the cats have the least interest in the plants. Once or twice when I've pulled up the catnip, they have noticed it a bit, but only for a couple of minutes. I supposed I've crushed the leaves & made it more noticeable, but then it is just brief.

in my z5.. sage and lavender are foo foo plants.. i would struggle on the edge of a driveway ... unless you make a very large bed ... cant tell from the facts .. or i missed it.. coffee buzz going here.. lol ..

and i would not in this lifetime.. plant a row of anything called a mint ...

heck.. plant one.. you will have a row in a year or two .. they are all invasive weeds.. but for the gardener who is actually out there fondling them every single day.. and keeping them in place ...

and i dont care how tame anyone elses mint is... we live in different worlds.. lol ..

why are you planting the neighbors driveway ... and do you hate this neighbor?? if so.. can i suggest chameleon plant??? hoya-toya or something or another.. lol ..

ken

Well, I was trying to figure out which plant would be best for low maintenance and have long bloom. Catmint certainly fits the bill. As far as a mint goes, Catmint don't seem overly invasive. The neigbor already has a bunch all over her yard, which she divide and spread and it has not made it into our yard.

Paul

hey.. dont get me wrong ...

you asked opinions.. and my opinion.. is i hate them all ...

whatever you ultimately decide is peachy with me ...

and lets be clear ... i am talking about true mints .... and i did not research whether catmint is a true mint ...

but this cracked me up: The neighbor already has a bunch all over her yard

the thought there.. is that it is so aggressive.. that she keeps whacking it back with the shovel.. and covering her whole yard with it.. to me.. that is an aggressive plant ...

whatever.. you have fun doing whatever you decide ..

ken

Mint (Mentha) and Catmint (Nepeta) not of the same genus at all. Don't lump them all into one category because they may all be in the Lamiaceae family or have a similar sounding common name.

Nepeta 'Walker's Low' is NOT invasive. Most online sites even say 'WL' is sterile so will not reseed. And as far as creeping, mine was very slow to do any spreading.
CMK

Had a large catmint plant ... for entertainment of the two indoor cats we have. The plant became very nice over the years... 2.5 ft tall.. nice blooms.

The neighborhood cats would roll all over it in the spring.. but it grew so quickly it would get tall enough for them to only be able to nibble on the sides. I pulled it out 2 years back for more room and i still get seedlings in the bed in late spring when i turn anything.

The catmint WL, has never been messed with by the same cats... when i had catnit down the way.. and now when i have just the catmint. I assume it's up to the cats to decide!

I've had the same plant for close to ten years now. It's never needed dividing, come up beautifully every year, has never seeded and pretty much blooms continuously. As far as I can tell, no cat has ever checked it out.

Ken,

No offensive intended or received. I assume that all opinions are opinions.

By the way, is there a difference between the catmint cultivars? There appears to be a dropmore and a walker low, and something with the name blue, but not too much info on what the differences are.

Paul

I bought some a few years ago and before I even had a chance to put it in the ground, my dear little kitty had chewed it down to nubs. I had noticed how he went trotting off purposefully in that direction before I noticed what he was up to. Even after it was quite dead, he continued to visit it just to rub his chin on the stumps. And this was definitely cat mint, not cat nip.

It's too bad because cat mint is highly recommended for its long bloom period and easy care and I love the color. From the comments here, it sounds like it may be more attractive to some cats or that some cat mint plants are more attractive to cats than others.

Catmint is attractive to some cats and not to others. My old cat, now passed on, loved to lie on my Walkers Low. My two present cats have no interest in it whatsoever. It is not invasive and is not a mint.

For an alternative, consider some of newer, better Coreopsis. Darrell Probst, the Epimedium man, has bred a number of gorgeous cultivars, including white ones and white streaked with red as well as soft yellows. They get quite large and bushy and would cover spring bulb foliage. They also don't need deadheading and, beginning bloom soon here in zone 6, will bloom until frost.

wild kitties roaming neighborhood roll in our Walkers Low..

I have quite a lot of Nepeta racemosa Superba (also namend N faassenii), mostly Superba, some "Grog"-cultivar, some seedlings.

Lots of cats around, atl least 5 completely different looking ones

all Nepeta are fine

a neighbour grows a much taller type of Nepeta, perhaps something like Walkers low, also fine.

a catalogue of a very nice German nursery lists a cultivar named Odeur citron

which translates to: citrus-scented" and which is supposed to put off kittys...

IMO well behaved cranesbill like Geranium himalayense Gravetye or Rosemoore (?all "o"s in the right place?) work well with bulbs. THey are quite good edging plants IMO, and have more oomph or ellbow than some of the lower Coreopsis.

re catmints and birds:

Nepeta and others of the mint family are attractive for a large number of pollinators which can be a food source for song birds. and most of my Nepeta flower a second time in late summer (Europe, mild z7)

other birds like seeds of Echinacea purpurea or of clumping Asters Aster novae-angliae (current name probaly more complicated... ;-) )

I have a catmint in a small plastic pot and it keeps getting knocked over (almost half a year now). I thought it was the wind or kids as I haven't been watering it regularly so it can get fairly light on those days from drying out. I finally realized one day that there was no wind for period of time and the pot kept getting knocked over. Also the kids have been only playing in the back yard. I finally checked my ring video and find different neighbor cats stop at the area where the pot is (it's usually at night and in a darker area) and playing there. Yes they do attract cats and the little plant isn't looking too happy.