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You may have seen your outdoor cat nibbling on the grass outside and wondered what they were up to. Many cats enjoy eating grass, but what about indoor cats that don’t get the chance to chew on that green stuff?
Cat grass is the solution! If you haven’t heard about this before, we’ll tell you everything that you need to know about cat grass. We’ll take a look at exactly what cat grass is and the health benefits that it can offer your cat.
If you’re worried about whether it’s safe for your felines, the good news is that cat grass is completely safe for your cat.
What is cat grass?
Cat grass is sometimes confused with catnip, but they’re completely separate things.
Cat grass is grown from a mixture of different grass seeds, including:
Oats
Oats Rye
Rye Wheat
Wheat Barley
You can buy cat grass kits that include everything that you need to get started, including a planter, soil, and seeds.
It’s also possible to buy bags of seeds, so you can plant them however you like. This works out as a more cost-effective option if you’re looking to offer your cat grass all year round. Some brands offer one type of grass seed, such as solely wheat or oats, while others offer a blend. You may find that your cat prefers one type of grass to another.
We recommend selecting a brand that uses organic and non-GMO seeds.
Why do cats eat grass?
Most of us know that cats are obligate carnivores, meaning their digestive systems are designed to process a purely meat-based diet.
So, why do they want to eat grass?
Researchers have studied cats in the wild that often eat a small amount of grass after catching and eating their prey. It’s thought that the grass may help them pass the parts of their meal that aren’t digestible, including the hair, feathers, and bones. Grass can help cats regurgitate hairballs as well.
Another reason cats might eat grass is that they know that it can be good for them. Grass contains nutrients that cats need, so they may be topping up their levels of vitamins and minerals by eating grass.
Health benefits of cat grass
Cat grass offers plenty of health benefits for your cat, and here, we look at each one in more detail.
Vitamins and minerals
Cat grass is packed full of things that give your cat’s health a boost. It’s full of vitamins A, C, E, and B, and it also contains iron and calcium.
Cat grass is rich in folic acid, a vitamin that helps your cat’s red blood cells produce hemoglobin. This protein carries oxygen through your cat’s body and is essential for keeping them healthy.
Digestive benefits
Grass adds roughage and fiber to your cat’s diet, which can help their digestive systems function at their best. Cats that regularly eat a small amount of cat grass often have less diarrhea or constipation, fewer hairballs, and a healthier digestive system overall.
Cat grass can be a good alternative to expensive hairball prevention supplements.
Grass contains chlorophyll
The green color of grass is due to the high amount of chlorophyll that it contains. This is a natural breath freshener, so you may find that your cat’s breath smells sweeter after they’ve been nibbling their cat grass.
Chlorophyll also used to be a popular remedy for pain and infection before antibiotics were discovered. So, it could be that your cat is enjoying those advantages as well.
Is cat grass safe?
You may have heard that cats will only be tempted to eat grass when they’re not feeling well, but cat behaviorists have found that this isn’t actually the case. Some cats genuinely just like eating grass! It’s a great enrichment activity for your cat, whether they go outdoors or not.
Eating grass from your lawn or other outdoor areas should be discouraged, however, as this may have been sprayed with pesticides or other harmful chemicals that could affect your cat’s health.
Other benefits of cat grass
If your indoor cat gets a craving for green roughage in their diet, they may start looking around your house to see if they can find anything suitable. If there’s no cat grass on offer, the next best thing is going to be your house plants!
Some cats might like to nibble on the edges of your plants’ leaves, causing damage. While the plant is likely to recover, if your cat chews on a plant that’s toxic, you could be left with an expensive veterinary bill.
The ASPCA has a comprehensive list of which plants can be toxic to cats.
If your cat knocks your plant pots over and leaves a mess of soil and chewed leaves, they might be trying to tell you that they’d like something green to eat.
Cat grass offers enrichment to your cat’s environment, which can help reduce the chances of them getting stressed and carrying out antisocial behaviors, like scratching furniture.
How to grow cat grass
If you don’t want to have trays or pots with soil that your cat may tip over, the good news is that you can successfully grow cat grass without using any soil.
Keep a careful eye on any cat grass that you grow, to make sure there is no mold developing. If you’re growing cat grass in soil, inspect the roots regularly, and plant a new pot before the stalks get eaten down to the bottom. If your cat grass is in water, change this every few days.
Follow the instructions for your particular brand of cat grass, and replant it regularly so your cat always has a fresh supply of new shoots to enjoy. We like to plant cat grass in small pots and have a continuous rotation of newly planted seeds, just-sprouted seedlings, and fresh shoots. Our cats eat the fresh shoots, which are replaced by the seedlings after 10-14 days.
How much cat grass should my cat be eating?
While a small amount of cat grass is beneficial, how much is too much? Any treats, cat grass included, should only make up 10% or less of your cat’s diet. If you find that your cat is regularly eating a whole pot of cat grass within a day or two, consider speaking to your vet for advice or limiting the amount of time that your cat has access to the grass.
Wrapping it up
Cat grass is completely safe for your cat and is part of an enriching activity that mimics the behavior of wild cats. It’s cheap and easy to grow, so you can buy a pack of seeds and make sure your cat always has a fresh supply of cat grass to enjoy.
Cat grass is full of beneficial vitamins and minerals and adds fiber to your cat’s diet. It can also help them deal with hairballs by aiding regurgitation. If your cat is eating too much grass, though, you may want to speak to your vet for advice.
Featured Image Credit: QueenNuna, Shutterstock
What is cat grass?
Cat grass (catgrass or kitty grass) is a name used to describe several different types of grass which are popular with cats.
Why do cats eat grass?
We still do not know why cats eat grass, researchers from the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine ran a web-based survey asking 1,021 pet owners to observe their cats for three or more hours each day.
71% of cats were observed eating plants at least six times
61% of cats ate plants over 10 times, and 67% of these cats were estimated to eat plants daily or weekly, when asked about how the cat seemed prior to eating plants, 91% of respondents said their cat appeared normal beforehand
Among young cats, 3 years of age or less, 39% engaged in daily plant eating
compared to 27% of cats 4 years or older
compared to 27% of cats 4 years or older 11% of cats were not observed eating plants at all
Only 27% of the cats vomited afterwards
Parasites
A common theory is that cats eat grass because they feel unwell and ingestion helps them to vomit, which may help the cat to feel better. The researchers concluded that this is unlikely, and a more logical explanation is that grass consumption is an instinctive behaviour to purge the gastrointestinal tract of parasitic worms.
Hairballs
When cats groom themselves, they inevitably ingest fur which can build up in the stomach. Adding to the vomiting theory, another possible reason for grass consumption is to assist with the passage of hairballs out of the body either through vomiting or via the feces.
Grass acts as a laxative
The indigestible fibre adds bulk to the feces which makes them easier to pass out of the body and can help speed up the passage of feces.
Cat grass contains nutrients and micronutrients
In particular, cat grass contains folic acid (vitamin B9) an essential vitamin that performs several roles such as helping with the formation of hemoglobin and the synthesis and repair of DNA.
Types of cat grass
There are several types of cat grass that are safe for cats to eat, which are at their best as young shoots, mature grass plants are not as soft and will go to seed.
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass or cock’s-foot)
Avena sativa (common oat, cat oat)
Hordeum vulgare (Barley)
Triticum aestivum (wheatgrass)
Most garden centres, hardware stores (such as Bunnings for Australian readers), and pet stores sell containers of cat grass. It is also easy to grow from seed and can be grown in pots, which makes it an ideal snack for indoor cats.
Some pet owners plant cat grass seeds in a large, shallow tray (such as the one used to grow seedlings), which not only provides the cat something to munch on but also cool greenery to lie on.
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