Our question this week was:

My cat loves to eat grass, which is not a problem as I grow a couple of pots of kitty salad just for her, but she eats a lot of it! Could that cause any problems?

Steph Deferie


Answer

Hi – thanks for your email. You emailed that your kitty loves cat grass and want to know if eating too much of it can be a problem.

If your cat is eating a good quality balanced diet, is active, having normal urine and bowel movements, and is not vomiting... then I'd say things are okay.

One question I get commonly is why do cats eat grass? As you may know, cats are primarily carnivores, which mean they prefer to eat only meat. However, many cats are fond of vegetables and other plant material.

One explanation for cat's desire to eat grass is that in their wild hunting days they normally ate the entire animal when they caught it. Many of their "kills" were herbivores (plant eaters), and cats ended up eating a lot of grass and plants that were in the stomachs and intestines of these animals.

How do you grow your cat grass? This is what I've done. I've grown it in a pot – put seeds in a pot, water well and cover with plastic wrap and let it sit in a warm window for a few days. Once the grass is a couple inches high, I take off the wrap. I let it grow a little more before offering it to cats. In may experience if you offer it when the grass it too young, the cat pulls it out by the roots when they eat it. I let them munch and when it is chewed down, remove it from them and allow it to grow again.

Do you have any tips on how you grow your cat grass? I'd love to share it with our users! Send me your cat grass tips!


Best of luck!


Dr. Jon






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