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Catgrass

post #1 of 12
4/15/11 at 11:02am
Thread Starter 
Wheat and Oat grass, good for your cat, or bogus money making snake oil?
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post #2 of 12
4/15/11 at 12:34pm
I buy the "kitty grass", available already grown, at PetCo/PetSmart. I don't know about its health properties, but I do know about it's enjoyment properties: Ritz loves the stuff. I ask her if she is ready for her "dessert"; she knows by now that I keep it in the refrigerator (lasts longer) and when I reach into the refrigerator, meows quite nicely/insistently for it. Ritz is an indoor cat only, so it's the only grass she gets.
I know you can grow it by seed; I also know I have a purple thumb.
Caution: if your cat's stomach is sensitive, only let her nibble a little at a time. I understand it can cause loose stools.
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post #3 of 12
4/15/11 at 2:37pm
Thread Starter 
Thats what I bought too on a whim at Petsmart.

My cats definitely liked it, and they nibbled a little and no puke or mushy poo... but I was just wondering, is it really doing any good?

If not, I think next time I'm just going to stick with catnip as a pure enjoyment type treat over catgrass, as that stuff you can toss in the freezer and use just a bit at a time.
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post #4 of 12
4/15/11 at 5:42pm
Cats like it, but I don't think it actually has any health benefits. It might help some cats with hairballs, though.

You don't have to pay a wad of money for it at the pet store. You can grow it yourself almost free. All you need is a pot or dish (around a dollar or you find one lying around somewhere), some dirt (could be free or you might have to buy some potting soil, but it's cheap), and some whole oats or wheat berries from the bulk section of the health food/grocery store (maybe 50 cents a pound). Pack the dirt in, put a thick layer of seed on top, cover the seeds with dirt, water it, cover it with plastic wrap and put it somewhere catproof until the grass is tall enough to be a cat snack. I'm hopeless with plants and even I can do that!
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post #5 of 12
4/15/11 at 5:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ducman69 View Post
Wheat and Oat grass, good for your cat, or bogus money making snake oil?
The cat grass found live in most pet stores is of the oat variety. Is it good for your cat? The answer to that is elusive. For years I've tried to find the answer and can find nothing concrete. The best I've been able to determine is that it is not harmful but offers little in the way of nutrition, unless your cat is severely deficient in vitamin B (which is rarely found in cats).

I have been able to find no sound, verifiable studies that indicate cats eat grass for any physical purpose; such as a digestive aid or to help with hair balls.

The grass is not bad for the cat as far as I can tell. About once a week I pick up a container of the grass at Petsmart. I let the meezers nibble for awhile and then I'll add some water to it and put it in the fridge until next time. Lasts about a week and the kitties love it.
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post #6 of 12
4/16/11 at 7:19pm
It is anecdotal, but it does seem to help with hairballs in my house. Six of seven love the stuff and you can buy seeds and grow your own, as Willowy suggested.

One of the local hypermarts sells wheat grass/pet grass often at two small containers for 4 bucks.. so when I am feeling lazy, that's where I go... not Petsmart. That costs about 5-6 bucks for just ONE.
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post #7 of 12
4/16/11 at 7:51pm
I've been buying it already grown at my regular grocery store. I was growing it from those "just add water" pots sold at the big pet stores. But the stuff from the produce department is $4.00, so I just get that.

I don't know if there are any health effects for my cats from this grass. They seem to enjoy it though, and that's enough reason for me to buy it.

They just nibble it. After about 3 weeks I throw it out because it starts to turn yellow.

Robin
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post #8 of 12
4/17/11 at 11:11am
Jamie always eats grass when I take him for his daily walk and more often than not spits up (hair) afterwards, so I assume some instinct tells cats to eat grass. We keep a couple of bowls going inside, too - usually Cyprus grass. You can get that at a garden center, usually simply sold as "cat grass", split the roots and put them in potting soil, and have grass that lasts for months.
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post #9 of 12
4/18/11 at 2:29am
My strictly non-professional opinion is that cats eat grass for the same reason we humans pop a pepto or tums after a meal, or comsume fiber supplements, as a digestive aid. All my cats seems to like chewing on it and it seems to reduce the incidence of hairballs, and yorking going on.

Our late Gracie was a bit of a cheese fiend and I used to notice her deliberately going out to nibble on the lawn after she ate cheese treats (we kept extra sharp cheddar in the house).
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post #10 of 12
4/18/11 at 8:11am
Health benefits?
No idea, but it amuses Freya for hours. We have a big put at the bottom of the stairs that I plant some in for her every once in awhile and she just sits there and plays and munches...I think of it as a disposable cat toy.
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post #11 of 12
4/19/11 at 8:16am
I'm afraid for my American Curls it's simply an exercise in pulling the grass up out of its container, to check out the roots and what else might be in the dish..lol. The grass itself = toy worth a few bats around, that's it.
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post #12 of 12
4/21/11 at 6:08am
Ritz loves loves cat grass (the kind you buy ready to eat at Petco/Petsmart). But this past week I've noticed when she has a BM (poop), she passes gas and more recently, sometimes her poop is loose, not diarrhea, but definitely not firm.
Is it (I hope...) just from eating too much grass? No change in the food I give her.
Eating more or less normally (I think she has FINALLY stopped growing at slightly less than two years of age); playing, peeing normally. A little restless because of the change of weather? gas?
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