Cat Grass

[stephenie]

I was wondering what the benefits are to cat grass. Is there any kind of grass seed I should stay away from? I know some seed packs have more them one kind in them.

I have planted some on our porch for my two fur balls and one eats it all the time and the other just looks at it and walks away. I have seen an article that said you should cut it up and put it on top of there food.

Thanks for your thoughts

Stephenie

 

[mooficat]

Well, in my experience cats eat grass when they either have fur-balls or something they should´nt have eaten, and need to get rid off . The grass promptly makes them sick, normally within hours of eating the grass. Not heard of the cutting it up business, sounds a bit strange but hey what ever !!
If not provided, cats will forage for any type of grass, as you know they are clever little fellows and wont eat anything nasty.
Some cats like the little self-grow grass trays you can get from the pet-shops and some arent so bothered, again with cats its all a matter of taste.........and being awkward of course !!

 

[lookingglass]

We just buy a flat of weat grass from a grocery store. The cats love it, and it isn't too expensive.

 

[mooficat]

Originally Posted by lookingglass

We just buy a flat of weat grass from a grocery store. The cats love it, and it isn't too expensive.

Oh ? ? they eat this weat grass for enjoyment then ?? never heard of that product over here ? and what would humans use it for salad ? (bet that sounds really stupid !

 

[lookingglass]

LOL! I suppose that you could put it in your salad if you wanted to. Mostly it's used to flush impurities out of the body.

 

[mooficat]

Originally Posted by lookingglass

LOL! I suppose that you could put it in your salad if you wanted to. Mostly it's used to flush impurities out of the body.

Oh heck,

I knew once that was posted it was gonna be some strange thing that made me look really freaky ! but well you learn something everyday eh !!

thanks for the update.......

 

[jcat]

Usually you can buy grass advertised as "cat grass", either in pots, as "instant planters". or as seeds. It's often oat grass, but there are all sorts of varieties. I keep a pot on the coffee table, since Jamie is an indoor cat, and he chews a little bit every day. It's a good source of folic acid, so there are benefits other than making it easier to spit up hairballs.

 

[stephenie]

Leona never gets sick from eating. I would have taken it away from her (as she eats it every time she gets a chance.)

This package says it is white winter wheat and that it is good for digestion and saves your house plants (she did stop eating the bell pepper plants once it grew.)

Does any one know of any other plants that I can plant for them? The Catnip is a given and started.

 

[miss mew]

I keep a pot of cat grass for Reilly to munch on all the time, besides the health benefits I find that it keeps him out of my other plants.

 

[jcat]

Originally Posted by Stephenie

Leona never gets sick from eating. I would have taken it away from her (as she eats it every time she gets a chance.)

This package says it is white winter wheat and that it is good for digestion and saves your house plants (she did stop eating the bell pepper plants once it grew.)

Does any one know of any other plants that I can plant for them? The Catnip is a given and started.

I know some cat guardians who plant bamboo for their cats - I guess the latter are sort of like Panda bears! We have cranberries in our front garden, and the neighborhood cats munch on the berries all the time. Between the cats and the birds, we never manage to harvest enough for us.

 

[emmylou]

Do you find that the grass yellows and dies quickly? I'm having to buy a new pot of it every month. I figured that I overwatered the first two... but I'm watering the third only when the soil is dry and it yellowed after a day. This would be in full sun. It's really odd, since I'm good with plants and a range of them are growing well in the same window. I even bought a different type of cat grass from a different store... same results.

 

[dawnofsierra]

Sierra and Serenity adore their kitty grass! They keep one to munch on while another is sprouting in the window. Theirs is wheat or oat grass which I plant in terra cotta pots.

 

[joanne511]

Originally Posted by emmylou

Do you find that the grass yellows and dies quickly? I'm having to buy a new pot of it every month. I figured that I overwatered the first two... but I'm watering the third only when the soil is dry and it yellowed after a day. This would be in full sun. It's really odd, since I'm good with plants and a range of them are growing well in the same window. I even bought a different type of cat grass from a different store... same results.

I've had the same problem, so you aren't alone in experiencing that!

 

[misskittysdaddy]

Same here - Miss Kitty loves it but they only last a few weeks and to be honest I forget to keep buying them.

I'd love to give her more of a patch of grass instead of those little plastic containers; does anyone know of an internet shop that sells such things? She goes nuts over it and really loves it, so I'd really be keen to find a way to keep it growing for much longer.

MKD

 

[emmylou]

Glad it isn't something I'm doing wrong. Maybe grass just doesn't grow well indoors. It's a problem with mine, since my cat eats a large amount of grass daily (he never gets sick from it), but then once it starts to go yellow and withery, he eats it anyway and that's when it starts to cause digestive problems.

If you want a whole flat of it, the only thing I can think of is to buy seed and grow your own.

 

[misskittysdaddy]

Originally Posted by emmylou

If you want a whole flat of it, the only thing I can think of is to buy seed and grow your own.

Actually, that's what I'd like to do, but I just haven't been sure of what kind of grass to use.

MKD

 

[amykins]

My grass yellowed after a few weeks as well. Mittens nibbled a bit for the first few days, but then after that all he really did was rub his face into it.

 

[jcat]

We buy "cat grass" seeds at the pet store and just plant them in potting soil. A pot usually lasts at least a month, and we start a second pot about two or three weeks after the first is put out. We've had even more luck with Cyprus grass. That can't easily be grown from seeds, though - you have to divide the plant and put the pieces in fresh pots of soil. A pot of Cyprus grass usually lasts 4 or 5 months around here.

 

[stephenie]

I bought a 16 x 16 inch pot and put in on the balcony of my apartment. The girls love it! I love walking out there and seeing them lay in it. I did plant one kind of wheat grass and then about 2 weeks later added another kind of seed with a little dirt over that and it is just about an inch now.
I have put plant food in there to help keep it going and cut of the top to bring in. (I just started cutting it over there food to. My seed package says that “when the plant turns yellow the chlorophyll is gone and it is time to replant.â€
I do not have any yellow yet. I hope I am not jinxing myself.

 

[kittyprincess]

I bought that cat nip from Petco and let me tell you something. The day I got it I put it ontop of the fridge thinking nothing about it, (I would give it to Princess when I got back home, had to go back out) Well when I got home the cat nip was on the floor.... Dirt was every where........ cat nip here and there all over my kitchen I hope she enjoyed it because I will never buy that stuff again she goes to crazy for it, lol