Why Do Cats Eat Grass?

It never ceases to amaze cat owners that they can buy the most delicious treats for their feline friends and within moments of eating the silly cat will be chowing down on grass. What’s up with that? Actually, there really is a reason for it and it is not because kitty is hungry. Here we will explore a few reasons why your cat might be eating grass.

No Table Manners

No, your cat does not have table manners and there is nothing you can do about it! One of the reasons why many cats eat grass is because it is indigestible much like the fiber we are told to eat for colorectal and heart health. Only in the cat’s situation it is usually because they have just caught a nice tasty little mouse and didn’t have the manners to cut it up nice and pretty. Yes – they ate it whole! Once the digestive process is done with the meat and digestible parts of the mouse there is not much to do about the bones and fur. This is where grass comes in. Because it doesn’t pass easily through the system it gets wound around all those bits of undigested mouse and caused the cat to vomit. (That sure is better than trying to pass those sharp bones and fur through normal channels!)

No More Furballs

Another reason why cats eat grass is because they like to groom themselves. They have tiny hook-like protrusions on their tongues which catch the loose fur as they are grooming. Just like when eating road kill whole, their intestines can’t digest fur. Kitty will finish with his bath and then go outside and eat a bunch of grass. Again, this winds around and around the fur, causes kitty to throw up and voila! No more furball. While pet owners are not fond of finding puked up hairballs on the floor, it is better that than to let it get wound up around his intestines causing a blockage. And you thought your cat liked the taste of grass? “Look mom, no more furballs!”

Are There Any Nutrients at All in Grass?

Of course we know that grass has very few nutrients as far as cats are concerned and they don’t eat it because of the taste. Yet, it does have a few beneficial constituents which can actually be good for the cat. First of all, grass is pretty high in moisture and even though the fiber is indigestible it is still a vital component of the cat’s diet. It helps to move things along in the digestive tract for elimination. Grass also contains some vitamins such as A and D as well as an assortment of trace minerals. Furthermore, grass also contains chlorophyll that has been used as treatment for pain in humans through the centuries. It is also a natural antibiotic and can treat such things as skin and blood ailments. So when we look at our cat eating grass and wonder why, perhaps nature provides remedies that we are just beginning to understand!

Should I Let My Cat Eat Grass?

Now that we have determined that Dr. Cat prescribes his own remedies perhaps you can see that it is okay to let him nibble a bit of green. Yet you may still not want your kitty to go outside and eat the grass that other animals have been relieving themselves on. You can actually buy potted grass plants that are made especially for cats. They are not expensive and the perfect solution for those pet owners who are appalled at the thought of their cats eating dirty grass. If you can’t find those little pots it is easy to buy tiny pots, potting soil and add grass seeds to make your own. In fact, if your cat has a preference of one type of grass over another you can simply fill all the pots with that particular flavor.

Why do cats eat grass? They probably eat it for many of the same reasons for which humans add fiber to their diets. However, there are probably some cats who just like to annoy their owners and gross them out from time to time. All joking aside, don’t freak out when kitty starts nibbling on your lawn because he knows better than you what he needs to make him feel better.

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