{"id":4270,"date":"2017-10-17T14:26:08","date_gmt":"2017-10-17T14:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/?p=4270"},"modified":"2019-01-22T23:25:49","modified_gmt":"2019-01-22T23:25:49","slug":"why-do-cats-eat-grass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/why-do-cats-eat-grass\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Do Cats Eat Grass?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Got a cat munching on the lawn? Or perhaps ruining your plants?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In our previous articles,\u00a0<\/span>we<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019ve established that cats are obligate carnivores who rely mainly on a high-protein, meat-based diet. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, then why do these little carnivores go up and chew on grass, the answer might surprise you!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this article, we\u2019ll cover the following:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Can Cats Eat Grass?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why Do Kittens Eat Grass?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Can Cats Eat Too Much Cat Grass?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Can Cats Eat Normal Grass?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Can Cats Eat Zebra Grass?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Can Cats Eat Oat Grass?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Can Cats Eat Grass?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, they can!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Grass is considered a healthy treat for your cat as it is not only rich in nutrients but also fiber. Yes, cats are obligate carnivores and don\u2019t thrive on high carb diets, but they do require fiber in their diet.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fiber is essential as it prevents constipation and diarrhea and it will aid in the coughing up of furballs. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How does it do this? \u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Well, if you notice carefully. Cats tend to take big chunks of grass blades into their mouth, they don\u2019t chew it down into bite sizes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some speculate that the grass may tickle its digestive tract thus inducing vomiting whilst another more plausible cause of vomiting is the inability for a cat to completely digest plant matter.\u00a0 Which, they would have a difficult time to do if they were <a href=\"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/can-cats-eat-beets\/\">eating beets<\/a> as well.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p>When your cat is eating grass, make sure to watch them to see if they try to <a href=\"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/can-cats-eat-mushrooms\/\">eating a mushroom<\/a> or two as these can grow in the yard too.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why Do Kittens Eat Grass?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Currently, there\u2019s very little research been done that explains the reasoning behind why kittens eat grass , and if they should actually eat grass at all. Thus many of the current theories are postulated by veterinarians and researchers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the common <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.petmd.com\/cat\/care\/evr_ct_how-to-grow-cat-grass\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">theories<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> revolves around nature vs nurture. Kittens instinctively seem to consume small amounts of grass without any human involvement. Particularly, kittens in the wild who begin feeding on prey meat tend to consume large amounts of bone, cartilage, muscle, and fat.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It seems as though the regular consumption of grass may allow the cat or kitten to <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.petmd.com\/cat\/care\/evr_ct_how-to-grow-cat-grass\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">vomit<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> food that can cause discomfort or that may not be digestible by the animal. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thus the first speculation suggests that kittens inherently consume grass as it has laxative effects<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another theory suggests that cats on diets such as raw food or even regular kibble diet may still not be getting essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber. because of this, they will naturally be inclined to various grass types as grass tends to be rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin B, fiber and folic acid.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This theory makes reference to cats in the wild, where, for example, a wild cat will consume all parts of a prey animal including the stomach and its contents. The stomach contents of many herbivore prey animals are generally partially digested plant and vegetable-based matter.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Regardless of their reasons, make sure that the grass they are chomping around in <a href=\"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/can-kittens-die-from-fleas\/\">doesn&#8217;t have fleas<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This video summarises the many reasons why cats and even dogs eat grass.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uWNrDDyUR5s\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Can Cats Eat Too Much Cat Grass?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kinda.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cats will indeed eat a lot of grass particularly if they are trying to self-induce vomiting in order to get out a hairball out or if they are simply trying to clear out their system. They will very often stop consuming grass when they feel sick from it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Can Cats Eat Normal Grass? <\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If your cat decides to take a munch at your neighbor&#8217;s lawn or your lawn then that\u2019s generally considered fine and will not cause damage to your cat. Nevertheless, cats should not consume lawns treated with chemicals and pesticides as these toxic substances can be fatal.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This should be common sense, but if you aren&#8217;t sure if a lawn or grass area has been treated, keep the cat away.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Can Cats Eat Zebra Grass?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not likely, cats cannot eat Zebra Grass as it is a type of \u00a0<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/homeguides.sfgate.com\/poisonous-ornamental-grasses-22480.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ornamental<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> grass and most ornamental grass can be quite toxic to animals. Thus, it is not recommended to allow cats to feed on Zebra grass.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>If your cat keeps trying to eat Zebra grass and you don&#8217;t have any alternatives, consider <a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/2xN6trU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">using these seeds<\/a> to plant grass in your yard or even growing some grass indoors.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Can Cats Eat Oat Grass?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, if you\u2019re tired of your cat chewing on your houseplants or if you simply don\u2019t feel safe with your cat munching on your neighbor&#8217;s lawn, then you can invest into purchasing grass especially made for your cat.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/2xN6trU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Todd\u2019s Seeds<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0is a<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0great normal grass alternative that your cat will surely enjoy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cat grass, such as wheat or oat grass provides vitamins A, B, and E and they are a great source of fiber for a cat craving some greens!<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, Why Do Cats Eat Grass?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Well, there\u2019s no definite answer as to why cats consume grass, but there are many theories that imply that this is an evolutionary tactic. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nevertheless, owners should be careful as to what kind of grass they allow their cats to consume as some can be toxic or chemically treated. Always make sure you give them a safe grass that they can consume like that which <a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/2xN6trU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">can be grown with these seeds<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Got a cat munching on the lawn? Or perhaps ruining your plants? In our previous articles,\u00a0we\u2019ve established that cats are obligate carnivores who rely mainly on a high-protein, meat-based diet&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5],"tags":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":3,"label":"Behavior"},{"value":5,"label":"Nutrition"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Why-do-cats-eat-grass.gif",800,578,false],"author_info":{"display_name":"Simran Mudaliar","author_link":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/author\/simran-mudaliar\/"},"comment_info":1,"category_info":[{"term_id":3,"name":"Behavior","slug":"behavior","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":46,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":3,"category_count":46,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Behavior","category_nicename":"behavior","category_parent":0},{"term_id":5,"name":"Nutrition","slug":"nutrition","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":108,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":5,"category_count":108,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Nutrition","category_nicename":"nutrition","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4270"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}