All cats naturally like to nibble on grass. For outdoor cats, nibbling on grass is part of their daily routine. In the wild, cats eat grass after having their prey as it helps them to throw out parts of the prey that are indigestible (Friedman, 2016). For indoor cats, eating grass is useful to throw up hairballs or to digest them.  

 Outdoor grass may be contaminated with toxic, weed killers or other types of pesticides. Thus, it is suggested that cat owners grow cat grass for their kitties to nibble. Cat grass can be grown from rye, barley, oat, and wheat seeds. Those seeds are easy to find nowadays, you can get them online or even in the local pet shop. Yet, you need to make sure that you get a handful of good seeds as some of the seeds are maybe too dry and cannot be grown as cat grass.  

 Providing cat grass for your domestics/indoor cats will help your cats to engage with their natural behaviour safely. This type of grass is easy to grow, you just need seeds, soil, a polybag or a small pot, water, and sunlight.  If you give the seeds just enough water and sunlight, your cat grass will grow within a week. Then, your cats can happily chew them.  

 Here are several steps to provide a pot of healthy cat grass for your lovey kitties. 

  1. Prepare a small pot or polybag. Fill it with fertile soil. Do not use chemical fertilizer as your cat will eat the grass directly, and chemical fertilizer is not good for your cats. 
  2. After filling up your pot with soil, scatter a handful of cat grass seeds over the top of this. Then, add a bit more soil on top of the seeds to cover them up.  
  3. Water the soil, with a little water to keep the seeds damp but never soaked. You want the soil to be nice and moist for the seeds to grow.  
  4. Cover the pot loosely with plastic wrap. Make sure there is a little airflow. Store the pot in a warm and dark location. 
  5. After 2 or 3 days when little sprouts coming up and start to grow, you may want to remove the plastic and keep the pot in a sunny place. Do not forget to water the soil to keep it moist. But, do not overwater it. 
  6. When your grass is about 4-6 inches, let your cats have a go at it! 

_Happy Tummy, Happy Cats, Happy Hooman_ 

 Reference 

Friedman, Stacia. (2016). What is cat grass? Learn how to grow cat grass for your pet. PetMD Editorial. https://www.petmd.com/cat/care/evr_ct_how-to-grow-cat-grass