What is lacking in a cat's diet, that causes them to want to "graze" on the various weeds/grasses in the yard?

Question

I have 2 indoor cats. I do not let them out very often, and when I do it is only, for short periods of time when I feel like supervising their outdoor explorations.
Both cats are 14 years old. Both graze, however one of them, the first thing she does, when I let her outside, is head straight for the the grasses/plants/weeds to graze.
I feed them Iams, usually an adult and/or hairball control formula.
I only occasionally supplement that with various table scraps or a little bit of milk.
Also, I know some vegetarian food sources can be deadly for dogs. Are there any vegetarian foods that I should make sure to never let my cats have?

Answer 1

lol. its PERFECTLY normal. my cat does the same thing. my dog, too. i dont know why though so i looked it up. Heres your answer! :)

Why do cats eat grass?
Cats don’t eat grass as a source of nutrients. For them eating grass has a purely mechanical function. Ingested blades of grass trigger regurgitation of indigestible or hard to digest matter, like the cats’ own hair swallowed during grooming, or fur and bones of prey. Expelling this matter through regurgitation, similar to birds of prey, is safer than allowing it to pass through the digestive tract where it could possibly cause a blockage.

Provide indoor cats with potted grass at all time, as they may otherwise chew on houseplants. Discourage your cats from eating grass right after eating a meal, however, as they may unintentionally regurgitate their dinner.




hope it helps you.

Answer 2

Cats are not natural regurgitators and the grass will cause them to purge their stomachs. My cats have access to my back garden and a couple of them frequently go out after breakfast and eat some grass, come in the house and throw it up on the rug. Now that my cats don't eat dry food anymore it is not happening here. One cat is a kibble addict and she is the only one that ever throws up anything.

None of my cats have hairballs. I recently took a 14 year old rescue cat (Turkish Angora type with long white hair). His former owner reported that he had hairballs regularly. Here he eats a raw meat diet I prepare and a high quality canned food and has not had a hairball in three months.

So it is not natural for a cat on a species-appropriate diet to have hairballs. Check with your local zoo about the lions, tigers and cheetahs there. They eat raw meat and I would be willing to bet that they don't deal with hairballs.

With all the by-product meat and formulations that are 2/3 corn it's no wonder Iam's has had to come up with a "hairball" formula. Expensive too at $2.50 per lb.

The dry foods I do use (half a bag for my one cat and the rest goes to a friend who feeds feral cats) are 60% wholesome meat protein and use brown rice, oats, millet or pea as filler. Natural Balance, Soid Gold, Eagle Pack, Blue, are almost a $1 less than the Iam's you are buying. CA Natural is a good dry food at the same price as the Iams. Nature's Logic has a fine dry food. It is ten cents more per lb. than the Iams.

Answer 3

'Grazing' is NORMAL and ALL CATS will do it if they can. I think it might help their digestion, even if you are giving them 'perfect food' ... if I were you, I'd buy some wheat grass sprouts (they're actually growing from their container) or just plant some 'lawn' grass seeds and let them 'sprout' until they're about two inches tall ... and put that where your kitties can reach it all the time ... and simply water it and replace it when it starts to turn yellow.

DO NOT EVER GIVE YOUR CAT ANY MILK! It is NOT GOOD for their tummies, even if they LOVE it!

And I would not give them ANY vegetarian food, because cats are not and should never 'be' vegetarians, and the 'proteins' in vegetarian foods could really screw up their bodies.

Answer 4

as for the vegiearian foods i am not sure about that.

Usually they will eat the grass to calm an upset stomach. If they eat too much it may make make them throw-up. It shouldn't harm them but I would call a vet just to make sure.

The milk may be causing some problems though. Cats love it but their digestive systems don't. I do give mine about 2 tablespoons every now and then and he is ok with it but yours may not be able to handle it. I had a different cat that couldn't have any at all without throwing up all over and having the craps.

Good Luck

Answer 5

Cats eat grass in order to recover from an injury or to just maintain their health. It's okay if they eat grass and in fact should be encouraged to do so. All though you should be careful of most home lawns. You could plant some grass indoor for the cats. They want it because grass is rich in chlorophyll and it contains a higher concentration of enzymes, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals and amino acids.

Answer 6

There are a couple of theories as to why cats eat grass. First, some believe that there are certain vitamins in grass that cats get when they eat it. Second, it's believed that eating grass helps a cat to spit out hairballs which have formed in the stomach

Answer 7

They are not really lacking anything. They simply need the roughage I think; My cat (strictly indoor) ate part of a bra strap and followed it up with a nice size piece of a "Michaels" plastic bag; I spent over $2000 on the diagnostics and surgery (believe it or not he's doing great); I saw the "pet grass" at PetSmart and he gobbles it up -- I leave it next to his food and ever since he has considerably has laid off his favorite snacks (like plastic bags, shoelaces, wire, bra straps, strings & yarn
Too funny they are --- All the dogs I have ever owned at grass as well. . . . I think it's a natural urge of theirs

Answer 8

Cats always graze on grass, it's just natural I think. I have heard that they do it when they feel ill and it helps them to vomit, but I think they just do it because they want to, my cat doesn't always feel sick when she eats grass. They just like it, I suppose. Nothing to worry about, though.

Answer 9

Keep them away from your houseplants- some of them are toxic.
Why not grow some catgrass? Or give them some catnip during the winter? I grow catmint in my garden and they love it. In spring I have to put wooden skewers standing in the mint to keep the kitties from rolling on it and crushing it to death. They enjou it from April through to November.
Greens are good for their digestion. That's what they are craving.
There's a new Purina food that has greens in it- my cats kill for it so I use it for treats.

Answer 10

eating grass is a why of settling their stomach, because of somthing they may have eaten. they usually throw up after eating grass too.