Can cats eat grass: what scientists say

Most cat owners don't really know why their cats eat grass from time to time. It is commonly believed that this is a way for the animal to cleanse its stomach.

In fact, cats eat grass all the time. However, cat owners only notice this when they find the remains of grass that the animals vomit up.

As cat behavior expert David Schultz told Science, researchers from the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine conducted a survey asking pet parents to report how often their animals eat vegetation. This concerned those people whose cats go for a walk outside.

The survey, which involved more than 1,000 cat owners, showed that the animals often bit greenery: 71 percent of cat owners had seen their cats eat plants at least six times in their lives, and 61 percent had seen them eat plants at least 10 times. Only 11 percent had never seen their cat eat vegetation.

The results of the study showed that 27 percent of cats often vomited after eating grass.

The research showed that it is unlikely that cats use grass as some kind of primitive stomach medicine. The findings also do not support another hypothesis that young cats learn to eat grass by watching their elders.

See also: Dog eats grass: is this okay

The research team believes that eating grass is still part of the health regimen. In particular, cats regularly eat grass to stimulate muscle activity in their digestive tracts and force parasites out of their intestines.

They also note that cats eat less grass than dogs. This may be because parasitic infections were less common among feline ancestors, or the habit of cats burying and avoiding each other's feces has slowed the spread of parasites compared to dogs, who are known to "get in each other's business."

The bottom line is that eating grass is not a sign that an animal is sick, and more importantly, it is likely an instinctive behavior that even the most diligent pet parent cannot stop. The solution, as the research team suggests, is to make sure that domestic cats have enough safe, non-poisonous vegetation to chew on. In particular, you can germinate grass in a pot at home and give it to cats to eat. Then you will know for sure that this vegetation is safe.

Earlier UAportal reported how to get rid of cat urine odor.

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