A cat eats grass, it's strange, isn't it?
The cat is a feline characterized by a carnivorous diet. It is an animal that its diet consists mainly of animal protein. Cats have a strange, very special interest in a plant that we cannot imagine. It is indeed grass! Perhaps, one day, you have observed your cat in the greenery, the fresh grass, or attracted by the plants in your living room. The question that arises is why a carnivore like the cat has a need to feed on grass. Why does this feline have a strange appetite?
Hairballs
As you know, the cat is considered the cleanest animal. He spends hours and hours during the day washing himself. He licks his coat carefully, every day. It is a habit that pushes him to swallow a quantity of his hair, particularly during periods of moulting. In fact, clumps are formed by ingested hair in its digestive system, causing the cat to empty its stomach of hairballs by eating grass. The grass allows the cat to vomit and purge the stomach. This phenomenon is called trichobezoars. It does not represent any danger for this feline.
The cat that lives in your home, an indoor cat, tends to eat indoor plants, plants that can be toxic for this animal. So be careful! You can grow a container of non-toxic catnip.
Balance your ration
Since the cat has become a modern pet, it only eats foods that are well balanced and complete in minerals and proteins. However, the outside cat relies mainly on hunting to meet its food needs. A well-meat diet, but which does not meet its fiber and mineral needs. By eating grass, the cat causes a vomiting reflex and improves the transit to its nutritional qualities. For a cat, like a herbivore, it is difficult to digest grass. However, it will be able to attract some minerals from it.
To feel better
When you observe that your cat consumes more grass in an abnormal way, you must immediately think that he has abdominal pain. A disturbance from a digestive point of view because of gastritis, hairballs or parasites... The purpose of this consumption is to relieve pain. Unfortunately the relief is only temporary. Prolonged vomiting can also irritate her stomach lining, which can cause your cat to develop acute gastritis.
Eating grass can also be because of a physiological need. The cat may spend time rubbing itself and then it may ingest some grass. You can offer your cat grasses and also catnips which have euphoric effects on this animal. The cat can just breathe it in so that it is relaxed.
In general, grass helps your cat balance nutrient intake. For good health, please provide your cat with a varied food that is rich in minerals, vitamins, and fiber.