Advice Sought Growing Grass For My Cats

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Tailtidy
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Advice Sought Growing Grass For My Cats

Post by Tailtidy »

Hi everyone, I recently bought Trixie grass seeds in a tray to grow grass for my cats Manx and Kipp after Manx ate grass outside then he was sick(vet said grass is good for cats) ; I don,t want to risk him eating anything else in the garden so bought the Trixie grass seeds to grow my own however I,m not sure how much water to pour over the seeds nor how often? The instructions on the box only say to just add water but not how much and how often? Can anyone help and advise as to how much water I should pour over the seeds and how often? Many thanks. :)
I meant to say ,I was a member of the old forum so I,m an "old" newbie :)
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Re: Advice Sought Growing Grass For My Cats

Post by Jacks »

The instructions on my Catit senses pack said every couple of days, and not too much or the seed would rot. However I'm not a good person to advise as my seed (although it did sprout nicely) ended up rotting as I couldn't tell how wet it was.

This was in the special fake soil they provide and the pot is really shallow - so nowhere for the roots to go - and I think I would have been better planting the seed in some compost in a nice big flower pot...

I hope it goes well and you can offer us some tips when you're successful :-)
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Re: Advice Sought Growing Grass For My Cats

Post by PeanutsFriend »

Well with seeds, I ussually water with a spray bottle until the seeds come up and give a few sprits every two days.
But I am not successful unless I raise it outside, then bring the pot in. We have catnip out there right now. It is good for old cat tummys.
jill
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Kay
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Re: Advice Sought Growing Grass For My Cats

Post by Kay »

I'd ditch the dish supplied and sow the seeds in potting compost in a half size seed tray - you'll know when ot water by the weight of the tray

germination will take place within a few days, and grass can be grown on inside or out at this time of year

I wouldn't let your cats help themselves, though, as they will tear up the grass blades by their roots - just cut with scissors when it gets long enough and feed by hand

I've been doing this for years, and buy the seeds in bulk on EBay
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Re: Advice Sought Growing Grass For My Cats

Post by lilynmitz »

Try to wait till the roots are well established before feeding to the cats or as Kay says, they will just rip it out by the roots. My lot wouldn't eat grass from my hand, they wanted to harvest it themselves! Once a root mat has set, this won't happen (you'll be able to tell by just gently tugging at the grass to see if the roots come out - if they do, leave it a bit longer. It won't take long).

You may need to ration it when you do feed them. My two had probably never seen grass before (I suspect they were house cats before they came to me), and absolutely BINGED on the stuff, and then promptly vomited it all back up again. Eeeeuuw! So little and often. I know people say cats eat grass to make themselves sick, but I don't hold with this. Why would a cat want to vomit on a daily basis? This very rarely happens with Lily (nor previously with Mitz). It does happen from time to time, as I suspect it gets stuck in their throat on the way down and the irritation makes them throw it up again, but so long as you ration it, this shouldn't always happen.
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Kay
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Re: Advice Sought Growing Grass For My Cats

Post by Kay »

you're lucky then - mine always sick up the grass seconds after eating it - but as they are out on the patio it doesn't matter much - in fact I prefer it that way because the same happens if they chew on plant leaves, so the chances of them ingesting something irritating or poisonous is remote
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Re: Advice Sought Growing Grass For My Cats

Post by Tailtidy »

Thanks folks for all the great advice which is much appreciated :) when Manx threw it all up there was a small hair ball present so I think he ate the grass to bring up the hair ball as it must have been giving him a sore tummy poor fella: I don,t know why he had a hair ball in his tummy as I feed him Royal Canin hairball eliminator x 2 along with his other food, brush both him and Kipp everday and I give Manx(long haired black coat in my avatar photo ) and Kipp, his brother (shorter grey hair) Katalax which I got from the vet, every few days as Kipp especially was having problems with hairballs when I got him from a cat sanctuary a few months ago.I thought the Royal Canin hairball eliminator x 2 along with the Katalax should be stopping the hairballs from forming? Is it worth my continuing to feed him the Royal Canin hairball eliminator x 2 if it,s not actually preventing hairballs from forming? :? Amanda
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Re: Advice Sought Growing Grass For My Cats

Post by SarahT1 [PLLE] »

Sorry can't comment on the hairball food but just to say I used a long quite deep plant trough to sow a mixture of cat grass and nip on the patio. I gave it a good spray and the seeds germinated within days. We had a lot of rain which has kept it going nicely. Pepsi has been eating the grass in our rather nasty lawn (we've recently moved and reseeding or returfing is a way down the To Do list). She was sick, but just saliva really, a couple of times but now she's chomping on the cat grass and no sickness.

Fusses to your lovely boys.
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Re: Advice Sought Growing Grass For My Cats

Post by Jacks »

I think you'll find that nothing can ELIMINATE hairballs - especially if your cat likes grooming or is moulting - and some cat's hair just seems to come out more readily than others. These preparations help because they either provide fibre to help transit of the hair through the system or lubrication to achieve the same end.

When my girl (avatar) gets hairballs they are massive and block her oesophagus quite badly until she sicks them up. I give her malt cream every day and most of the time this helps but if she's had a big session the hair soon builds up and rolls itself into a mat.

If the food is good for your cats and you don't have a lot of hairball problems I wouldn't see getting a hairball as a reason not to feed it - you never know it could be a lot worse!
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Re: Advice Sought Growing Grass For My Cats

Post by Hazel »

I have trouble with cat grass too, Mika loves it but just rips it all out by the roots and leaves it strewn all over. He obviously eats some because he's always sick and gets 'danglers' strung together with grass at the other end!

I got a lovely Catit tray but the seeds went mouldy so I'm trying that again with compost in.

I have tried cutting bits off to feed him but he just sniffs it and won't eat it.

Are cat nip, cat grass and cat mint all different things? I have all three planted in tubs in the garden but only the grass has appeared so far. I'll probably regret the nip when I have a garden full of cats wanting to get into my cat run!
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Kay
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Re: Advice Sought Growing Grass For My Cats

Post by Kay »

I think cat mint and cat nip are both Nepeta - the seeds sold for cat grass are usually oats, but sometimes wheat

mine actually prefer couch grass to either, and during the summer I cut some from the roadside, and they love it - but of course that is no use during the winter
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