Do cats need to eat grass?

Question

I've read some questions here asking if cats can eat grass. Based on those, I gather that the purpose of eating grass is so kitty can get rid of hairballs or other indigestible "stuff" in their digestive tract. So now I am curious if cats should have grass available.

My situation: I have a 7-month-old shorthair kitten who is indoors-only, so she's never eaten grass. I also haven't found any hairballs so far, even though everyone says all cats do have them eventually. A few times, I've heard her as if she was about to cough something up, but it never happened.. although I catch her trying to eat dust bunnies every so often, so I'm sure she's managed to ingest some amount of bad stuff. The only time I saw her actually cough something up was a small piece of yarn she found. (Yes, I made sure to store all my yarn in closed containers after that!)

I'm concerned that in the future she might need to get rid of something, but won't be able to. Should I be providing some form of "cat grass" for her?

Answer 1

All cats have hairballs but they can pass these into the litter box without coughing them out. Which cats can do this and how often depends on many things like health, fur type, food and grooming habits. So she's doing it right now but you just don't see it.

Your cat might not have shed her first winter coat. Depending on the breed she will grow thicker fur during the cold season and start shedding in the spring. Short hair cats will shed more hair then they swallow as it's less likely to need grooming to shed fur. The more fur on the sofa is less fur in her stomach.

Brushing her is the best solution to reduce hairballs. Providing structures for her to rub up against will help her loosen fur. You can also buy toothpaste like meds that you feed your cat which helps the fur pass into the litter box. There is also cat food that includes ingredients to help pass fur.

Cats eat grass instinctively and the eating of grass does not indicate there is a hairball, but grass is non-toxic and she will throw up any grass that does not get digested. Cats enjoy eating grass.

Your cat will search for alternatives if she has hairballs. She will eat ribbon, string, house plants or wires. All of these things are harmful and if you see her doing this, then remove those things and provide her with some grass.

I use to just go outside and cut grass with scissors and take that back to my apartment for my cat. He would eat it right away but ignore it after it became a few hours old.

You can buy grass pots in pet stores or online and grow your own for her. Keep the pot on the floor where she has access. She'll love it.

Answer 2

You can but it isn't necessary, if you're worried about hairballs then brushing her daily will help a lot as well as the grass.