My cat is eating grass when take out for a walk

Question

Whenever I take my cat out for a morning walk every now and then she starts eating grass. What may be the reason behind it? Is this normal?

Answer 1

As trond hansen says it's a normal behavior for cats and the current belief is that they do so to aid them in vomiting up indigestible materials from their stomach such as bits of eaten prey like fur and also their own hairballs.

Grasses in the outside world can potentially be a health hazard for them if they have been sprayed with pesticides etc although since they generally throw it back up as part of the process the risk is relatively small.

If you are concerned about the particular grass your cat is stopping to eat then you can grow "Cat grass" at home for your cat to munch on. You can get kits for growing cat grass from most pet stores and even some garden centres.

Answer 2

Yes, this is normal, cats eat grass to get rid of hairballs, as grass makes them vomit and get rid of indigestible things they have eaten like the fur of prey they have eaten and their fur after they have washed themselves.

They can also eat grass to try to get rid of parasites like intestinal worms.

Some say cats eat grass to get some nutrients from it, but this is not likely as grass contains very little of nutritional value for a cat.

My cat starts looking for fresh grass as soon as the snow is gone in the spring. It is important to be sure the grass is as clean as possible, like after the rain and in a sandy type of soil.