Cat grass: what is needed and how to grow at home
Content:
The diet of a domestic cat needs to be supplemented with useful products, among which greens stand apart. Owners often notice what a magnetic property for pets has indoor flowers and plants on the site. You can grow grass for cats from special seeds at home. It is fast, easy and inexpensive.
Why do cats need grass
Wild cats eat greens regularly, and domestic diets are limited. This situation needs to be corrected, because grass is really necessary for cats, and here's why:
- Animals lick their hair daily. As a result, a certain amount of villi enters the stomach. The grass has an irritating effect and helps induce vomiting so that the coat does not accumulate in the body.
- Also, the vomiting reflex helps the cat out if she ate something wrong or overeaten. With the help of green shoots, the pet will quickly get rid of the remains of undigested food.
- So wild cats supplement their diet. The greens contain beneficial B-group vitamins, in particular folic acid. It is necessary for the animal to grow.
- The fixing effect of the plant for the intestine is also noted.
Another reason is that animals just like the taste of greens. They can bite grass without swallowing it. Some pets play like that. Often, such plants suffer from such habits. Scolding a cat, especially an adult, is useless in such cases. To switch attention from flowers, just plant the seeds of cat grass and open access to them.
What grass is grown for cats?
Not every grass will be useful to the animal, some species threaten poisoning. Always be careful about choosing indoor plants. Flowers such as Benjamin's ficus, anthurium, begonia, geranium are toxic.
You can not take grass from the street, even if the animal seeks to try it for a walk. Such greenery is too polluted, especially in the city, it may be larvae of parasites. Better to grow grass clean yourself.
Specialty grass seeds sold in garden stores for cats. They are cheap, easy to grow. It is a good idea to plant other plants, such as oats, barley, wheat and rye. The green shoots of these cereals are very popular with pets.
Another option is to buy sprouted grass at the pet store.
We grow in soil
For growing, you will need a pack of seeds, soil and a small container. As a soil, a conventional composition for germinating flowers, for example, orchids, is suitable. The soil is best light, not overloaded with fertilizers. Seeds grow well in any soil and even without it, because they do not need special nutrition for flowering and fruiting.
What capacity to take for grass? There are also no special requirements. Any deep plate, flower pot, seedling box and even a new cat tray will do. The shoots will sprout beautifully through the net.
How to grow cat grass, all stages:
- Seeds before planting are soaked for an hour in warm water. This will accelerate their germination.
- The tank is filled with soil, but not to the very top.
- Prepared seeds are poured onto the ground.
- From above they are covered with a thin layer of earth.
- Seeds can be grown in vermiculite. For this, the substrate is soaked for an hour along with planting material.
- The seeds planted in the soil moisturize, vermiculite is enough just to sprinkle with water.
- Now you need to create the greenhouse effect. The growing pot is covered with a transparent cling film. You can use a plastic bag.
- To make the grass hatch, it is rearranged in a warm place, for example, near the battery.
- After 2-3 days, the first sprouts of grass will appear above the ground. The greenhouse is removed only for 4-5 days. Moisten the substrate in time.
- The pet is given a nibble of treats a week after disembarkation. It is advisable that the cat eat greens directly from the garden. A torn shoot will quickly fade.
- Sow the seeds once a week, then the animal will be supplied with a vitamin supplement constantly.
Advice! Watch the amount of greens that the pet eats. If you can’t tear the cat away from the garden, it is better to consult a veterinarian, as digestion problems are possible. If the pet does not eat the treat, do not force it.
Groundless Method
Cat grass seeds sprout perfectly and without land. A gauze or bandage is used for this method.
How to grow grass on gauze:
- Take a plastic container and make drainage holes at the bottom.
- Seeds before germination are soaked in warm water for 1-2 hours.
- Gauze is rolled up in 2-3 layers, moisturized.
- Gauze is lined at the bottom of the plate, seeds are placed on top and covered with another layer of wet gauze.
- Keep the container in a warm place, periodically adding water.
purity.bigbadmole.com/en/ magazine recommends buying seeds only in special departments. Substandard chemicals treated in the markets may occur.
Toys with grass
It will be interesting for a little kitten to play with a figure from which greens grow. This can be any item made of cloth - a little man, an animal, etc. It is easy to sew a toy with your own hands, for example, from an old nylon sock. Inside, cat grass seeds and sawdust are placed. The contents are moistened, then the fabric is stitched. Grass will germinate if it is regularly soaked in warm water.
Do not be too lazy to grow a green treat for the cat yourself. Your pet will appreciate it!
It is best grown in a 0.7-1l pot (plastic, with a drainage hole in the bottom, sold in “magnet” or “five”), oats seeds “BAKA” - parrot food, sold in a pet store, soil without fertilizers, sold in flower shops. We fill the earth with 2/3 of the volume of the pot, slightly compact, pour well with hot water, fill the seeds so as to cover the soil, pour a little soil on top, lightly compact and pour warm water, put on a plastic bag and leave it alone for two days, remove the bag and water slightly, ready in a day. The whole process 3-4 days, enough for a cat for 3-4 days. This method is three times cheaper than buying a ready-made kit in a pet store, especially since a kit for growing grass is not practical for cats, the cat will ruin it in the first step (a very light tray).