Question

Why does my cat eat grass? It makes her throw up. She's partially and outdoor cat, but seems to do the throwing up inside, is this normal?

Answer 1

Hello Francisco,

That's a good question! First it's important to note that you don't need to worry about your cat eating grass, even if she throws it up. The reason cats throw up the greens they have ingested is because their bodies lack the correct enzyme to digest the plant matter, the throwing up can actually help to cleanse the digestive tract. Grass contains folic acid which is essential to a cat's health, possibly cats eat grass when they are low on this... our bodies will often crave foods that have the nutrients we are low on. Also, grass could have a laxative effect helping them to pass worms or fur through their intestinal tract.  Although it might seem pretty yucky to you, many cats enjoy grazing on some grass and it's generally not harmful... however if your cat is eating bushels of grass you might want to ask the vet about it.

Hope that helps!

Answer 2

Sometimes the outdoor grass has chemicals on it too, it's not good for anybody to ingest, let alone a tiny cat body.

Have you heard of cat grass? It's very appealing to them and you grow it indoors, chemical free. My cat rarely pukes it up but I can tell when he does it's totally necessary.