Grow a Green Treat for Your Cat

Catnip and cat grasses are easy to grow and can help keep your kitty from chewing on everything else

Claire Splan
Published in
3 min readJun 18, 2020

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Photo: Bill White via Pexels

Cats (and some dogs) love to nibble at grass, but it’s not a good idea to let them chew on the lawn — particularly if the lawn’s been treated with non-organic amendments or pesticides. Planting a pot of grasses especially for your pets will encourage them to leave other plants alone (particularly indoor cats that sometimes nibble out of boredom). Just about any annual cereal grass can be grown in a container as a green treat, but some seed companies sell packets of grass mixes especially for cats. Most cats find these combinations of rye, oats, barley, and wheat very appealing.

Growing annual grasses

Choose a wide, shallow pot with a drainage hole, such as a bulb pot. Fill it up to about an inch from the top with potting soil (do not use soil taken straight from the garden), then sprinkle the grass seeds over the top. Aim to space the seeds about ¼ inch apart. Cover the seeds with about ½ inch of potting mix and press to get good contact between the soil and seeds. Water well and place where it will get at least a half-day of sun. Keep evenly moist and seeds should germinate within a week. Wait until the grass is a couple of inches high before giving it to…

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Tenderly
Tenderly

Published in Tenderly

A vegan magazine that’s hopefully devoted to delicious plants, liberated animals, and leading a radical, sustainable, joyful life

Claire Splan
Claire Splan

Written by Claire Splan

Author/Editor. Writes about gardening, writing, etc. Medium Publications: Garden to Table and Writing in Place.

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