Cat Grass

Even though cats are carnivores. Sooner or later every cat wants to eat some grass. Both wild and domestic cats graze on grass. They may like the taste or the crunch but they end up regurgitating the grass because they lack the digestive enzymes to break down fiber in vegetation. Regurgitation is good because it helps to eliminate hairballs and any other indigestible matter the cat may have eaten including the bones from fish, mice and birds.

The greens supposedly added to cat food to meet a cat's desire for grass are merely a marketing ploy since heat processing destroys the greens beneficial enzymes and anti-oxidants. Many greens added to cat food are there as low cost filler (extender).

Indoor and outdoor cats should be provided with a personal pot of grass to prevent them from nibbling on toxic houseplants or weeds sprayed with herbicides.

Technically cat grass is the particular grass, Dactylis glomerata L. also called orchard grass and cocksfoot. But, the pots of cat grass sold at pet stores are usually wheat grass.

Any cereal grain – oat, rye, barely, wheat – will grow grass. Cat guardians should experiment: some cats prefer the grass from one grain over the other.

Getting Started

The Seed: Never buy the seed from a garden center. The grass seed from the garden center is often treated with chemicals (poisons). Instead buy the seed from the bulk food section of the grocery store or health store. It should cost less than a dollar a pound. You will need ¼ cup of seed to plant every 4 inch square pot. Consider one pot of grass per cat, per week.

The Pot: Select a clean study pot with drainage holes. The flimsy disposable pots that annuals are sold in will do if they are put into a heavier container to keep them upright when the cat starts nibbling on grass. When re-using pots, scrub them first and disinfect them in the sun.

The Soil: Avoid using soil from the garden because it is too heavy, does not drain well and because it is not sterilized the seeds would likely germinate than “damp-off” at the base. Instead make a potting mix of one-part sterilized potting soil (with no added fertilizer) to one-part composted steer manure.

Light: Like any plant the grass needs light to grow but because it is germinating and growing only for a short time (usually no longer than two weeks) it can grow without direct sunlight if no windowsill is available.

Planting

• Fill the pot to ¼ inch from the rim with the soil
• Saturate the soil with water
• In a single layer spread the seeds touching each other across the soil
• Cover the seeds with the soil mix and sprinkle with water

At 65-70 degrees the grass should take 7 to 9 days to reach 6 inches and be ready for kitty to nibble. At 10 inches tall the lanky grass bends over and becomes less attractive to cats. While the grass can be cut back (like cutting the lawn) to a couple of inches from the soil the edges of each blade where it was cut will have a dry brown scab and the regrowth will be tough.

While cats lack the enzymes to break down fibrous vegetable matter they may be able to extract some nutrients from young tender grass because it is less fibrous. The grass a cat is more likely to regurgitate is the tough re-growth.

Plant a new pot every 7 to 9 days and compost the old cat grass.

(An easy compost system for those who do not have a garden and just need a system to handle cat grass is to get three clean five-gallon buckets with lids from bakeries or restaurants (everything from pickles to cookie dough comes in them). Drill holes all over the lids. Water the overgrown pot of cat grass then remove the grass from the pot and break up the root ball. Toss the grass and dirt in one bucket. Keep doing this with every pot of overgrown cat grass until that bucket is half full. Then, do the same for the second bucket. When the second bucket is half-full, start breaking up the root balls and putting the overgrown cat grass into the third bucket. By this time the first bucket should be composted. And, while this is not a sterile potting mix in many cases it works fine to use to start growing the next pots of cat grass. This system saves money, making a self-contained cat grass operation.

A Vision for Cats

I have a dream. And, like Martin Luther King, Jr. I realize that my dream will never be achieved in my lifetime. Yet, like Martin, I have decided to articulate it and work toward it.

I envision a world where all cats have loving homes. I envision a world where all cats that need medical care receive free veterinary services. I envision a world where cats are respected for merely being cats.

I see a world where there is no animal abuse. I see a world where animal breeders are outlaws. I see a world where computers replace animals in medical research. I see a world where roadkill does not exist. I see a world where flesh is not eaten and fur is not worn.

This is my vision because I believe in the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi. The patron saint of animals wrote, “If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.”

We will get to my world by standing up for those who cannot stand upright. We will get to my world by offering a helping hand for those who have no fingers to grasp. We will get to my world by realizing that we were created to be different not to change each other but to better understand ourselves.

The cat is assertive, creative, instinctive and independent.

We are what we have been taught. We have been taught since kindergarten that there is one right answer, that we must go-along-to-get-along, and that our success is measured in dollars.

My world is dawning. Already, psychological studies show that having an attachment to a cat reduces depression and increases self-esteem. And, the physiological evidence maintains that those in a loving relationship with a cat have decreased blood pressure, the reduced  chance of a second heart attack and lower triglycerides.

It is already politically incorrect to refer to cat as a “pet.” They are a “companion” or “friend.” Likewise, “owning” a cat is now frowned on. A cat has a “guardian.”

And, across the country attorneys attempt to legally replace the definition of cats as property with the monetary value of a product with the new definition of a cat as a sentient being capable of an emotional relationship with others.

Victor Hugo wrote, “There is nothing like a dream to create the future.”

If I pursue my dream I may not reach it but it will come one day because as Martin Luther King, Jr. concluded, “Unconditional love will have the final word in reality.”

Paulette Rossi

Founder, Catink.org

Communication Between Cats and People

We know that when we want to make a point we can raise our voices, make extravagant gestures or move closer to the person we are talking to. When a cat wants to make a point they have to think outside of the box. When the cat eliminates outside of the litter box or sprays an upright surface to mark it, they are emphasizing what is on their minds.

Depending on how much the cat is loved they are either tossed out the door, never to be allowed to live in the house again or they are put in a crate and brought to the veterinarian. The vet will do tests, including checking if the cat has a bladder or kidney infection or a urinary blockage, to determine that the cat does not have a life threatening malady. Next the vet will ask the cat's guardian the personal questions, “Did you move the kitty litter pan? Did you buy a new type of litter? Did you buy a new style of litter pan? Do you need a new litter pan?

When those questions generate no solution the vet determines the cat has a behavioral problem. The number one reason cats are euthanized for behavioral problems is for eliminating outside of the box or for marking.

What a tragedy of missed communication on our part. The motivational speaker, Anthony Robbins maintains, “We must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.”

What we took as inappropriate behavior was instinctively perfect communication by the cat.

The cat being territorial by nature must assert both their identity to other cats through the scent of their urine or feces and make us aware that they are frustrated and angry that their turf has been invaded or changed. Appreciating routine the cat will become upset when new animals, people or objects (furniture) invade their space. It is quite common for cats to eliminate on the guardians bed when a new partner moves into the house. This is not a bad cat but a cat who is worried that there will not be enough love to go around.

We do not speak catise and the cat does not speak English but we must be perceptive to the cat's actions to communicate with them. The management guru, Peter Drucker said, “The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being said.”

The stray cats we pick-up do not come with a guide book. Even when we adopt from a shelter we receive literature on what and when to feed the cat and a calender to schedule vaccinations but no language book.

We would not think of raising our children without a copy of Dr. Spock; we must not consider raising our cat without a handbook on their behavior.

We have for too long been told that cats are too mysterious to be understood or that that they are independent, aloof, loners that do want our attention.

Actually, cats are closer to us emotionally than any other companion animal. Like us they are complex beings that want to be loved, and appreciated on their terms in their space and time frame.

When we pause to “listen” to the cat's behavior we come closer to understanding their actions. The founder of Toastmasters International Ralph Smedley once said, “Understanding is the way to peace.” Communication is the way to harmony in the home with cat(s).

Growing Catnip From Seed

Every spring when I was in elementary school my mother would take me to the neighborhood garden center to buy a starter-pot of catnip, nepeta cataria. We would plant it in the herb garden in the afternoon and by morning it was gone. Well, not totally gone. Our three cats that were born with white beards, and cheeks had beards and cheeks stained green. They even smelled antiseptic like a cross between lemon and mint.

My mother would have saved money if she had read Philip Miller's The Gardener's Dictionary. In 1754 he wrote, “If you set it, the cats will eat it. If you sow it, the cats don't know it.”

Cats are attracted to the chemical nepetalactone in catnip. Cats can smell nepetalactone one part in a billion in the air. When the leaves are bruised in transplanting the herb the fragrance which cats equate with a sexual attractant is released. Not all cats roll in catnip and go into a hallucinogenic trance. To respond to catnip the cat must be at least six months old or sexually mature and have inherited the right genes. The response is an inherited “autosomal dominant trait.” It is estimated that 15 to 25 percent of all cats lack the trait and are immune to the scent. Even cats that re-act to catnip usually get “high” for less than 15 minutes. They will leave the catnip alone for a couple of hours and come back for a re-charge.

Why Grow Catnip?

Growing your own catnip is the only way to ensure your cats get good quality. When catnip toys are purchased you have no way of knowing how much catnip is used with the stuffing or if it is fresh. The pet-toy-product industry often responds more to price than quality. Toy-grade catnip even if it is certified organic is what is leftover after the best leaves go to the medicinal and tea market.

Stems and leaves that have been poorly dried (grey not green) have little aroma.but are often ground-up and sold to cat guardians.

Growing catnip from seed where it is intended to grow is easy only if you let it do what it does best – come up on its own terms. My mother may have failed with the plants but I failed by following the directions on the seed packs. The instructions say to lightly cover the seeds with dirt. But, think about how catnip comes up in the wild. It drops its seeds on the ground in Fall and they germinate when the temperature is right (around 65-70 F.degrees) in late spring or early summer. In nature no one lightly covered the seeds.

Catnip Bed

Catnip grows best in well-drained sandy loam. If clay soil is your yard amend the soil with lots of compost. As with most herbs it needs at least six hours of direct sunlight everyday. It is important to select a garden area that has been weed-free for several years. Catnip is a perennial. If the planting area is infested with weed seeds or roots the weeds will grow through the catnip destroying the plant crown.

Avoid augmenting the soil with synthetic fertilizers because they give plants a quick jolt of nutrients resulting in fast lush growth and herbs with reduced essential oils. Work in some composted steer manure just before the seeds are sown. When the plants are a foot tall side-dress with grass clippings on an annual basis. The grass clippings will supply nitrogen to the soil.

Just before sowing the seeds – and the seeds can be sown anytime, they know when to germinate – make a soil ridge or rim around the row to keep the seeds from washing away when it rains or they are watered. Keep the soil moist until the plants are well established, than deep-watering once a week should be sufficient in summer. The plants grow best when the plants are spaced 15 to 18 inches apart.

When temperatures drop to 20 degrees in winter the catnip will die-back but it is one of the first plants to re-appear in the garden when the temperature gets just above freezing. The crown of deep-green toothed elongated heart-shaped leaves that appear are frost tolerant. When the plant gets about six to eight inches tall start picking the leaf whirls above the first node to make the plants bush out. This can be done on a daily basis to give kitty a fresh daily treat.

As the season progresses the catnip will grow into a 2 to 3 foot tall bush with grey-green slightly downy leaves and spikes of tiny white flowers tipped with purple or pink. Just before the flowers open cut the catnip down to within 6 inches of the ground.to dry it. Waiting longer and all the plant's energy will go into producing the seeds and the leaves will have less essential oil.(Letting one plant go-to-seed is a great way to get more plants to keep the catnip bed young and vigorous.)

Drying Catnip

To successfully dry catnip find a clean, dry, dark place with cross ventilation or use a fan to move the air around. Avoid any room with high humidity like laundry rooms, bathrooms and kitchens. Pick the catnip in mid-morning after the dew has dried from the leaves. Picking it immediately after a rain or with dew on it makes it difficult to dry the herb without mildewing. Picking catnip in the heat of the day results in leaves that are losing essential oils to the warm air.

Tie several branches together to dry remembering that the less stems drying together the more air the branches receive and the faster the herbs will dry. Hang the bouquets upside down to dry. Every couple of days re-bundle the herbs moving the inside branches to the outside to keep mold from developing. The complete drying process should take about 7 to 9 days. If it takes longer the quality will suffer. This will be visibly noticeable with the leaves becoming grey or brown.

When the herb is “crisp” (dry) remove the leaves and store them whole. Crumbling the leaves should be avoided until the catnip is used because crumbling or pulverizing the herb releases the essential oil.

Nepetalactone in catnip is UV photosensitive – it is destroyed by light. Store the dry leaves in an airtight opaque container.. The best storage temperature is an even temperature somewhere between 50 and 70 degrees. Cookie and fruit-cake tins make good storage receptacles. Lacking those spray paint (make opaque) the outside walls of large glass jars with tight lids. Catnip should never be stored in plastic bags because cats can tear them open and suffocate in the process. And, all plastic including rigid containers are poor storage choices because plastic is permeable both absorbing the essential oil from the herb and giving off whatever previous essential oil the container had absorbed.

Catnip and Us

While catnip on us humans does not make us go into ecstasy the dry leaves are found in many “soothing” herbal tea blends and the fresh green leaves can be added to salads. Before tea was imported from the Orient, catnip tea was the most drunk tea in Europe.

And, rubbing some catnip leaves on ourselves might not be a bad idea the next time we go on picnic or camping. The essential oil of catnip has been found to be ten times more effective than the chemical DEET to repeal mosquitoes.

Catnip is as lovely as any ornamental in the garden. Being an herb its essential oils are good at keeping pests and disease away. Its flowers also attract bees and butterflies.