Why Do Cats Eat Grass Sometimes? According To Study: To Overcome Hairball And Parasites

Illustration of the reason why cats sometimes eat grass (Unsplash/Piotr Musiol)

YOGYAKARTA – The grass that is sometimes eaten by cats is usually not catnip or catmint which is good for the digestion of anabul. Cats sometimes eat certain types of grass, namely grass that comes from grains such as wheat, barley, rye, oats, and alfalfa.

In fact, many studies and surveys explore the reasons why cats sometimes eat grass. Not yet known for certain in one study, but a series of studies seem to be able to answer why these carnivores secretly nibble on grass shoots.

Cats eat grass, once believed to be their way of calming the stomach. In a survey conducted in 2021 in the journal Characteristics of plant eating in domestic cats by Benjamin L. Hart, et al. from the University of California, found that 65 percent of respondents reported eating grass every week. Only 6 percent of them reported their cat was sick before chewing the plant. While 37 percent reported frequent vomiting after eating grass.

Based on the report above, the researchers concluded that cats don't really eat plants, including cat grass to make them feel better because 94 percent of cats in the survey appeared to be fine before eating anything.

Illustration of a cat sometimes eating grass to treat hairballs and intestinal parasites (iStockphoto)

Another hypothesis why cats eat grass is to help remove hairballs. A study reported by The Spruce Pets, Wednesday, June 29, found that anabuls eat grass to soothe their stomachs from ingesting hairballs.

Hairballs are hairs that fall out and are eaten when they 'bath' or lick their bodies. Eat grass, help cats vomit hairballs or when they have a bowel movement. This idea may be more acceptable because in some cases, the cat vomits the grass it has eaten with the hairball.

Other opinions and studies have also found that there are different reasons why cats sometimes eat grass. The reason, to control and remove intestinal parasites. Studies conducted in Belgium looked at a wide range of wild carnivores, including Canidae species, but also feral cats, lynxes, pumas and leopards. This study shows that eating grass is not only a domestic cat behavior, but also a natural behavior in the entire cat family.

For those of you who keep cats at home, it is better to provide special grass for cats that can be purchased at pet shops. Because if the anabul eats weeds, it can be contaminated with pesticides from the surrounding plants. Not to mention the risk of eating parasitic grass.

Although it is still necessary to determine the reasons why cats sometimes eat grass, this habit is relatively safe for them. As long as the grass is free of pesticides and parasites.