Why do Dogs & Cats Eat Grass? · Vet Tips

The million dollar question - why do pets nibble on grass? Let Dr. Kirsten explain a few reasons why… Veterinary surgeon Dr. Kirsten Ronngren joined ManyPets in 2022 and has extensive experience as a vet in small animal and feline-only clinics. She’s a regular on ManyPets’ social channels with her no-nonsense approach to keeping your pets happy and well.

TRANSCRIPT

does your pet love grazing on the green stuff? the truth is we're not 100% sure why our dogs and cats like eating grass, but there's a few theories floating around out there. one thing I get asked extremely often as a veterinarian is why does my dog eat grass are they doing it because they feel sick and the answer is sometimes the truth is is that a lot of dogs that are eating grass are not sick beforehand and will not vomit afterwards though some of them may eat grass when they feel nauseous it's kind of a chicken in the egg effect sometimes pets will throw up because they've eaten too much grass so what else does that leave and this is the answer that I have to give a lot of pet parents which is not quite as satisfying but that's some of them just like it they like to do it if your dog is like mine they might think that they were a cow in a past life and they just really enjoy grazing on grass when they're outside similarly it's been considered that increased consumption of grass may be linked to behavioral issues in dogs we note that it's possible that some dogs that are nervous and anxious or stressed May seek out eating grass as a stress relieving Behavior but also if they lack normal environmental or mental stimulation I often also get people asking if we feel like their dog or their cat is eating grass because they are lacking a certain nutrient in their diet or because they have a nutrient deficit I think the answer in a lot of these cases is likely no if your pet is eating a commercial diet in the right proportion for their body weight and their lifestyle they're probably getting the nutrients they need however it has been noted that it can provide some roughage or Fiber in their diet it may help pass things through but I think in a lot of cases it's not likely because there is some sort of nutrient deficit cats eating grass makes even less sense and this is because unlike dogs cats are obligate carnivores so they need an even smaller percentage of these sorts of things in their diets to have a nutrient balance in a lot of these cases again it may be due to boredom or because they just like it because dogs and cats don't digest plant material the same way as other species another theory floating around out there is that cats might eat grass to help them then clear things that aren't digestible like hair or feathers again I think it really comes down to more something like Behavior or habit thankfully it's pretty safe for dogs and cats to eat small quantities of grass without much issue that being said it's important that if you do have a pet that likes to go out there and Chow Down on grass that they are not getting into grass that's recently been treated with something like fertilizer or pesticides cuz these can be very toxic to our animal friends lastly if your cat or dog has multiple episodes of vomiting associated with eating grass it's best to have them examined by your veterinarian just to make sure they don't have anything like an obstruction from the grass or they're trying to mask any other underlying health issues