Does your cat eat grass outside? Is your cat trying to eat plants inside your home that aren’t safe? Make your own cat grass garden with herbs and plants safe for cats.

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Oh cats. They bring joy, cuddles, and fluffiness into our lives but they also bring… mischief.

I’ve never met a cat that isn’t curious, which I guess is why that saying has stuck when it comes to felines. But with mischievousness also sometimes comes a bit of danger.

We have two cats inside, one who likes to go outside as much as possible, and he always goes straight for patches of grass to nibble.

Why do cats eat grass?

I had a friend tell me it was because my cat’s stomach was probably upset, but he did it all the time. Surely he wasn’t sick all the time?! So, then I turned to Google. “Is it ok for cats to eat grass?”

There are a few different answers to this question, but it is most often attributed to the fact that the cat knows its stomach needs purging at times. Cats lack the necessary enzyme to break down lots grass or vegetable matter so it often makes them sick.

In turn, they expel other yucky things like hairballs or little toys that your children may have left on the floor [speaking from experience here].

Some grass also contains different nutrients that your cat may not be getting in their food, so they’re doing their diet a favor by chowing down on the green stuff.

According to PetMD, eating grass might even help them with a sore throat!

They also may eat grass just because they like it. My observation of Frosty is that he just eats a small amount at a time, which does no harm to him and doesn’t make him sick at all.

While cats eating grass isn’t always dangerous outside, it can be inside because some plants are harmful to cats and his outside nibbling habit sometimes translates to inside, which is no bueno!

That’s why it’s important to research your indoor plants and only have indoor plants that are safe for cats. Here’s a great, comprehensive list on indoor plants that are toxic to cats.

Since Frosty has a healthy nibbling grass habit, I decided to encourage it by making him his own cat grass garden.

Of course, the first thing I did was make sure all my plants were nontoxic because if I’m going to encourage him to nibble, I can’t necessarily show him which ones are safe for him and which ones aren’t.

One plant that I knew Roxy, my previous beloved cat, enjoyed was cat grass. So, I knew I would add cat grass to my cat’s very own garden!

What is Cat Grass?

Cat grass was the first thing that came to my mind when I decided to make Frosty and Bella a small garden pot inside. I know it’s super easy to grow and maintain and cats love it.

Cat grass is actually not a plant, in and of itself, but a grass mixture that is grown from seeds, such as barley, wheat, oats or rye. It’s made to be grown indoors and is perfectly safe for cats to munch.

How to Grow Cat Grass

Growing cat grass is actually so easy – even if you don’t have a green thumb! Since cat grass is meant to be grown indoors, you’ll need a container, cat grass seeds, soil, water, and a sunny spot to set it.

You can grow cat grass in a pot on it’s own, but I love flower pots with mixed herbs, so I decided to do just that for our cat grass garden.

The first step is to determine what other plants are safe for cats and it turns out – a few herbs are!

More Indoor Plants Safe for Cats to Include

I created a cat grass planter with a few of our favorites in addition to Cat Grass… Rosemary and Mint.

There are a few other herbs that are safe for cats including parsley, catnip, lemongrass [but not lemongrass essential oil], and cat thyme. All of these would be excellent additions to your Cat Grass Garden!

What about chia seeds? Can cats eat chia seeds? They can! In fact, cats can also eat chia seed grass! It turns out this superfood isn’t just good for us, it’s good for cats too!

Catnip vs Cat Grass – These are two different types of plants. When you think of catnip, you probably think of dried catnip. You can also grow a green version of catnip in an indoor cat garden pot too!

How to Make a Cat Grass Garden

You’ll need potting soil, a container, and all your cat-safe herbs and grasses. You can plant a mixture of seeds and herb plants as they’ll mature at different times.

Be sure to keep your cat garden in a well lit area with lots of water. You’ll be surprised at just how fast cat grass seeds will sprout – in about 5-6days.

You can find cat grass at Walmart, on Amazon, and a variety of stores. I found this package of cat grass seeds, also sometimes called wheat grass, in the garden center of my local Walmart, but there are also options in the pet aisles.

So, now instead of discouraging your cat from their potentially healthy habit of eating grass, create your own cat grass garden with herbs that your cat can safely eat!

If your cats are important members of the family, just like Frosty and Bella are to ours, you definitely treat them as such. That’s why I love making special projects for them, like this Cat Grass Garden and even more! Check out these other cat DIYs below.