Feral cats, (i.e. cats that roam free in the wild), eat grass almost daily and most domesticated cats, if given the opportunity, will eat grass and certain plants. Some experts feel that cats eat grass for nutritional reasons, such as adding fiber or bulk to the diet.

Others feel that cats eat grass as a form of self-medication, called zoocognopharmacy. They theorize that cats eat broad-leafed grasses to take advantage of their laxative effects while narrow or sharp-leaved grasses or plants are ingested to act as emetics to make themselves vomit. Still others feel that cats eat grass as a tonic to settle their stomachs. Cat owners can consider growing a small plot of lawn grass or wild oats that their cat can access.

There’s a lot of debate about why dogs eat grass. Some dogs seem to act like mini lawnmowers, eating grass at every opportunity. Others dogs eat grass only occasionally, subsequently throwing it up. It appears to be a self medication instinct. However there is something else to consider, “Do dogs eat grass to make themselves vomit, or, do they vomit because they’re eating grass?”