Why do cats eat grass?

Researchers at the University of California, Davis (USA), came to an answer regarding a questioning of feline owners. Why do cats eat grass? Do we really understand this behavior of cats?

Many people think they know what this means, but without a basis for opinion. Most people believe that kittens look for “salads” when they have a stomachache. They would aid digestion, according to popular opinion.

There are those who say, on the other hand, that the purpose of cats is to vomit and, therefore, consume plants. They would seek to eat grass to force the body to expel whatever is in the stomach.

But the studies came to another conclusion, and may have overturned these popular “thinking”. Anyway, let’s go to what scientists ended up finding out about our beloved pussies.

Why do cats eat grass, according to science?

University of California scientists analyzed more than 1,000 cat owners. An online survey was conducted with domestic cat guardians. Participants would have to have spent at least three hours a day observing the behavior of cats.

In conclusion: 71% of animals would have eaten grass at least six times in their lives. On the other hand, 11% of them would never have eaten. Only one in four animals vomited after eating grass, meaning one of the popular beliefs fell.

What’s more, 91% of owners said the animals looked good before eating grass. Therefore, they also did not eat because they were having stomach pain or were sick. So, why do cats eat grass?

Conclusion

Since cats don’t eat grass to cure stomach ache or to vomit something that has hurt, then why do they eat?

The conclusion of the study is that the grass is used by the kittens as a type of dewormer. The theory formulated concludes that the ancestors of current domestic cats ate grass to give a muscular stimulus to the intestinal tract. In this way, they expelled intestinal parasites.

Modern cats need less tactics, as they eat kibble, sachets, and do not consume game cards or questionable origins. But the behavior, according to the research, ended up being recorded in the animals’ genetic code.

The analysis was detailed at an annual meeting in Bergen, Norway, at a meeting of the International Society for Applied Ethology. Ethology studies animal behavior.