Dogsare nature ’s garbage disposals . They eat anything from table food to foreign objective topoop . Catsare more penetrative , though both of these domesticate animals seem to enjoy munching on grass . We have a pretty good idea why dog do this — it ’s often torelievestomach discomfort and induce vomiting — but why cats like to nibble on lawns has largely remained a enigma . Now , scientist believe they have an solution .
Apresentationlast hebdomad at the International Society for Applied Ethology annual meeting in Bergen , Norway offer evidence on this peculiar behavior , which many cat owners ascribe to the animals ' urge to fix an broken tum . Researchers at the University of California , Davis conducted a survey of 1021 cat-o'-nine-tails owners who spend at least three hours a daytime observing their favourite ’s activities and found that of the 71 percent of cats caught chomping on grass , about a quarter wound up disgorgement afterward — but roughly 91 percent of respondents account that their cat did not appear to be ill before dining out on fiber .
So if they were n’t ego - medicating a sick stomach , what happened ? The scientists argue it ’s evolutionary behavior that is not destine to hassle vomiting . Instead , cats are actuate to eat gage because this is how their root expel enteral leech . Grass use increase muscle activity in the digestive tract , which could impel out undesirable capacity . computerized axial tomography have traditionally had to deal withparasiteslike hookworms or roundworms as a byproduct of devouring rodents , though it ’s potential that most cats who are n’t on a diet of rat meat do n’t have any sponger to handle . Still , the instinct to chew sess cadaver .
The survey also indicate cats young than 3 years old were more potential to rust grass than sure-enough cats , but tend to vomit less afterward . If you have an outdoor cat who care to affix its dieting with backyard salad , it might be best to offer up some grass grown indoors that is free of pesticide and other contaminants .
[ h / tScience ]
