Cat grass, typically a blend of cereal grains like wheat, oat, barley, or rye, provides safe grazing for household pets. This greenery helps with digestion and provides fiber, satisfying a cat’s natural instinct to chew on plants. The short, fast-growing nature of cat grass makes it feasible to cultivate outside, offering fresh greens from a patio or garden.
Essential Outdoor Growing Conditions
The ideal outdoor setup for cat grass requires attention to the growing medium and light exposure. Since the grass is meant for pet consumption, an organic, well-draining potting mix is preferred over dense garden soil. This specialized soil ensures the roots do not become waterlogged, which can quickly lead to mold or root rot.
Cat grass thrives in bright light, requiring at least four to six hours of direct sunlight each day. In regions with intense mid-day heat, partial shade during the hottest hours will prevent the tender shoots from scorching. The soil must be kept consistently moist to support the rapid development of the grass, but never soggy.
Timing and Seasonal Planting
Cat grass is highly sensitive to temperature extremes, so timing the outdoor sowing is important. Seeds germinate most successfully when the soil temperature is consistently above 60°F (15°C), ideally within the 65–75°F range. Planting too early in the spring, before the danger of frost has passed, can cause the seeds to rot or delay germination.
Sow seeds outdoors after the last expected frost date in your region to ensure a warm start. The grass will not tolerate heavy frost or prolonged mid-summer heat, which can cause it to brown and wither quickly. To maintain a continuous supply, sow a new batch of seeds every one to two weeks, as each patch remains fresh for only a few weeks before the blades fade.
Protecting Your Outdoor Cat Grass
Cultivating cat grass outdoors introduces variables, including garden pests and the cat itself, requiring specific management strategies. Slugs and snails are attracted to the young shoots and can be deterred using non-toxic barriers. Surrounding the container with crushed eggshells or food-grade diatomaceous earth creates a physical barrier difficult for these pests to cross.
Physical exclusion is more reliable for deterring larger pests such as squirrels and rabbits. Erecting a small, fine-mesh wire cage or cloche over the area prevents grazing and digging. This barrier allows sunlight and water to reach the grass while protecting the crop without using chemical repellents that could harm your pet.
To prevent your cat from overgrazing and destroying the harvest, use multiple small containers that can be rotated. Introduce the cat to a fresh container for a short, supervised grazing period each day, then remove the container. Using a covered grazing box with small access holes limits the amount of grass the cat can reach, encouraging moderate consumption and prolonging the life of the patch.