Excessive indoor plant eating: malnourishment?

[Kirsten]

Luna and Lily are really bad atm when it comes to eating my indoor plants! It's especially bad since I removed two of my benjamin trees (because they are toxic) and replaced them by two palm trees.

The girls have already eaten a lot of their leaves, and they also eat my yucca palm, my new fern and my spider plants. They also have cat grass, which they eat, too.

It's not always that bad, but these weeks, it is extreme, and I guess one reason could be hairballs (they already started shedding fur).

But now I read somewhere that extreme plant eating may also be a sign of malnourishment. Unfortunately, the article didn't go into details. I wonder if this could be the case with my girls. My vet thinks not because they eat high quality food (Hill's).

Does anyone here know something about this matter?

Kirsten

[catnapper]

Sorry, I have no idea about the malnourishment concept.

I would think they are eating it because its new and its fun. Cats are highly intelligent and are always looking out for some new type of play and new activity to keep them mentally stimluated. Often it ends up as an activity we don't appreciate (like my Harry has recently decided that shredding paper is FUN )

[catmandu]

Kirtsen
I think its more Atavism that hunger,as Cats in the wild will eat green plants quite a bit to balance thier diet.
It wont hurt the Frauliens to have a Bit of Green,although I cannot gurantee the safety of that Poor Plant.

[Craftlady]

I agree with the others it's the "new, fun" toy in the house.

[kilbarchancats]

Max in particular is too a plant-chewer. He seems to favour the spider plant which is probably out of all our house plants is the most likened to a cat toy i.e. its long with tufty bits and is quite springily-responsive to a batting cat paw.

He loves to have a good chew away at that but is not interested in any of the other plants really. AND he has daily access to the garden and the multitude of plants we have there - have never seen him show any such interest in those.

I would agree with the others that its more likely to be a playful fascination rather than any degree of malnourishment. i certainly have no concerns about his appetite, eating habits and physical condition as a result.

[emily_the_spoiled]

My guys are selective plantchewers ... they only eat plants thta have things that dangle. Needless to say my little palm tree take a beating because the leaves move when they try and chew on it. I have always figured that it was just another version of a toy...

[jackie]

Not too sure about the about the health aspect, but if you but some cat grass for them to munch on, maybe it will deter them from eating the house plants.

I bought a little package of cat grass from the supermarket, added water, then about a week later tonnes of grass sprouted.

[Beauty17]

Our cat Tzigane waited until the cat grass had run its course and was sitting in a clump, dried and brown, and then she would carry the entire clump around the house in her mouth. It was very funny to see. She would carry it a bit, put it down, carry it a bit more, and so forth.

[Kirsten]

So you all think it's the fun factor that makes them do that?

Well, could be! This was earlier today, and they definitely look like they have fun:





Kirsten

[Laura's Babies]

Just look at it!! It reeks of fun and it is to inviting for a cat to refuse!

[prechrswife]

Saphirah is a plant chewer, too. She'll even go after artificial ones on occasion. We try not to keep live plants in the house for that reason. (Well, that and the fact that I'm very bad with plants.)

[Kirsten]

It reeks of fun and it is to inviting for a cat to refuse!

Hmmm, I wonder if it's still fun for Luna to throw up green leaves all the time now!

Kirsten