plants that are good for pets to eat.

[mopinko]

my dogs love to eat the leaves off the hop vine in my back yard. all of them. they have decimated it in some years.
just watched the pup take a nip at an aloe vera.
my budgies love the kitty grass that they sell, or anything that i sprout for them.

got my to thinking about whether i should include something in my garden plan for my pets.
thoughts?

[Curmudgeoness]

1. If you have cats, you can't forget catnip.

I always plant lots of catnip, and still have one bedraggled plant in a container in the house. I trying cat mint, which is different than catnip, but the cats would have no part of it.

I only have experience with cats, but my cats have never been interested in the soft cat grasses sold in pet stores. They always go looking for the coarser weed grasses (lucky me, I don't have a very well-maintained lawn).

[Merlot]

2. I had catnip in a pot on the back stairs and it was a magnet for strays!

Have tried to grow it indoors but it never takes off. Also tried catnip and cats were not impressed.

The one thing I've had good luck growing was oat grass. It grows really quick in a small container and the cats love it.

[mopinko]

3. that might be good.

i would kinda like a 'barn cat' for my microfarm.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/118252

there are plenty of ferrels around here. i was wondering how to attract them without it becoming a nuisance. a patch of catnip would be just about right, i think.

[Curmudgeoness]

4. My neighborhood is a magnet for strays anyways

possibly because my neighbor is the cat lady, so I don't worry that I have attracted them here. But I do have one hanging pot that I use for my personal cat's use. It is out of the reach of the strays who are always around, and that is the one in the house. But you are right, it is not happy indoors----it just would have been less happy outside. I hope to keep it alive till spring.

I have had cats that loved it and cats that were not interested, but I find that if I pinch off the leaves and break them open, most of my cats are excited about it.

[RavensChick]

7. Sounds interesting.

Know where I can find it online or in a pet shop? My cat needs grass but it's too cold outside right now for him to eat the grass in front of my patio. Please post. Thanks!

[badgerpup]

5. Oat grass...

...which is oats.

I get my 'seeds' at the heathfood store...oat berries, they're called and are less than $1 a pound (they run ~$3 for less than 20 if you buy 'oat grass seed').

Soak them for about a day, then cover to about 1/2 inch with damp earth. Give it about 3 weeks and you'll have a forest of tender green shoots...the cats LOVE it!
They'll mow it down like hungry goats....or maybe choose 'one' blade and chew up and down on that.

Wheat berries work well too...
I've given pots of this grass to friends owned by indoor kitties as Christmas gifts and they're always very welcome (by the cats!).

[Magleetis]

6. I have a plant of Lemon Balm

in my backyard that my dogs chew on when they have an upset stomach.