Cat Talk and Body Language Tutorial
for Better Animal Communication

Cats enjoy and can benefit greatly from having a constant supply of fresh growing wheatgrass. You can also grow barley grass seeds, rye grass seeds and oat grass seeds, usually sold at your health food stores. A side benefit for you is that this may prevent your kitty from eating your house plants. Many are toxic to cats.

You can easily grow your own wheatgrass for pennies. Shown at the right is what you need:

1. 1 pint glass, wide-mouth canning jar.
2. Plastic lid with holes. (Cheese cloth and rubber band is OK)
3. Garden potting soil. (A quart will last a couple months.)
4. Wheat (Hard red winter variety. I get it at a health food store for less than $1 a pound - which lasts about a year. Store it in a cool dry place.)
5. Spray bottle.
6. Growing container. (Margarine plastic container works well.)
7. Mature wheatgrass shown near end of usefulness. (This is too long for cats to eat as they can't completely swallow it and will usually cough and throw-up. See more on this problem at end.)

Here are the procedures for growing delicious fresh wheatgrass for your kitty.

1. Place 1 tablespoon winter red wheat and one-half pint of water in the glass jar with plastic lid. Rinse a couple times then let soak overnight covered with fresh water.

2. After approximately 8 hours pour out the water and refill the jar. Repeat filling and emptying several times to rinse the wheat.
   

3. Drain all the water out and rotate the jar to distribute the wheat along the jar side.
   

4. Turn the jar upside down and allow excess water to drain. Set the jar aside somewhere at room temperature and let stand for approximately 8 hours. Rinse once or twice during the 8 hours, as in step 2, to keep the wheat moist.
   

5. The wheat will grow tiny sprouts in a day or so. This indicates it is ready for planting and growing in the soil container.
   

6. First punch some holes in the growing container plastic bottom to drain excess water. Place approximately 1/2 inch soil in the container and wet it.
   

7. Place all the sprouted wheat berries on top of the wet soil layer in the growing container.
   

8. Place a layer of soil approximatly 1/4 inch thick on top of the sprouted wheat berries in the growing container.
   

9. Gently spray water on the top soil layer in the growing container until saturated.
   

10. Place the growing container in a bright window and let it grow naturally. Spray when needed to keep soil moist but not saturated. In a couple of days the sprouts should be well on the way to becoming a tasty snack for your cat. In about 3 days, depending on light and temperature, the grass should be ready for kitty.
    

"I really enjoy a fresh salad after my dry and crunchy cat food."

HINTS: In about 4 days the grass gets dry and bitter tasting, so here is how I time this operation: I start seed soaking the day I put the new grass down for Flash. By the time the present batch is getting old, the new batch is about ready to eat. This means you have a new activity in your life - constant wheatgrass growing! Since your kitty will be healthier and happier, it is time well spent. Do it with love and care and it won't seem like work.

If your cat sometimes coughs-up the grass shortly after eating it, the grass is probably too long; like in the photo above of Flash eating the long grass. Use scissors to trim the long grass blades down to about 1.5 inches (38 mm) so kitty can swallow it all the way.

Notice how I have a rubber band and ceramic brown dish under the plastic container. Flash likes to pull out the grass and this added weigh holds things steady. The plastic container has holes for water drainage, and the dish catches the water.

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"A cat's eyes are windows enabling us to see into another world."
-- Irish Legend