Cat

Seed Packet (I love the art work)

We’re growing cat grass in our kitchen window for my sister’s kitty, King Tut (K.T.). My sister started foster sitting cats, but fell in love with K.T. and couldn’t let him go. He’s an older cat, with a beautiful white coat and cute little ears. Sadly, he was de-clawed by a prior owner and he suffers from a thyroid condition so he has good days and bad days. For a period of time last year, pre-grown cat grass was hard to come by. This gave us the idea to grow some at home. It’s also a bargain: $6.29 for a huge packet of seeds, vs. $4.00 for one ready-to-go tray.

Our current mix of “Gourmet Greens for Cats” includes organically grown rye, oats, barley and wheat, produced by Renee’s Garden in nearby Felton, California. I learned the hard way that you have to keep the grass covered till it establishes roots (about 14 days), or the cats will jump up on the counter and help themselves, scattering cracked seed and soil everywhere.

Kitty Salad, Hold the Dressing

Plant seeds indoors year round in sun or part shade. They germinate in 3 – 7 days and are ready to eat in 10 – 14 days.

Renee’s Garden Bonus Pack Cat Treats, Gourmet Mixed Greens (rye, oats, barley, wheat)
Botanical Interests® Cat Grass (oats)

K.T.

Over the years we’ve lost a number of cats to moving cars, Feline AIDS and wanderlust. Others have endured abscesses from fights and other assorted injuries. My cat Grant set the record for cats trapped in inappropriate places such as neighboring garages, attics and vacated townhouses. I bailed him out of the Humane Society three times. When we tried to convert him to an indoor kitty, he started (and continued) to spray the indoor perimeter of the house. My husband constructed an outdoor cat run with a cat flap allowing him to come and go through a window, but he remained restless and bored.

One-eyed Estare

Then we discovered The Cat Fence-in System, developed by a company in Las Vegas. I spent a weekend pruning vines and shrubs away from the fence line while my husband traveled out of country. When he returned we added lattice to the fence to make it taller and installed the system. Sunday night we let the cats explore the yard so we could test for any flaws. They tried climbing the fence a few times but were thwarted by the netting. They quickly settled into a happier life as indoor/outdoor cats.

The system has been in place for nearly 15 years now, without a single escape. The peace of mind has been such a gift: No fights, no accidents, no communicable diseases. It’s also a good-neighbor system: if someone’s cat is digging up a flower bed or fighting at 2:00 am, I can rest assured it isn’t one of mine.

If you can keep your kitty happy indoors, go for it. But if you love a rabble-rouser like Grant or a roamer like Estare, this CatFence-in System may by the perfect compromise.

Cat’s in the Garden