Aug 11, 2019 07:04 PM
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/08/...-eat-grass
EXCERPT: . . . Instead, the vomiting is merely an occasional byproduct of eating grass—not the objective—the researchers say. Eating plants is instinctual and comes with an evolutionary benefit to felines—or at least it used to, they report this week at the annual convention of the International Society for Applied Ethology in Bergen, Norway. Their theory—based on research in chimps and other wild animals—is that grass munching helps animals expel intestinal parasites (p. 106) by increasing muscle activity in the digestive tract. Except, today’s cats likely don’t have these parasites anymore. The authors argue that the strategy probably first evolved in a distant ancestor. (The scientists did not test another common assumption: that eating grass helps cats throw up hairballs.) The team’s advice to cat owners: Buy or cultivate some indoor grass for your pets to chew on. (MORE - details)
EXCERPT: . . . Instead, the vomiting is merely an occasional byproduct of eating grass—not the objective—the researchers say. Eating plants is instinctual and comes with an evolutionary benefit to felines—or at least it used to, they report this week at the annual convention of the International Society for Applied Ethology in Bergen, Norway. Their theory—based on research in chimps and other wild animals—is that grass munching helps animals expel intestinal parasites (p. 106) by increasing muscle activity in the digestive tract. Except, today’s cats likely don’t have these parasites anymore. The authors argue that the strategy probably first evolved in a distant ancestor. (The scientists did not test another common assumption: that eating grass helps cats throw up hairballs.) The team’s advice to cat owners: Buy or cultivate some indoor grass for your pets to chew on. (MORE - details)
