Five Reasons Why Pets Eat Grass

It’s a question pet parents routinely ponder. While there are competing theories regarding why dogs and cats consume grass, a conclusive answer has yet to be supported by scientific study. Here’s a brief overview of the current speculation behind your companion animal’s impulse to graze . . . 

1. It’s an ancestral thing. The prey of wild dogs and cats frequently have grasses in their intestinal system, so domesticated dogs and cats still retain a yearning for a spot of grass in their diet.

2. Our companion animals know of some nutritional value in grasses that we have yet to uncover (such as antioxidants).

3. They do it to provoke vomiting if they’ve eaten something that has upset their stomachs.

4. They are augmenting their keen sense of smell with taste to discover more about their environment.

5. They simply like the taste and texture of grass, so it’s just for the sake of satisfaction!

Although we may never know the exact reason why ~ we do know that this is one of the most commonly asked questions that veterinarians hear from their clients. If you notice excessive grass-eating with either your dog or cat, please consult your vet.

This is also a good time to remind pet parents that treating your lawn with toxic chemicals can harm your pets and your family. Please choose green, non-toxic alternatives or allow your lawn to grow as nature intended!

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Raven is an engaging entrepreneur who encourages others to celebrate pets (and ALL animals) as part of the family, as well as keep them happy, healthy, and spoiled with her Holistic Healing, Animal Intuition, Aromatherapy, Animal Reiki (www.HolisticPetsAndPeeps.com & www.HealingOilsForAnimals.com), as well as her premium pet food business (http://www.PremiumPetFoodStore.com)

For more information, please visit her Facebook page to PM her (https://www.facebook.com/HolisticPetsNPeeps), or email her at HolisticPetsAndPeeps@gmail.com.

Cat Vocalizations ~ Meow More Than Ever!

Purrs, chirps, hisses, and snarls . . . what exactly is your cat trying to tell you?

A stray tabby gives birth to a litter of three kittens under the lilac bush in a backyard. As she nurses them, she purrs; as they suckle, the kittens purr, too. When the queen shifts her weight to try to find a more comfortable nursing position, one of the kittens lets out a distress call, indicating he's trapped under his mother's weight. She readjusts herself, and the purring party continues.  

One morning, the mother cat decides to move her litter to a safer spot. She deposits the first one inside the garden shed, and goes to retrieve the next one. Detecting the absence of his mother via his sense of smell, the kitten in the shed lets out a loud distress call, distinctly meant to reunite mothers and wayward kittens. 

Mother Cat & Kittens

As the kittens mature, the queen spends more time away from the nest, hunting for prey to ensure enough milk for her growing crew. Each time she returns, she gives out a "brrrrp" to her kittens. 

When the kittens enter the weaning stage, the queen brings prey home to them, calling them over to it with a chirp. The kittens also begin to make chirping noises in anticipation for what they are about to receive. However, one night's dinner is interrupted when Mom lets out a long, low-pitched growl. The kittens scatter and retreat to safety inside the shed before the owl overhead can snatch one for his own evening meal.

As independent hunters, cats have limited need for an extensive vocal repertory. Cat-to-cat vocalizations are generally limited to communicating with one's kittens, one's sexual partners and one's potential enemies. There is also an array of vocalizations used by our furry friends when they attempt to communicate with us.  By changing volume, intensity and number of repetitions of the vocalizations and backing them up with expressive body language and olfactory signaling, cats ensure their messages are received and that their needs are met.

Purring 101

The purr is the most common sound issued by cats ~ and yet one of the least understood. Kittens just a few hours old begin purring as they knead their mother’s chest and nurse. The purr sound is made both on the inhale and the exhale, with an instantaneous break between breaths. Built-up pressure created by the opening and closing of the glottis results in a sudden separation of the vocal folds, creating the purr. While purring is often heard when the cat seems content, those familiar with handling cats in pain or near death know that they also purr when under duress, the reason for which is yet unknown.

The Meaning of Meow

The second most common vocalization is the meow. Rarely heard between cats, this vocalization seems tailor-made for communication between cats and humans. Early on, cats notice that meowing brings attention, contact, food and play from their human companions. Some behaviorists suggest that certain cats seem to alter their meows to suit different purposes and that some guardians can differentiate between, say, the “I’m Hungry!” meow” from the "Let Me Out!" meow.

Cat Meowing

The meow is the most often used of the vowel patterns ~ vocalizations produced with the mouth first open and then gradually closing. 

 ~ The sound cats make when highly aroused by the sight of prey is called chirping. 

 ~ When a cat is frustrated (such as when an indoor cat finds he is unable to get to the birds at the feeder), you may hear him chatter.

 ~ When a neonate kitten is cold, isolated from his mother or trapped, he issues a distress call ~ also sometimes called an anger wail. As the kitten matures, the distress call is used when play is too rough or the cat finds something else to protest.

A Hiss Is Just a Hiss?

All threat vocalizations are produced with the mouth held open. These sounds mirror the cat's intense emotional state. A hiss is uttered when a cat is surprised by an enemy. A high-pitched shriek or scream is expressed when the cat is in pain or fearful and aggressive. Snarling is often heard when two toms are in the midst of a fight over territory or female attention. And a long, low-pitched growl warns of danger.

And, there you have it . . . . you are up-to-date on cat vocalizations and their meanings!

Cat Hissing

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Raven is an engaging entrepreneur who encourages others to celebrate pets (and ALL animals) as part of the family, as well as keep them happy, healthy, and spoiled with her Holistic Healing, Animal Intuition, Aromatherapy, Animal Reiki (www.HolisticPetsAndPeeps.com), as well as her premium pet food business (www.PremiumPetFoodStore.com)

For more information, please visit her Facebook page to PM her @ www.facebook.com/HolisticPetsNPeeps, or email her at HolisticPetsAndPeeps@gmail.com.

Do Pets Have Psychic Abilities?

Have you ever wondered whether or not your companion animal has psychic abilities? While some might scoff at the idea, many are convinced that this is certainly the case.  

Over the years, I’ve heard many stories of animals exhibiting behaviors that seem as though they might fall within this realm of experience. For example, did you know that during the massive tsunami in December of 2004, scores of elephants in Sri Lanka, Sumatra and Thailand moved to higher ground before the destructive waves struck land? There were even reports of buffalo grazing by the beach in Thailand who lifted their heads in unison, stared out to sea and then stampeded up into the hills. Most, if not all of the villagers who followed the lead of these animals were saved. How did these elephants and buffalos know what was coming? Did they pick up on slight tremors that seismologists themselves were not able to detect? If so, why was it only the animals in low-lying coastal areas who exhibited strange behavior and not the rest of the animals in Southeast Asia?

As a lifelong Empath, Intuitive, Clairsentient, and Claircognizant, I am acutely aware that animals do indeed have a "sixth sense", if you will, not to mention that animals lack ego, which usually serves to keep humans stuck in unbelief of such things.  I have witnessed many examples for myself during natural disasters, cases of lost pets, living with my own pets, as well as through my Animal Reiki practice.

There are many other documented incidences of animals sensing earthquakes all over the world. No one really knows how they sense an earthquake, although theories abound, from sensing vibrations, noticing changes in the Earth’s electromagnetic field or smelling released subterranean gasses. Some of these theories could also explain why dogs ‘freak out’ before avalanches, but what about human-made catastrophes? During World War II, families in Britain and Germany relied on their pets’ behavior to warn them of impending air raids while the enemy planes were still hundreds of miles away! Just how did these pets know what was looming in their immediate futures?

We’ve all heard stories of lost dogs and cats who’ve traveled hundreds of miles to return home. Even more common are accounts of pets who seem to know when their people are coming home. Pet parents have told me that they just have to ‘think’ about their sleeping dog or cat and their companion animal will immediately awake and stare as if to ask, “Did you want something?” What can possibly explain such occurrences? Do our pets and other animals have abilities that allow them to tune into our own brainwaves or even see into the future; i.e., are they‘psychic’? Or, are they just more sensitive than humans to factors and changes (visual, magnetic, aural, etc.) too subtle for humans to detect?

The fact is, there’s no clear answer … it’s definitely an ongoing debate, usually with devoted pet parents and ‘psychically gifted’ on one side, and skeptics and most scientists on the other. In the past, scientists have not provided satisfactory answers about what non-human animals know, much less how they manage ‘miraculous’ behaviors (e.g., how every bird in a flock is able to turn on a dime simultaneously and change course in unison). With actions so incredible they are impossible (and unproductive) to ignore, even by-the-book scientists have begun to examine new perspectives in animal kingdom consciousness.

Veterinarian Allan Schoen, DVM, wrote in Kindred Spirits that humans and other animals share an intimate connection. Schoen thinks that pets can read our moods, understand our needs, and can even communicate with us on a level that transcends body language. ESP researcher Dr. J.B. Rhine thoroughly documented the travels of a cat named Sugar, who was left behind in California when his family moved away to Oklahoma. Fourteen months later, Sugar showed up at his family’s home in Oklahoma, having undertaken an extraordinary 1,500 mile trip to a place he had never been before. And biologist Rupert Sheldrake, author of Dogs That Know When Their Owner is Coming Home, has published many papers concerning the perceptive abilities of telepathy and premonition in non-human animals.

In fact, several researchers believe there is a conscious connection between humans and their companion animals, referred to as ‘non-local mind’, which is not limited by locality, making it possible for humans and animals to affect each other even when miles apart. This is certainly true about the emotional bond between ourselves and our four-footers, so perhaps it is not so ‘far out’ to think they enjoy a mental connection that seems to defy explanation. Personally, I think it is possible that we’ve only begun to scratch the surface of the incredible conscious abilities of animals.

I certainly believe!  What about you? Where do you fall in this debate? Have you ever experienced a psychic connection with your companion animal?



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Raven is an engaging entrepreneur who encourages others to celebrate pets as part of the family, as well as keep them happy, healthy, and spoiled with her online specialty pet boutique (http://www.TheGiftedPet.com), and premium pet food business (http://www.PremiumPetFoodStore.com)

For more information, please visit her Facebook page to PM her (https://www.facebook.com/TheGiftedPet), or email her at Raven@TheGiftedPet.com