anomalocaris
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Grass seeds & mold

Hi! So I bought a little box of mixed grass seeds at the pet store. The instructions said to water them every other day for a week or so, and then let my cat nibble on them to promote good digestion. But the growing medium, sawdust, is going moldy and looks kind of gross. So, two questions: is the grass still safe for my cat? And if I put the seeds in a pot with some proper soil, will that help get rid of the mold? I was thinking of planting it anyway, so that it lasts longer. Anyway, please take a look at the pictures and lmk what you think!
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Last edited by anomalocaris on Fri Nov 16, 2018 11:03 am, edited 1 time in total.

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applestar
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Wow This is first time I’ve seen a kit like this. Interesting (to me) the methods people think of.

If the growing medium is sawdust/wood shavings, and the seeds look like they include high protein varieties like millet, the combo would be susceptible to mold if overwatered. It’s probably non-viable seeds that didn’t germinate that are causing spoilage.

I would probably scoop out the portions with black mold using plastic fork.

Water should not be pooling in the container. Does the container have drainage holes? (That would help control the overwatering/moisture levels — even making slits with box cutter knife would work ... I would put it on something like scrap wood or stacked cardboard and push the knife through from the top to pierce the bottom — you can use kitchen or steak knife if you don’t mind using eating utencils)

I think the rest of it’s still salvageable for your kitty’s use if you back off on watering and water with baking soda water — I think the usual recipe for fungicide would not harm the grass: ratio is 1 tsp to 1 quart of water — use this every other watering until the mold disappears. But if the grass reacts like it’s weakened, dilute it with a little more water, OK?

Let the medium dry a little and don’t water next until it feels only barely damp when you press your finger in it. Like laundry that didn’t quite dry in the dryer, or tightly squeezed out sponge.

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applestar
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Oh! I don’t know if you intended to let you cat pull/bite off the grass on their own, but until the mold is eradicated, it’s probably best to trim the grass with scissors, rinse, then give to your cat. If you let the cats do the grass eating on their own, they pull some of the grass up by the roots.

...also, I let our indoor kitties out on supervised garden adventures... when they always eat grass. They always throw up the grass. If I don’t make sure they throw up before letting them in, they throw up after they come back inside. Just saying.

Our kitties preferentially eat (and do not throw up) raw cucumbers, green beans, and lettuce. Oh, and carrot peelings, white part of watermelon, and they nibble/pull off kernels from cooked ears of corn and like steamed broccoli. We have 2 cats, and although they both like the listed vegs, one especially likes lettuce and green beans, the other one begs for cucumber. They fight over the steamed broccoli.

anomalocaris
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The instructions said to poke 4 holes in the bottom and then place it on top of the lid, but yeah, that's probably not enough drainage. I'll poke some more holes and see how it does. And maybe I'll try giving my cat some corn, too! She's a rescue, and actually when I first saw her she was sniffing a corn cob that someone had thrown on the ground in the park. <3 Thanks for the advice!

imafan26
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You need to empty the saucer or take the plant out of the saucer to water it.



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