Catit Senses Grass Planter

I used to just plant cat grass in a little pot and leave it out for the cats to munch. They would pull blades out though, getting the soil everywhere. I thought this would help with that. It doesn’t.The holes are large enough that they can still rip out the blades of grass, soil attached to the roots. So, no mess saving. Catit wants you to buy their expensive growing kit where the medium is perlite instead of soil. That doesn’t help with the mess. Wet perlite sticks to roots too. The difference is the perlite that’s now on the floor probably isn’t as safe for the cat to eat.Also, you are supposed to leave the green lid off for the first few days after planting the seeds, then put it on when they start sprouting. The theory is the blades will find their way up through the holes in the green lid. Many do. A lot don’t. They wind up stuck underneath and grow sideways, where the cat can’t get it.I also thought it’d be fun because the planter ‘integrates’ with the other Catit toys. It is sized so it fits in the middle of the toy that is a little track with a ball inside. But you know what? My 10p plastic pot also fits there. Also, in hindsight, I’m not sure the positioning like that is really an added benefit. I’ve never seen my cats playing with the ball track and simultaneously eating the grass.Oh well. I use it because I have it, but I wouldn’t buy it again.

I've got this for my house cat as I've been reading that is healthy for kitty to chew grass in order to prevent hairballs. Thus I've got it and by reading the manual it has to be all put down and watered every second day. From the seeds (sold separately in this v2) I have put like 50% so I can have for some more time. These are the results:Picture 1: Day 1.Picture 2: Day 5.Picture 3: Day 6.Grass looks great, kitty can't wait to get and play with the grass. It really looks very nice and fresh. However in my experience with 50% of the seeds they didn't last more than 2 weeks which is probably normal, especially in my case as I tried to cheap out and use only half of the suggested raw material. Unfortunately spare seeds cost about 10GBP and I feel this is a bit too much, but probably there is always a way to get them from an alternative and cheaper place to keep kitty happy. Note that this new version doesn't include seeds anymore.

Unfortunately there are several complaints about this item, all of which are completely unnecessary as the customers clearly have no idea how to sprout seeds.If it rots, starts to smell, you find mould growing, or hardly anything grows it is ENTIRELY your own fault and is either down to far too much watering or burying the seeds.Simply add the vermiculite or compost, if you're doing further batches, sprinkle water on it till it starts to come out of the bottom of the container. Tamp it flat, empty the loose water out.Sprinkle a few seeds, enough to give an even covering, (don't dump a ton in there) onto the surface and gently tamp down, ensuring all the seeds contact the surface.Done. Leave to one side. It will start to sprout in 2 days or so, then put in a bright airy position, but not in direct sunlight.Ensure the growing medium does not dry out, spray with water or water from below by adding a little to the dish underneath occasionally.Easy.

This is a mixed review. Whilst I'm happy with the product overall, I am really surprised that it didn't come with instructions. I had to guess my way around it because even the website had a different set of instructions to the little pictures on the box. I'd like to know for example how can you stop the whole blade of grass coming up with the root when your cat tries to eat it? how much and how often should you water it? how long does it last and how often would I have to replant? can I replace the fake soil with real soil and would that work in such a shallow container? In the beginning I would have wanted to know how long it took to grow. No instructions make it very difficult!!

Mixed feelings re. This product. On a positive note, the grass seeds grew quickly and there was plenty of it. The cat enjoyed it, the low profile planter would be less likely to tip over, and it’s pba free. However, I was somewhat disappointed by the incorrect product description, design flaws & a lack of clear instructions. Firstly, I purchased extra seed as product description said no seed included, only to discover there was seed and vermiculite material included in the 2.0 planter box (other customers have reported otherwise though). As the grass started to look unhealthy after 2 weeks, the extra seed will at least get used. The planter did not come with written instructions, but the images on the box suggested you sprinkle seed on top of vermiculite ‘soil’, water and keep an eye out for sprouting. Seemed a little strange that you didn’t need to cover seed in any ‘soil’, and the images showed a thinner sowing of seed, so wasn’t sure if I should sow all the seeds. Checked the website which gave completely different instructions, suggesting you soak seeds overnight first then mix with the vermiculite. Still wasn’t clear if needed to use all the seed packet, but seeing as I had purchased extra seed, I used the full packet. Instructions suggested fitting the green mesh cover, designed to keep the grass in place, once the seed germinated. If you put the cover on and lock securely in place as designed however, you can’t easily remove it again to check if the soil is moist enough or to drain any excess water collecting in the collection dish underneath that might otherwise cause mouldy / stagnant conditions. If you do manage to remove the cover to check, the growing grass won’t allow you to put it back in place and it just sits awkwardly on top preventing the grass from coming through. In the end I had to leave it off. Even if you resist the urge to check if the grass is suitably watered and leave the mesh in place, it doesn’t prevent the cat pulling the whole grass blades complete with seed and some soil anyway. Finally, I found the grass went an unhealthy yellow after two weeks. Not sure if that was a watering issue (easily goes dry if you can’t check on the soil) or if it was just the lower light conditions at this time of year. I have therefore decided, reluctantly, to put it away until the spring. You could no doubt tweak for optimum growing conditions to ensure your cat has a regular supply of cat grass that also lasts longer than I have been able to achieve so far. Cat-it could certainly help on that front by improving the product design and providing clearer instructions.