# Is alfalfa harmful to cats?



## melysion (Mar 12, 2007)

I've been reading up on home prepared raw cat food and I've come across one resource that tells me I ought to include alfalfa (the herb i think - in dried form preferably powder) and another resource that tells me that its toxic to cats.

Does anyone have any thoughts on which one is correct? 

While on the subject- some of these diets are a bit strange aren't they.? One suggests a 'fasting' day once a week to 'detox'. :lol:. Yeah right. If I didn't feed Toby for the day I'd be waking up in the middle of the night to find this ....


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Isn't alfalfa one of the varieties of grasses included in cat grass?

Actually, I bought some alfalfa powder to mix in my recipes on the recommendation of one of those web sites -- maybe the same one you saw -- and I only tried it once because I had to throw out the batch. Nobody would eat it with that green stuff in there. :lol:


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

Yea, I'm confused about this too.
I used to chop up a little alfalfa sprouts for my cats. They loved it. But then I read it was bad so I stopped. It never seemed to hurt them and some books I read recommended it so, I don't know!


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## drjean (Jan 6, 2004)

Alfalfa is a legume, not a grass. It *is* a bit of a diuretic, but it is a good source of a wide variety of vitamins and minerals. I often add a bit of alfalfa (dried and powdered) to my homemade cat food (probably not more than 1/2 teaspoon to a few pounds of meat). Never noticed any problems from it.

Just for fun I looked it up on Google; the main site attacking alfalfa is, unfortunately, Feline Future. The article is so full of distortions and unfounded claims, it is really disturbing--since I have always considered them a good resource. Note that they were adding a full teaspoon of alfalfa powder per kg, which is a LOT. 

Anyway, a very little bit is fine, but it is easy to overdo.


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## melysion (Mar 12, 2007)

thanks for the input everyone, its appreciated.

Phew. theres so much info out there ...

I like the Future Feline site though - anyone tried their formula?


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