Green Foods Barley Cat, 3 OZ

Love my Barley Cat. Makes my cat’s fur shine. They love Barley Cat powder. It is easy. Just sprinkled on their food daily.

I have used Green Foods Barley Cat Vits powder for years! Excellent price thru Amazon. Superb product because: easy to mix in with 1/2 can or more of wet food or sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon on top of dry food and my cats love it! My all white shirt hair cat has silky coat and my long haired cats coat is luxurious feeling. No digestion issues; no hair balls ( but I brush them daily anyway). Wouldn't order another brand. Quality NATURAL ingredients and in light powder form. Green Foods Barkey Cat powder in any size stays fresh and takes only 1/4 teaspoon daily.

I got this for our senior cat. She is diabetic and was showing symptoms that accompany aging. She eats dry food only.I have to say that the results were pleasing indeed. Over a span of weeks of giving this to her she has gone from a slow moving (probably arthritic) cat to more like when she was in her prime. Her coat is better in quality and her energy levels and alertness are definitely better. She used to walk around and display shivers along her back. I was told this is sometimes a display of pain in the back area. Those are pretty rare now.In order to get her to accept this into her diet I place a small amount of dry food in the bottom of a bowl with a smooth surface. Not piled up but spread out. Then I mist it with some water from a small spray bottle. When I sprinkle the barley greens on it adheres to the food. At first she turned her nose up at it but soon gave in when she got hungry enough. I mix this small amount of "coated" food in with a greater amount of the plain dry food.I am not saying this is a cure all or anything and most likely your experience will differ from mine. I also have tried a product from Pennsylvania that is purely only ground organic barley greens. I would give the name but I believe that is against the rules here. If not just comment and I will post it. I personally used this other product with good, similar results for myself.

Cats like to eat grass. If my cat has been kept in for several days, then one of the first things he’ll do when let out again is to munch some fresh grass. Even wild cats get their greens and the reasons appear to be twofold: fiber and nutrition. The grass fiber can stimulate vomiting and may help the cat regurgitate hairballs or any indigestible items it might have swallowed. Barley Cat is made from barley juice, so it’s not going to promote vomiting as whole grass would. This is probably a good thing since you don’t want your cat vomiting every time you feed it, but it means that you should also provide some fresh grass for your cat if he or she lives mostly indoors.On the nutritional side, Green Foods makes the most popular barley grass supplement for humans (Green Magma). Barley Cat is made from the same basic ingredient (also grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers), which is then supplemented with some nutrients for felines, such as taurine. Although it doesn’t contain the insoluble fiber mentioned above, it does contain some soluble fiber (beta-glucans) that can help to promote growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut. Other benefits include calcium, vitamin C, amino acids, carotenoids, and trace minerals. My cat is FIV positive and I believe Barley Cat has helped him maintain good health over the last 11 years. He’s also a fussy eater and has no objection to it. Overall, I think Barley Cat is a supplement (/garnish) that’s worth trying, especially for cats with health issues such as FIV, and it’s the only pet supplement I buy regularly. I sprinkle a very light layer on each plate of food (less than ¼ teaspoon), so each container lasts around a month.From a sustainability point of view, the best alternative to buying this product is probably to sprout your own barley grass. But I’ve bought some organic kitty grass before and Baggins (my cat, not the hobbit) wasn’t that interested in it — perhaps he would have been if he didn’t have access to regular grass outdoors. The company (Green Foods) and founder (Dr. Hagiwara) seem to be a generally positive force – especially when it comes to promoting or sponsoring research in nutrition and cancer. They don’t say a whole lot about sustainability of their facilities, so it would be nice to know a little more about that. The container is recyclable (#2 plastic) at least and the label states that the barley grass is grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Another perspective is that maintaining your cat’s health is more sustainable than a nutritionally poor diet that results in illness, trips to the vet, and medication.So, overall I’ll give the Barley Cat 5/5 gold stars for quality of the product and 4/5 “green” stars based on the social-ethical-environmental aspects of producing it. They lose one green star because they don’t provide much information on sustainability of their facilities and process (besides not using pesticides or chemical fertilizers).

Why does it contain garlic? Garlic is highly toxic to cats. My understanding is, garlic affects their blood making them anemic. I decided not to use it.

Ivy, my cat is 8 years old and rarely has a stomach issue. A couple of weeks ago she had blood in her stool and wasn't eating with her usual gusto. I assumed she had a hairball working. I hesitated to buy the Barley Cat because I figured that she is so finicky that she wouldn't eat if I put it on her food. Well I was shocked when she gobbled her food down. Yesterday AM was the first time I used the Barley Cat. It says to use a teaspoon. Overkill. I put an 1/8 of a teaspoon on her 1/8 cup of food. I did this is the AM and PM. This AM I awoke to a beautiful hairball right in the middle of the tile. It wasn't even on the rug :-) I can tell that she is feeling better. Will keep using the Barley Cat to keep the hairballs at bay. Holly B.

I recently learned about maltodextrin, a substance allowed to be classified as a carb. instead as a sweetener, so they can say no sugar added. But it has a higher glycemic index than sugar. It’s no wonder that the furry ones like it, but is it truly good for them I now don’t think so. I’m using only sparingly, i.e. if one will not eat, and they need to, opting for the 109% wheat grass sold for people instead.

My cat loved the taste. One of the fillers is Garlic and garlic is very toxic for cats so I have discontinued using it.