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Identify seeds stuck in cats fur

HumblebeaHumblebea Posts: 38
Hello, my cat has come home covered in little green seeds. They are covered in soft spikes. Can anyone tell what they are please? 
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  • HumblebeaHumblebea Posts: 38

  • Silver surferSilver surfer Posts: 4,719
    edited June 2023
    Stunning image of the biro!





    Maybe Galium aparine...common name sticky willie/Cleavers etc.

    Seed capsules have hooks.

    https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=galium+aparine+seeds&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjo1Lnmt7n_AhWLOcAKHS9eA_kQ0pQJegQICBAB&biw=1280&bih=595&dpr=1.5
    Perthshire. SCOTLAND .
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    That’s my thought too … also known as cleavers and goose grass.  

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    I've been pulling them off my T shirt today. Definitely cleavers
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Sticky bud here and yes, our cats come home with them in their fur too and one of the dogs.  They don't stick to the Labrador for some reason.

    Just pick, comb or brush them out and bin them.  You don't want them in your compost heap as they'll spread.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • HumblebeaHumblebea Posts: 38
    Thank you! That’s really helpful. They have the same sticky feeling as cleavers so I’m guessing that’s what they are. I was worried in case they were something poisonous as my cats has been eating them when he tries to lick them off. 
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    The cat that has adopted us likes to play whack a moth when I put the moth trap out.
  • HumblebeaHumblebea Posts: 38
    We have two cats. One is a real hunter and tried, unsuccessfully, to catch a seagull this morning. The other can only catch flies so loves hunting down the big blue bottles that fly in. 
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    As an aside - I've read that the bloke who invented Velcro did so after noticing that the hooked surface on cleavers could be put to other uses.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    pansyface said:
    My cat’s favourite snack is freshly caught blue bottles. The bigger the better. They make a nice crispy crackle between the teeth.
    My dog does that too!
    She's not really interested in little flies, but if a bluebottle comes into the house all hell is let lose and it has little chance of escape.
    Once caught she rolls it around in her mouth, then spits it out and whilst it struggles to escape she bashes it with her paw until it's a gonner... dogs.... 🙄

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
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