You guys are so wonderful and helpful, please don't be mad at me! I'm really not trying to find a solution to keep her away from the grass. Mazy's biggest pleasure outside is to interact with me and the other cats in the yard. I can't take that away from her by isolating her upstairs on the porch (even if I could make it secure, more on this later) or tethering her in the yard (more on this also). She wanders around checking on each of us periodically, drags her string behind her to entice Queen Eva to chase it, and also usually finds a way to work it so all three strings are intertwined at some point during the outing.
What I am looking for is a way to help her pass the grass through so it doesn't set up camp at her stomach to intestine opening (the same way the fur does)
Last summer I was using the Slippery Elm Bark, but it didn't seem to be helping much. This year ...I'm thinking of trying the Vets-Best. Yes, the psyllium (main ingredient) creates bulk, but..perhaps, along with the mucilage effect of the slippery elm and the digestive benefits of the marshmallow....
I've already started her on it, and it does seem to be helping with the copious hair ball trouble she has been having the past few weeks.
I know someone who swears by aloe and SEB as a syrup, but I just am not comfortable using aloe.
As for my porch, I like to sit out there and read on summer evenings, and for years I've been fantasizing about a way to make it cat proof so the cats could come out with me. I don't think my landlord would mind if I built some kind of chicken wire panels, esp if they are removable, but...I don't have the energy and skills for that kind of handy work I used to have. Maybe this year....
As for tethering on tiles, I am absolutely adamantly against tethering cats at any time. If something frightens Mazy, she runs straight to the door. Imagine how awful it would be for her to be frightened and to run and not be able to get there. No, I can't tether.
I'm sorry to be so...rejectful.