Why does my cat scratch the floor around his food bowl like he's using the litter box?
by 
katydid15
ANSWERS: 19
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My cat does this too. I think they think they're burying the food for later, although I rather hope that they're not this stupid because our kitchen floor is tiled.
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cats have scent markers in the pads of their feet....what your cat is doing is probably marking that area as his territory by "scenting" it with his feet
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exactly. My cat does that too. They probably want to hide the food for later cause I saw my cat hide food in the tshirt that was lyin on the floor, and was searching in it after some days :D
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Sometimes after eating, or simply when you put down a bowl of wet food, your cat may try to let you know that the food is not to his liking by trying to "bury" the entire bowl! This behavior can also occur when the cat is displeased with the location of his food bowl, the food itself, or possibly when he is not very hungry, and is trying to "bury" his food (which he is then thinking of as "prey") for him to have later on, when he is perhaps more ready to eat. My cat was doing this too and I found this site very helpful. http://www.hdw-inc.com/behaviorswhy.htm
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he's trying to hide his food for later. do you have other cats? he doesn't want the other cats finding the food.
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He doesnt care for the food your feeding him so hes saying "foo" and trying to bury the smell.
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if there is some food around the bowl he might be trying to put it back or he could be trying to cover his food so no one will take it
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i have two cats and one (david) does it and the other (keith) doesn't seem to care. I think David is the Alpha male and just wants to bury it from Keith. I just went looking for answers and I think it's just an instinct.
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They do this to try and hide their food so they can come back to it later.
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My cats do this. I thought it was because they were getting full and needed the loo. I found that when they started scratching, if I placed them in the litterbox, they would use it and then come out and finish up what was left. Maybe they are burying their food, maybe they just need to go to the loo to make room for it.
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Your cat is cleaning. My female cat does this lots of places. She does it at her food bowl with any and all crumbs, if we feed her a treat, she "cleans up" after she eats. When our other cat spits up, the "clean" cat will actually drag something, paper towel, a peice of paper, whatever, over and cover the vomit. Sometimes she gets obessesive cleaning, so we "help" her by sweeping the area with our hands to show her it is clean and then she stops. Cats are extremely fastidious. Just as they cover their mess in the litter box, they will also cover other "messes".
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Just admit it. No one really knows.. LOL! I've asked a couple of vets about this as well as the 'pawing the floor next to a water dish before drinking' habit. The closest I got to an honest answer was a raised eyebrow an a partial shrug.
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Not sure.I read the other posts about burying their food for later and it makes sense, except my cats do that to their water too.
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How do i know... - i think your asking the wrong person... Try talking to the cat :P lol
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Here's a different question - my apologies. My male cat (3years)has had a 6month old kitten with him that he plays with alot. Recently we got a 6 week old kitten the older cat has just started getting used to and they are playing some. The older cat also has started EATING his straw scratching post - ripping it off and swallowing it. Is this some kind of insecurity that causes this. WE pay a lot of attention to him so it shouldn't be that. John Hansen majorhart@sbcglobal.net
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Here's a different question - my apologies. My male cat (3years)has had a 6month old kitten with him that he plays with alot. Recently we got a 6 week old kitten the older cat has just started getting used to and they are playing some. The older cat also has started EATING his straw scratching post - ripping it off and swallowing it. Is this some kind of insecurity that causes this. WE pay a lot of attention to him so it shouldn't be that. John Hansen majorhart@sbcglobal.net
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I always thought its because they are trying to cover the smell like wet cat food is so stinky
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My cat oes this too. One time I found a plastic bag covering his food dish so I lifted it and under that was a sock and under that was a toy!
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I read somewhere that a cat does that as an instinctive behaviour. They pummel their mothers breast to stimulate milk production as kittens. My cat always does it after eating, so I always have interpreted it as "I want more".
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