Scratching/digging around food bowl

Our Maine Coon Beacan, has a really strange habit that he's had since he was a kitten but seems to be getting worse as he gets older (and larger!) I wonder if anyone here can explain his strange behaviour or at least shed some light on the situation?

When he goes to eat or drink from the food bowls, he often will stand in front of them and dig at the floor. Sometimes he's so preoccupied with trying to dig that he knocks the bowls all over the place! If he's in the kitchen where it is a tiled floor, he looks like he is running on the spot (with just his front legs). It almost looks like he's digging in the litter. It's so odd because as far as I know, cats don't bury their food, so it's not like it's a natural instinct.

Anybody else's cat do this? It's so peculiar!

in the wild cats will try and cover there food to stop the smell attracting other animals , some of my cats do this , and so do many others , it is just a natural instint

Ah really? He's the first cat we've ever seen that's done this, I had no idea that it wasn't completely out of the ordinary! Thanks for the info.

Your very welcome .

yes, cats do bury their food. thats all your cat is trying to do, mine does that too. )

is your cat feral? it occurs moreso, i find, in feral cats or cats from a feral background.

cats also do it to "preserve". like, an incoming kitty might make your main coon feel threatened so he tries to "bury" the food to preserve it for later, or a late night snack.

completely normal.

Mine does it too. Try getting a hopper style container for dry food. He is less likely to make a huge mess as he can't knock it over or push it too far. Mine's been known to mave his bolw to the other side of the kitchen. My cat does it with the water bowl too, so I leave it in the bathroom now so when he tips it, it doesn't mix with any food and make a goopy mess.

My male cat, Jake, does this. And he is a pure bred Persian (not feral or stray or any possiblity of such). I've been told that it is nothing to worry about and it's just a way of marking or leaving their scent behind to claim something as their own. For Jake, I have a large stainless steel bowl (dog size) that is big around but shallow and it has rubber on the bottom to keep it from moving. It works for him.

Thank you all for your responses! Beacan does in fact scratch around the water bowl too, in fact he is more prolific with this than he is around the food bowls. A rubber based dog bowl sounds like a very good idea. I was beginning to wonder if it was some kind of strange characteristic of the Maine Coon breed that I had never heard about, but now thanks to you guys I have been enlightened

My cats do that when they don't like their food.