my kitten does the weirdest thing...

saya

TCS Member
Thread starter
Super Cat
Joined
Sep 27, 2007
Messages
817
Purraise
2
Location
Napa, CA
Berach, my 12 week old kitten does the strangest thing after he eats.
Immediately afterwards he will start pawing at the floor, like he's in the litter box, like he's digging or something. He doesn't use his claws, and he doesn't go potty, he just behaves as if he's going to.

The first time I saw him do it I thought "uh oh, I better take him to the catbox", but I decided to watch him first because he's never gone anywhere BUT the box.

It's so strange, he only does it immediately after eating and never any other time unless he's in the box, anyone ever see this behavior before? what do you think?
 

strange_wings

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 20, 2006
Messages
13,498
Purraise
39
Completely normal. Many species of cats in the wild hide their food by burying it.
It's an attempted to cover the scent.
Some house cats will keep doing this even when they get older, but most seem to grow out of it.

I'm guessing this is your first cat?
 

lunacy95

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Sep 11, 2007
Messages
88
Purraise
0
Location
Pa
Normal cat behavior, although I noticed with my previous cat she would only do that if she didn't like the food or she was completely done with it.

Jack who is somewhere between 13 and 16 weeks does it everytime he eats so much as a single bite of food.
 

missymotus

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 8, 2005
Messages
9,234
Purraise
254
Demetri does the pawing, I had a past cat that would also drag anything he could to cover the food - socks, tissues etc. Both are/were the alpha cat.
 

swinger

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Sep 5, 2007
Messages
23
Purraise
0
Location
manila, philippines
weird! i was just noticing my cat doing that too! was also thinking about asking here on TCS about what it meant. my first thought was that she wants to cover it to save it for later but im not so sure. do u guys think it means she doesn't like the food?
 

erinca7821

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jun 21, 2007
Messages
275
Purraise
2
Location
New Jersey
Mine does it all the time after eating, which is no big deal... and a couple times he's done it before he eats, and when he did that, I realized he didn't like the brand/flavor of the wet in the bowl because 30 minutes later it wasn't touched. He's 2 and he hasn't outgrown moving his bowl all around the kitchen on a daily basis. It's so bad I have to keep the water away from the food because he'll wet the dry food then leave it and not eat.
 

jellybella

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 10, 2007
Messages
2,314
Purraise
3
Location
UPNY
Stan is over a year old now and he still does this digging thing. I find it alternately hilarious and sad. I think he's trying to save it for later but he knows anything left in the bowl is fair game for Bella to eat.

I do everything I can to discourage her eating his food, but I just can't be there 24-7 to monitor it, so the poor guy digs away at the linoleum
 

stephanietx

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Dec 1, 2005
Messages
14,772
Purraise
3,491
Location
Texas
My Callie, who's 12-ish, has done this her entire life with me, but only if her bowl is on carpet. She doesn't do it if her bowl is sitting on linoleum or tile!
She only does it when offered wet food that she doesn't want to eat or if she's finished eating whatever wet food was offered her. She's very dainty about it, too. Never touches the plate or bowl with her food in it and never makes any noise.

Hannah Grace, who's about 2.5 yo, started doing this about a year ago. She makes all kinds of noise while "covering" her wet food to save for later. Fortunately, she can leave it as Callie generally doesn't like wet food and will ignore it. We use stainless steel bowls and as she covers and moves her bowl, it is LOUD! The funny thing is that she'll "cover" then continue eating!!
 

dani_elle

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Aug 15, 2007
Messages
23
Purraise
0
Brutus started doing that with a brand of treats that used to be his favorite!
I'm not sure why, but I would shake the container, and he would get all excited, but when I put it down for him to eat, he would smell it, look confused, and then start trying to bury it as if it were poo!

I just switched brands for a while, and he seemed to forget that he didn't like them anymore.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #10

saya

TCS Member
Thread starter
Super Cat
Joined
Sep 27, 2007
Messages
817
Purraise
2
Location
Napa, CA
Originally Posted by strange_wings

Completely normal. Many species of cats in the wild hide their food by burying it.
It's an attempted to cover the scent.
Some house cats will keep doing this even when they get older, but most seem to grow out of it.

I'm guessing this is your first cat?
that's the strange part, I've had cats my whole life and I've never seen a cat do this before. At one point when I was a kid (there were alot of ferals in my neighborhood) we took in a few cats and they all were pregnant! we ended up with almost 30 cats and kittens in the house until we could find homes for them all.

I forged some serious bonds with a few of them and I've never been w o a cat in my life since. Even when I moved out of my mothers home and out of the state, ferals would find and adopt me.

of course they're always welcome... and cats sure have a way of knowing things.

thanks for the replies, I think you're right cuz he's definitely the alpha (even over my oldest) and only does it when he's finished eating.
 

strange_wings

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 20, 2006
Messages
13,498
Purraise
39
Originally Posted by saya

that's the strange part, I've had cats my whole life and I've never seen a cat do this before. At one point when I was a kid (there were alot of ferals in my neighborhood) we took in a few cats and they all were pregnant! we ended up with almost 30 cats and kittens in the house until we could find homes for them all.
That's a lot of cats to care for at once.


I've had cats all my life too, but when I was younger I never really noticed the food burying behavior even though I was the one who fed the cats.
I guess it's easy to forgot some things, at least in my case.
 

kittkatt

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Messages
6,108
Purraise
14
Location
Online
Originally Posted by saya

Even when I moved out of my mothers home and out of the state, ferals would find and adopt me.
I've had that "problem" too my entire life!
Wherever I live, it seems like all the strays find me. It's like there's an invisible sign on my door which only cats can see, that sayS, "ATTENTION! ONE BIG SUCKER LIVES HERE!" But I don't mind: at least they're getting fed and won't go hungry.


Regarding the covering-the-food thing, Maverick does that too - except he only does it w/ the wet food - never the dry stuff. He's done it his entire life, and he's 12 now. I always figured he was trying to cover the smell of it; he's always been a 'fussy' cat.


He also scratches the wall next to the litterbox, whenever he's done using it, like he's trying to scrape off extra to cover the smell.


KittKatt
 

callista

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 6, 2006
Messages
3,152
Purraise
86
I know!! I have a sign like that on my door, too--three months after moving in, I have two cats, despite a landlord who at first didn't want 'em!

Tiny scratches the wall next to the litter box, too, and tries to dig to China before he does his business!
 

kittkatt

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Messages
6,108
Purraise
14
Location
Online
Originally Posted by Callista

and tries to dig to China before he does his business!
ALL my cats do that, and by the time they're done digging, it's almost "too late"!


~KK~
 

kalikat

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 25, 2007
Messages
2,057
Purraise
1
Location
Sydney N.S.W
I've never had a cat that tries to bury 'food' after eating, but Blossom does try to dig to China after doing her business. Her litter box is in the bathtub & she sometimes scratches along the sides & top of the bath when she's finished.
 

teneff88

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Sep 24, 2007
Messages
19
Purraise
1
Location
Kenosha, WI
My kitty does the same thing: after he eats, before and after he goes to the bathroom, and next to his hairballs if they are on the tile. He's just covering up his "territory" and "hiding" his food so no intruders see and smell that he was there.
 
Top