Scratching Near Food Bowl?

So Shermie does this weird thing with his food bowl. He paws at the floor around his wet-food bowl. I thought it was b/c of his cloth placemat, but even when I replaced it with a plastic mat, he still does it. Also, he does this instead of eating his food (I've discovered that he's not too wild about the wet food I've been giving him, he seems to prefer the dry). He doesn't do this around his dry food bowl or around Luna's bowl (both my kitties have learned which one is their food bowl, but that doesn't necessarily stop them from eating out of each others LOL).

Has anybody else seen their cat do this? Any explanations for it?

Hiya! I've asked this question before here and the reason I got was either because my kitty didn't like her food or she's burying it for later.

Here's a link that kinda explains the behavior.

http://www.xmission.com/~emailbox/whycat.htm

Lucy does this when she does not like the food.

I've been told this is their attempt to bury their food to protect it... a throwback to their wild ancestors.

shinobi does this and i wondered if it was because he had been a stray for a short while and had rediscovered that instinct to cover his food.

janet (rb) also used to do this and he had come from a 40 cat household so again, i thought it was survival instinct kicking in.

Demetri does it when he's full, he'll paw all around the plate then go in search of anything he can drag on top of the remaining food.

My 3 all eat off the same plate so I let him do his thing, then uncover it so Farley and Ana can finish

Seldon does this while looking around.
Mary has never done this and she is the only one who has spent time on th street caring for herself.

I've always thought it was an insult. Like it belongs in the litterbox. My cats only do it when they don't like the food and will not eat it. They just make like they are burying it.

chloe does it when shes full and she thinks patchy is going to come eat all the food --which she usually does

Originally Posted by tab

shinobi does this and i wondered if it was because he had been a stray for a short while and had rediscovered that instinct to cover his food.

janet (rb) also used to do this and he had come from a 40 cat household so again, i thought it was survival instinct kicking in.

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I have a cat named Shinobi as well (female, though) and she does the same thing. Never did it until we moved and she's currently confined to one room (pregnant), so I can only guess it's a stronger smell that she's trying to cover up.

Yeah, it's instinctive behavior. My cat tends to do it when he doesn't like the food... or when he thinks it's too smelly.

Riley does this if he doesn't finish his food and wants to save it for later

Sometimes he will do it if he doesn't like the food or doesn't want it.

I can not say that I have ever had a cat do that with food, but a cat that I was fostering used to scratch by her water the entire time she was drinking. She still does it from what I understand from her new family. Not sure why.

Yes, Bonnie does this, the same as they do in the litter tray after toileting, they are trying to cover it up! Perfectly natural behaviour.

My cat does this too, but he likes all the food I give him. So, I think he likes it enough to want to 'save' it for later. He also returns to his bowl and eats often since he's still just 5 months and he eats freely (raw). I keep the food fresh since I work from home, but I don't go overboard and his food is always gone by morning (night meal).

Most cats I have had do this, scratch on the floor immediately before or after eating.  I put a cardboard scratch pad right by their food area, and made sure to rub catnip all over the cardboard beforehand.  This way they will scratch the pad and not the carpet.