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Why does my cat scratch around his food bowl?

post #1 of 16
4/6/09 at 4:17pm
Thread Starter 
My cat scratches around his food bowl. He does this long slow scratch all around his bowl. It does not happen all the time.
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post #2 of 16
4/6/09 at 6:53pm
Don't know but my 11 year old, big orange guy, Taz has done it since he was about 1 year old.
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post #3 of 16
4/6/09 at 8:29pm
Mine does this too every time he eats. I think it's something instinctual - not sure if I'm right about this exactly, but I think it has something to do with saving it for later because, in the wild, food is not always reliable, so they frequently do save some for later in case there is a food shortage. Maybe??
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post #4 of 16
4/7/09 at 3:46am
that makes your cat paw around the dish. In the wild, lions and tigers etc use this to bury their catch for later. My cats do the same thing.
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post #5 of 16
4/7/09 at 3:48am
My Fluffy always walks up to her biscuits and does this. About 5 minutes later she will go back or eat them. When my cats Angel & Flutterby did this it meant they weren't going to eat it!
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post #6 of 16
4/7/09 at 12:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MyCatPrince View Post
My cat scratches around his food bowl. He does this long slow scratch all around his bowl. It does not happen all the time.
My orange boy Moose also scratches around his wet food.

One of my three cats (I'm not sure which) has recently taken to picking up stray socks and dropping them on the leftover wet food on the plate. I'll have to do some subversive spying and see who's responsible.
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post #7 of 16
4/7/09 at 3:37pm
Yup - they're "burying" it. Either to get rid of it or to save it for later. Our Shelly goes around to all the kitties' dishes after dinner and buries ALL the food. Such a good boy.

For the "sock" kitty? Try putting a handkerchief down under the food bowl. When they go to bury the food, they can with the handkerchief. Maybe this will stop the need to cover it with your socks!

Laurie
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post #8 of 16
4/8/09 at 2:32pm
Nikita's dry food bowl is in the hallway a few meters away from the main door leading out of the apartment. My mail arrives through a slot in that door.

She does the digging thing and it happens regularly that I'll come home from work and all my mail will be on top or around her food bowl.

Cats..
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post #9 of 16
6/25/11 at 12:51pm
My kitten does this too. i thought he was trying to tell me to stop spilling cat food outside the dish haha now i know better
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post #10 of 16
6/25/11 at 12:58pm
Every cat I've ever had done this. It is instinctual. Just saving some for later! I usually put a towel under their dish so they can use that to cover up their food.
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post #11 of 16
6/25/11 at 1:38pm
Mine only did this once (to my knowledge). And it was to a wet food he HATED and flat out refused to eat.
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post #12 of 16
6/25/11 at 2:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by WellingtonCats View Post
My Fluffy always walks up to her biscuits and does this. About 5 minutes later she will go back or eat them. When my cats Angel & Flutterby did this it meant they weren't going to eat it!
Yes, my kittens Dexter + Giselle do this and I've learned to translate:

1.
Scratching ground BEFORE eating = they don't like what's being served --> I take it away and add water/dry food/milk and they will eat it 2 minutes later

2.
Scratching ground AFTER eating = saving for later
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post #13 of 16
6/25/11 at 6:09pm
Hmmm... now I wonder what is wrong with my 4. I've never seen any of them scratch around their bowls. Maybe they are just too spoiled
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post #14 of 16
6/25/11 at 7:58pm
Yeah, I had one who did that and it was a clear commentary for canned food she had decided (on that day) was unfit for feline consumption and was simply NOT going to eat. I always found it really annoying that she would draw such a clear connection between that high price premium food I was sacrificing to buy for her and what she deposited in her litterbox.
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post #15 of 16
6/25/11 at 8:49pm
Already answered, but yup Wesley and Buttercup both do this regularly, even if the plate is empty w/ just specs of wet food left. Good clean kitties, even if not the smartest for not figuring out that scratching the tile near the plate doesn't exactly help!
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post #16 of 16
6/26/11 at 3:46am
My cat only does this with his water bowl, never the food. Strange. I have often wondered why.
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