Milk - scratching the ground beside it

Hello to all Just came across this great board and joined up.
I am wondering if any could offer possible explanation for my kitty's strange habit of always scratchiing the carpet when she passes by a bowl with her milk in it.

She does the same to the window sill if she finishes with the milk and absolutely refuses to walk over it to the other side of the sill until it is removed.

She rarely does this if she passes a dish with her food on but every single time she passes milk.....or if she has simply had enough but doesn't want to finish the bowl. Sometimes its quite severe and protracted - making it quite clear that she wants it taken away NOW ! Why ? Any ideas ? Or is this quite common ? (Its hard to get her to drink milk so I always try to leave some where it is accessible to her) She doesnt drink water.

Love to hear any suggestions for a happier kit-e-kat - or even to understand what issue she has with the milk being there. Thanks

Laura

This is a common response for many cats and nothing to be worried about. I would caution you though on giving her cows milk, as some cats are lactose intolerant and it can really give them problems (not visible to you as a cat owner right away) As my vet is famous for saying, it is "the only liquid that we take in that comes out solid." They do make cat's milk Whiska's makes it, or if you can't get her to drink regular water, then perhaps investing in a Drinkwell fountain will encourage her to drink more? Most cats are fascinated with moving water, more appealing to their nature and many cats will drink out of a fountain instead of a standing bowl of water.

If anything, water down the milk you give her so it isn't straight milk.

Thanks a lot Yes, she has some problems - I might try the watering down the milk trick. She is absolutely terrified of water...running out of the kitchen if I so much as put the tap on. (Maybe someone was cruel to her with water before she came to us) but anyway I will definitely try putting water in it. We have her now for 2 and a half years and she is 3 years old

Do you know what the cat rationale is for scratching by the milk every time ?

Laura

Saki scratches around his food bowl all the time. It either means they're saving it for later or they dont like it.

My cat Cosmo does also, to milk and my coffee, if he is in my lap, It is like there trying to cover it up. Cosmo and Newman will do this to can catfood they don't like. I do believe they are telling me don't feed them this crap! Cosmo will gag at all dairy products. He just can't handle it. Any body elses cat gag when they come in conter with food?

Kiddan actually does this as well. We have a steel trash can next to his bowls. He scratches the can when he eats. We try to tell him, "Kiddan, it's going to be a LONG time before you bury that food, if you're using the trash can to do it."

We've tried a few flavors of wet food, and he seems to do it with all of them. I don't know that he dislikes the stuff - there's probably an instict to bury things with noticeable odors, which is wet cat food.