Covering food?

Does anyone else's cats dig at the floor when they are done eating? Oscar just started this recently: After or before he eats, he will dig at the tile like he would when he's covering his....well you know what in the litterbox. I don't know what that is about. Just wondering if anyone else's little ones do this?

Miko used to do that all the time until I made him a food stand. Maybe if the dish was raised he won't feel the need to cover it.

Cats have scent glands in their paw pads and when they perform the covering behavior, it is to deposit their scent around and near the food to "warn" others to back off, it belongs to them. It is also a behavior they use in the wild to literally cover their food with dirt, leaves or other materials to mask the scent and keep other animals away from their food.

Yep, one of my 4 does it. We tell him he dosen't need to bury his food, that if he runs out we will put more down - but he still dosen't beleive us.

I was litterally not 30 seconds ago caught Mooch doing this and wondered why! Glad you asked!