What is this strange scratching behavior?

Rocket has started a new scratching behavior that I haven't seen before. I have a pillow on my couch which he has been scratching. But it's the way he's scratching that has got me wondering what he's doing it for. He's scratching with his claws retracted, so my first thought was that it's marking, not nail maintenance. But the motion and the body posture and the expression is more like what you'd see in the litterbox. Yup, it looks exactly like he's digging litter, except he's doing it on the pillow. What do you think? Is this marking, or is he getting set to do something nasty on my pillow? Thanks....

Maybe he is just playing. My cats do that "dig" scratching thing to pillows, folded blankets, etc. Just having fun maybe?

I hope so!! It's kind of curious he would just start doing it out of the blue. Never done it before, neither have the other cats.

Sometimes when my cats do that to random parts of the floor it's because there IS something nasty there that I haven't noticed (most commonly one of them had a hairball or threw up).

I hope that's not the case here, but I'd check your pillow out.

All three of our boys try to dig to China on every pillow in the house.

What sort of fabric is the pillow covered in? Melichus(RB) would do that to any really smooth/slick pillow like satin, or object like magazines. Apparently he just liked the way they felt to his paws!

Cindy

could he be kneading? Just a thought..

The fabric is just cotton percale - it's a sleeping pillow I use while laying on the couch. It's been there ever since he got here. When a cat suddenly starts doing something different, you wonder!!

(No....not kneading....he only kneads me )

When Persil does that to my duvet cover it means she wants to get under it and is trying to find a way. She made a hole in one cover before I realised what she was trying to say.

Since it's on the couch, maybe he's trying to get under it? My cat loves to burrow, especially in the couch corners, and she would dig through anything in her path.

Hm... elliot does this too, though on the couch and chair.. sometimes we were worried he was going to go on the furniture, but all he does is scratch it , and then flop down on it. Do your cats go outside? I take mine out on leashes, and elliot does the same thing to the ground. He will scrape at the ground (which is mostly sand here) and then flop and roll in it... Maybe its just a way for your cat to get comfortable? Like how sometimes they will turn around in circles and then lay down. Heh, maybe he is wanting to do something naughty to the pillow, but not in a bathroom type way. Both of my cats love my giant bear for some reason, aerowyn kneads it and rubs her face on it in this really weird way, and elliot kneads it and "has his way" with it. Its kind of funny, but they only want to do it when I am going to bed... oh.. did I mention I use it as a pillow? Yeah.

I take mine out on leashes, too. Mostly Rocket just likes to munch on blades of grass. I also give them rides in a pet stroller. They like that quite a bit.