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by katydid15 on November 27th, 2006

katydid15

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Why does my cat scratch the floor around his food bowl like he's using the litter box?

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Answers. 25 helpful answers below.

  • by My4Cookies on November 28th, 2006

    My4Cookies

    cats have scent markers in the pads of their feet....what your cat is doing is probably marking that area as his territory by "scenting" it with his feet

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  • by anonymous on November 27th, 2006

    anonymous

    My cat does this too. I think they think they're burying the food for later, although I rather hope that they're not this stupid because our kitchen floor is tiled.

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  • by Christay on December 10th, 2006

    Christay

    Sometimes after eating, or simply when you put down a bowl of wet food, your cat may try to let you know that the food is not to his liking by trying to "bury" the entire bowl! This behavior can also occur when the cat is displeased with the location of his food bowl, the food itself, or possibly when he is not very hungry, and is trying to "bury" his food (which he is then thinking of as "prey") for him to have later on, when he is perhaps more ready to eat.

    My cat was doing this too and I found this site very helpful.

    http://www.hdw-inc.com/behaviorswhy.htm

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  • by labeeb xaman on November 28th, 2006

    labeeb xaman

    exactly. My cat does that too. They probably want to hide the food for later cause I saw my cat hide food in the tshirt that was lyin on the floor, and was searching in it after some days :D

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  • by Anonymous on November 11th, 2009

    Anonymous

    I read somewhere that a cat does that as an instinctive behaviour. They pummel their mothers breast to stimulate milk production as kittens. My cat always does it after eating, so I always have interpreted it as "I want more".

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  • by Coupechic on July 17th, 2009

    Coupechic

    My cat oes this too. One time I found a plastic bag covering his food dish so I lifted it and under that was a sock and under that was a toy!

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  • by MajorHart on October 19th, 2008

    MajorHart

    Here's a different question - my apologies.

    My male cat (3years)has had a 6month old kitten with him that he plays with alot.

    Recently we got a 6 week old kitten the older cat has just started getting used to and they are playing some.

    The older cat also has started EATING his straw scratching post - ripping it off and swallowing it.

    Is this some kind of insecurity that causes this. WE pay a lot of attention to him so it shouldn't be that.

    John Hansen majorhart@sbcglobal.net

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  • by This Daley has a new bundle of joy on October 12th, 2007

    This Daley has a new bundle of joy

    Your cat is cleaning.

    My female cat does this lots of places. She does it at her food bowl with any and all crumbs, if we feed her a treat, she "cleans up" after she eats. When our other cat spits up, the "clean" cat will actually drag something, paper towel, a peice of paper, whatever, over and cover the vomit. Sometimes she gets obessesive cleaning, so we "help" her by sweeping the area with our hands to show her it is clean and then she stops.

    Cats are extremely fastidious. Just as they cover their mess in the litter box, they will also cover other "messes".

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  • by pertiponi on December 13th, 2006

    pertiponi

    he's trying to hide his food for later. do you have other cats? he doesn't want the other cats finding the food.

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  • by JoMacDo902 on February 20th, 2011

    JoMacDo902

    my cat is Obsessive Compulsive about scratching around his food dish lol its really annoying... he'll do it anywhere too tho, like with treats or whatever. plus he is overly obsessed with running water, and cries like a spoiled child for us to give him a drink in the tub every morning... but yea, i think they're cleaning up after themselves, since they are such clean creatures by nature. however, when my cat does this, he makes an even bigger mess than he started with lol

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  • by kilipak1 on October 15th, 2010

    kilipak1

    I've been feeding Missy a variety of the same brand wet food for about a year. Salmon, mixed beef and chicken whatever. A few days ago I noticed a variety I hadn't purchased before. "Turkey Surprise" or something like that.
    When I served this new variety, Missy stretched forward and took a sniff. She pulled back, turned and then proceeded to scratch the kitchen floor with one front paw. The same motion she would make in the litter box but in this case, in the direction of the food. When I didn't react she proceeded to do the same thing again.
    I then cleaned the bowl and served a different variety. She ate to her heart's content. I am so proud that she was able to correctly communicate an issue she wanted me to resolve.

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  • by boop7 on December 26th, 2009

    boop7

    I work at a feline boarding clinic and I'd say about 75% of cats either scratch around their food or try to drag whatever they can over their food...Of course we may never know exactly what their thought process is behind that behavior, but to me they usually seem like they don't like the odor and they're busily trying to cover it up. In the wild, cats and dogs bury their potty so other animals don't track them down by scent, and they stash their food so they can come back to it later. That's my two cents!

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  • by missdjl on November 2nd, 2008

    missdjl

    I always thought its because they are trying to cover the smell like wet cat food is so stinky

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  • by Whizzell on April 5th, 2008

    Whizzell

    How do i know... - i think your asking the wrong person... Try talking to the cat :P lol

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  • by Ms.A on April 5th, 2008

    Ms.A

    Not sure.I read the other posts about burying their food for later and it makes sense, except my cats do that to their water too.

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  • by ergojax on April 5th, 2008

    ergojax

    Just admit it. No one really knows.. LOL! I've asked a couple of vets about this as well as the 'pawing the floor next to a water dish before drinking' habit. The closest I got to an honest answer was a raised eyebrow an a partial shrug.

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  • by bootoo on October 12th, 2007

    bootoo

    My cats do this. I thought it was because they were getting full and needed the loo. I found that when they started scratching, if I placed them in the litterbox, they would use it and then come out and finish up what was left. Maybe they are burying their food, maybe they just need to go to the loo to make room for it.

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  • by Jezabel on April 14th, 2007

    Jezabel

    i have two cats and one (david) does it and the other (keith) doesn't seem to care. I think David is the Alpha male and just wants to bury it from Keith. I just went looking for answers and I think it's just an instinct.

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  • by kimmykat on March 10th, 2007

    kimmykat

    He doesnt care for the food your feeding him so hes saying "foo" and trying to bury the smell.

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  • by Hesperia84 on October 24th, 2010

    Hesperia84

    I keep a hand towel under my cats food dish because when she is done eating, she likes to cover her bowl with the towel. When she is hungry, she then uncovers it and eats again. She led a hard life before I adopted her, and still has habits of thinking she has to hide her food.

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  • by Crystal_L8861 on December 9th, 2010

    Crystal_L8861

    my cat does the same thing...i just assume he is using an instinct to bury it like he would if he was in the wild...

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  • by Mike_C179 on April 8th, 2011

    Mike_C179

    I agree with boop7, i have 2 cats and they always been eating friskies, in the last few months, the male cat will eat a bit than start scratching around the bowl. Sometimes i find a shoelace i play with the cat rolled up in the dish. Today, the female cat doesn't even want to eat the wet food but scratches all around the dish. Maybe the companies are putting something new in their products wiithout telling the consumers.

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  • by mekare on March 12th, 2007

    mekare

    if there is some food around the bowl he might be trying to put it back or he could be trying to cover his food so no one will take it

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  • by nagel on July 5th, 2007

    nagel

    They do this to try and hide their food so they can come back to it later.

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  • by Tara_L9866 on December 11th, 2010

    Tara_L9866

    I have a friend who is an animal trainer and she says they are most likely marking their territory when they do this.

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