Cat Keeps Pawing Ground Next To Food Bowl

[HungryPandaCat]

I leave dry food out for my two kittens and they both paw the ground next to the food bowl. I read that it means they are saving the food for later but later never comes. Teddy hates dry food, so she won't eat it but she paws the ground A LOT. Throughout the day she'll sniff the food, not eat it and then aggressively paw the ground. The other kitten Yara will do the same but not as excessively and she will eat the dry food when she's hungry.

I'm thinking it might be a territorial thing and Teddy is trying desperately to mark her territory. But if thats the case, is there something I should be doing? I feed them wet food 3x a day in separate areas so there's no competition for yummy food. I've tried leaving two bowls of dry in different areas, but then they just paw both.

They got along fine, but I just find it so weird that Teddy is so aggressively marking her scent for food she doesn't want.

 

[Columbine]

It's not scent marking in this case at all Cats will paw the ground next to their food for two reasons. This first is the one you mention ('burying' the food to save it for later). The second is when they object to the food, and they'll try and 'bury' it to get rid of the smell! It sounds like this is what's going on here

My girl always 'buries' (and later 'uncovers') food she like for later, but will refuse to eat and industriously 'bury' food that she objects to (often the very food I've just bought a case of because she loved it ). The only way to tell the difference is whether or not she's eaten any before the 'burying' starts. It sounds like your guys are doing the same thing

 

[Caspers Human]

My former cat, K.C., used to do something like that when he wanted to be fed.



When I came home from work he wanted immediate attention and feeding.
If you ignored him he would meow, adamantly and go stand by his food dish. If you ignored him for too long, he would paw the ground next to his dish and, if you didn’t give him food soon enough, he would flip his water dish.

Could your cats be pawing the ground to say, “I want...” ??

 

[HungryPandaCat]

I finally found a brand of wet food that pleases my feline overlord and she doesn't paw the floor much anymore. I think for her pawing the ground means "hooman slave, this is unacceptable!"

 

[Yanaka]

I was wondering about this! I knew there was some burying going on, but it's super helpful to know that it can also mean they object to the food. I just bought a few cans of Rawz that they were supposed to like, and now they're both dismissively pawing the food. LOL. I love/hate them

 

[Elfilou]

Mine does this whenever she finishes a meal. Especially when it's something extra smelly, so I'm convinced it's her trying to get rid of the smell.