Funny food behavior

[lifeofreilly]

I noticed whenever I give my cat food he doesn't like, is tired of, or he thinks is mixed with something like probiotics, he will drag his paws repeatedly over the ground surrounding the dish. It's so funny, he looks like he is trying to bury it! Is he telling me, "mom, if you give me poopy food, I will bury it like the excrement that it is!" ? I think so & it's funny. Do any of your cats do this? Do you think I've interpreted his message correctly?

 

[molly92]

Lots of domestic cats have this residual instinct to bury food. The smell of a dead animal, if left uneaten, could lure other cats or larger, more dangerous predators to the cat's location, so to cover up the smell wild cats would bury leftover remains. Lots of house cats have inherited that habit from their ancestors when they leave behind food that isn't finished, but most of them aren't very good at it so they just kind of paw the area around their bowl, sometimes making more of mess in the process. It's cute and usually harmless!

 

[losna]

Tempest buries her leftover food with her toys. Sometimes she will even push her bowl across her room until it's beneath a chair, then bury it with toys. It's really funny.  Kind of  a pain because I have to wash food smeared toys, but still funny. 

 

[tobilei]

Yep! Jasper will bury his empty bowls, then he'll go and bury his sisters empty bowls and just like your boy, if I dare feed something not up to his standards, it gets buried too! If I'm not careful what's around the bowls anything within reach gets dragged over the top, important paperwork, toys, clothes, anything! Little cheek.