Kitty keeps scratching around her bowl...

[2furgirls]

When I feed Soleste she may take one bite, or several but (unless it is pure tuna or Avoderm tuna and crab) she will mark the end of her eating by pawing madly around the bowl, even trying to move the mat over it. Is she trying to bury her food? Is she telling me it is poopie food? She most often does this when she only takes one smell or one bite and walks away (perhaps she is not that hungry yet? perhaps she smelled the can was not OK?) The motions are exactly like her covering her litter box business.

It's escalating. She's now also tearing up the carpet the food mat is on.

BTW the prey instinct is very strong in her. She carries an entire "Da Bird" string, long plastic waving wand and all, right up a 7 foot cat tree. If her bowl has a large piece of meat, she will grab it and run off to eat it. I have "dead Da Bird feathers" positioned in trees and her favorite game is to climb the tree to retrieve them, and she brings them back to hide them.

She is very clever in selecting food and supplments that help her dire-rear. So I am not clear what she is saying by doing this.

 

[strange_wings]

Yes, either she's just not hungry at that moment (or hungry enough to finish all of her food) or she just doesn't like it.

Attempting to cover food is a hold over instinctual behavior from their wild ancestry. Food attracts other animals and what better way to keep those animals from coming into your territory than hiding your food?

Feed her on a hard surface, if you have one, or get a bigger mat.

 

[stephanietx]

That's perfectly normal kitty behavior. She's "burying" her food so others can't steal it and she'll have it for later. All of my kitties do this and I'm glad they let me know when they're finished. Sometimes they make a mess and tip their bowls over, but most of the time they do just fine. We don't leave food down, though, so once they signal they're finished, we pick up the bowls and put them away.

 

[strange_wings]

^It's not necessarily "saving it for later", which is why cats do it with food they hate and even empty dishes the smell like food. They're not saving that for later, they just don't want a bigger predator to find it. And yes, that makes no sense for a house cat that is the only predator around... but you can't argue with instincts.

It's the exact same reason cats bury their waste in the litter box. To hide scent from other animals so as to protect themselves.

 

[cat_crazy]

She's "burying" it. When cats do that they are either saving it for later, aren't hungry at the moment, or they don't like it. Only one of my kitties does this.

 

[kailie]

My Cleo does thing constantly and I'm sure she learned it from her Mom as she would do the same thing.