What Is My Cat Doing?

[Naomilovescats]

Recently im noticing my rescue cat Eva will eat half of her food then proceed to scratch the floor around it. Today i noticed that her kittens are sort of doing the same thing.
Why does she do this ? is there something i should do ?

Also my resident cat has always been so sweet and very nice. After bringing home Eva my resident cat Finn has started hissing at me. I know they hiss when they smell another scent (Eva and Finn have yet to meet, due to kittens still being at home) however, she hisses at me when i try to play with her or pick her up, even if i havent touched Eva or the kittens.
Should i be worried ? i really hope Finns attitude doesnt change with me as she is my first baby.

 

[marie-josee]

Hi Naomi,

It looks like your cat doesn't like his food. Did you just change brand ? My male cat did that once and I changed his food and he stopped. I think by scratching beside his food, he is telling you that the food is like a litter box. At least that's my opinion.

As for the hissing at you, it might be because he's not happy to share you with another cat. Give him a lot of attention, playtime and love (which you already do I'm sure) and he will mellow down.

Good luck

 

[Timmer]

Sounds like Finn is upset that not only you brought another cat in the house but a bunch of kittens too. Maybe he wants to be the only cat.
I've seen my cat scratch around the food dish now and then through the years I've had her. I think that pretty much means she thinks the food is "crap." :-) I really don't know if we can be sure why they do that but I'd like to know too.

 

[susanm9006]

Some cats scratch their food as a way of hiding it so that they can come back to it later. I think it is an instinct thing and doesn’t really mean much else.

As far as your resident cat hissing, that is par for the course. She is feeling stressed and unsettled by the newcomers and taking it out on you. When she does it just talk sweet to you and ignore the hissing.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I've noticed, also, that some cats, especially those who have spent time living on the streets, do that digging thing. I've wondered if they are trying to cache the food, save it for later, not being used to having food put out for them on a regular basis.

I imagine that Finn is a bit stressed by all of this. Here are links to some articles that help deal with stress in cats:

Is Your Cat Stressed Out?
Six Surefire Strategies To Reduce Stress In Cats

And when the time comes, these will ease the introductions. Just remember to take this at THEIR pace! You cannot go any faster than the slowest cat to be ready. It can take weeks, sometimes months, to do a proper introduction!

Introducing Cats To Cats
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide