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Any human can remain perplexed in front of this behavior, and wonder : what is my cat trying to tell me ? Is the food I serve him really as bad as that ?
No, not at all !
Zorro rarely scratches around the bowl, but me, I do it very often. It’s an ancestral reflex, a vestige of my wild life. In the nature, when a cat did not finish a prey, he buries it to hide it and be able to come to finish it later. By scratching the ground, he recovers his prey, but in more he deposits pheromones thanks to the glands he has under the paws. The cat so tries to conceal the smell of his food, and also indicates to the other predators that this meal belongs to him.
Thus, when I scratch around my bowl, even if I scratch the stone floor, I show Zorro that I have not finished my meal yet and that this wet food is MINE !
Do you also scratch around your bowl ?
Sometimes we do scratch, but mum did not know why.
Now she does
Hope that does not mean she will take our food!
Purrs Georgia and Julie,
Treasure and JJ
I do that too! But it doesn’t seem to stop Binga and Boodie from trying to steal my food if I walk away from it.
It’s not really successful with Zorro either… Purrs, Pixie
I do that once in a while…..and will also do it with a treat I’m given and even once in a while with my blanket! I’m claiming EVERYTHING in sight!
Hugs, Sammy
My cat doesn’t scratch around the bowl and neither did any of my previous cats, so I must confess I wasn’t aware of this behavior. It’s amazing how we are always learning something new about cats!
Great photo of you Pixie. Phoebe scratches around her bowl to cover- I thought she was telling me her food is crap.
Mum’s never ever seen us scratching round our dishes .
Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx
oh you create scratch-border around your food bowl… how clever… that’s like a no-protest zone, right? have I to say a magic spell or is the scratching enough to keep thieves away?
I do that too, but usually when I don’t like the food Mum has just served!
Purrs xx
Athena
That is very interesting. Jewel used to scratch around her bowl a lot, too. She liked to eat some of her canned food and leave some of it for later. She’d actually take a piece of paper and cover her bowl with it if there was one around!
pixie…inn deed eye due…boomer & dai$y…knot sew much sew; bee coz de cuzinz kleen ther bowlz sew each other cant get any left overz de other one ….leeved
!!
tuna of moon ♥♥♥
Cornelius just started an awful habit when he is hungry in the night he will scratch my bedroom door until I wake up and feed him. The is open, he just sits next to it and scratches it. Unfortunately I have given in. Now he will do this anytime is hungry.
He has trained me too well.
Jenna, we have a pawsome trick for you : put some adhesive plastic on the bottom of the door, where Cornelius is scratching, but with the sticky part outside. Claire and Momo did it when Angel Hercule (Persian cat too) began to scratch the bedroom door in the night. Sounds familiar ? Scratching adhesive when you have fluffy paws is really unpleasant : Angel Hercule gave up. Tell us if it works for Cornelius ! Purrs
BobbieSue does that all the time – mom didn’t know why – she thought she was telling mom the food tasted like – well, you know!!! Thanks for the insight!!
I do that sometimes, but only if my mum has served me poison that I will not touch under any circumstances. She knows that if I scratch beside my dish that she will end up giving me a different flavour.
Wow! We did not know that! Merlin will sometimes scratch around the dishes. Arwen used to dance on top of the case of canned food. Dragonheart and Devi don’t do anything except eat.
Every. Single. Meal.
Both me and Crockett do.
That is very interesting, I have a sister that does that all of the time!
No I don’t do that, but then there is no one here to steal my foods.
Derby used to do that, guess he didn’t want me at his foods.
I scratch around my bowl so that my humans know it’s mine and they shouldn’t eat it.
I, Frimousse, don’t scratch around my bowl. and neither does my friend RouXy.
Poor Tigri wouldn’t either.
What a great, informative post! I sure know some kitties who scratch around their bowls, a lot.
Maxwell: I do that with my water bowl – before I drink out of it. Momma thinks it’s to give me a better idea of where the water’s surface is?
Pixie, you are a WILD cat!
the critters in the cottage xo