Why my cat is scratching the floor around its bowl after eating? Should we worry about it?
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If, like me, you enjoy the company of a house cat, I bet you’ve noticed that it occasionally paws or scratches the floor. And it happens most often around its food, especially before or after eating. While some feline admirers and owners believe he does it because the cat doesn’t like his menu, the reasons for such behavior are very different. Rest assured, because this is not something to worry about, but it will still be interesting to explore the possible reasons. Why my cat is scratching the floor around its bowl after eating?
Why my cat is scratching the floor? Should I be concerned?
It turns out that scratching the floor around the bowl with the food is a fairly common behavior for domestic cats. Sounds like the kitty is trying to dig a hole to bury something in, doesn’t it? Well, that opinion doesn’t stray too far from the truth… It’s weird, but from what I could find, it’s safe, at least for the animal… My floor, however, disagrees! Read on if you have one or more of the following questions: “Should I try to stop this strange behavior?”, “How exactly do I discourage attacks? and above all: “Why my cat is scratching the floor?”
Your cat trusts his instincts
Cats are avid nocturnal predators who must hunt for food when in the wilderness. By hunting and eating in portions, they end up with leftover food that they won’t even want to swallow later. However, they must hide it so that other carnivores cannot detect the smell. So the main reason your domestic cat scratches the floor is to try to dig a hole and bury food scraps in order to protect itself. Doing his best to hide the smell of his leftover food is nothing but his innate instinctive behavior!
The female seeks to protect her kittens
If you have a cat with kittens at home, she has one more reason to try to dig a hole in the floor. Not only will mommy want to bury the food to disguise its aroma, but her even bigger motivation is to keep other animals from finding out that there are kittens nearby.
You give the kitty too much food
As already mentioned, cats scratch the floor around their bowls mainly with the idea of burying their food. So, if your pet does this after finishing his meal, it may indicate that he’s getting more food than he can eat. Obviously, as responsible cat owners, we need to control the amount of food we give our cats to prevent obesity and subsequent health problems.
The cat scratches the floor to keep the space clean
“I give him little food, but my cat is always scratches the floor, why?” This is a question that I have encountered several times in the forums. Connoisseurs explain that it is a kind of maintenance of the habitat linked to the inherent sense of cleanliness of our feline friends. As you probably know, they are creatures obsessed with cleanliness, so they strive to keep their place spotless.
Should you stop a cat scratching the floor? How do you do it?
A cat that scratches the floor is not at risk of anything. As we’ve already explained, it’s your cat’s instinct to hide its presence to stay safe that dictates its actions. By the way, many people consider this behavior simply amusing. But the other side of the coin is that it can damage your floor, carpets, etc. which is quite annoying. So, here are the prevention measures and practices that I have found beneficial when my cat is scratching the floor and I want to discourage it:
- once my cat has finished eating, I remove the bowl and immediately clean it of leftovers
- as soon as my cat starts scratching the floor, I try to distract him with a favorite toy (providing a cat scratching post is also helpful)
- I’ve moved the bowl to the tiled area of my kitchen floor and the scratching no longer bothers me.