It took me years to understand why my cat gracie does that.
Why do cats scratch the floor before they eat.
Gracie has always scratched and clawed on and around the bowl before she drinks.
Why does my kitten scratch the floor after eating.
In the wild cats don t come back to a meal they ve stored for several days.
Cats have an instinctive need to scratch so if you don t want them to do it in the wrong places guide them to the right ones.
If you have a kitten as well as an adult cat you may have noticed her scratching the floor area and it may have left you confused.
Your kitten may scratch the floor after eating because of her instinct.
Before or after your kitten or cat eats or drinks it may paw scratch or knead the floor as if it is digging or burying something.
Another theory is that as cats in the wild tend to eat where they sleep they don t want a rotting carcass lying around.
In fact your pet is demonstrating an instinct shared even by the big cats and it is a very positive sign that it is feeling at home in your house.
A common mistake cat owners make is that when their cat swipes their paw on the floor around their food dish they think that they are covering up the food like they would their poop in a litter box.
Why do cats dig and scratch around their food bowl.
Instead this is still him trying to be sneaky and not let predators know where he is.
The good news is that there are millions of ways to do it and all they need are a bit of time and perseverance.
Cats who scratch the floor or wall after using the litter box are usually making a comment about the litter box itself and or the litter that is being used.
For a true cat lover almost anything a feline does can be absolutely endearing and lovable whether a fluffball is gazing intently out the window at the birds or obsessively pawing at the floor before mealtime.
This is not an unusual behavior.
Scratching around the food bowl is a common behaviour in cats which is completely normal.
She makes a mess.
The reasons for the behaviors are different for both of the situations that you have asked about.
However kitty doesn t think like that.
This behavior may be witnessed before or even after the meal.
Pawing and kneading behaviors although uber cute are very common in the feline world.
The wall and floor scratching behaviors you are describing are common cat behaviors.
There s nothing wrong with your cat.
Wild cats as well as feral cats have all been observed burying any uneaten food to avoid attracting predators or scavengers.
