# cat "paws" around dry food bowl



## nancyLA (Feb 13, 2005)

One of my cats was eating out of the dry food bowl. When he was done, he started pawing around, just like he was in the litterbox covering his feces..was he trying to "cover" the food?
I had never seen him do this before!


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

One of my cats does the same thing. Sometimes just when he's done but especially when he doesn't like the food.


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## KC Elstun (Oct 8, 2005)

I have had this experience also. My understanding is that, particularly if there is more than 1 cat in the household, your cat is 'burying' the food to hoard it for himself. He will come back later to 'dig it up'.

This behaviour is not unknown in species of wild cats... lions, I believe.

I have siblings; Flip and Cleo. They cannot be free-fed because Cleo is a chow hound. She will gobble up all the food she can, leaving poor Flip whatever is left.

I have tried feeding them separately, but it's simply not practical. The best I can do is feed them from separate bowls.

After he has finished, Flip will 'bury' whatever is left. It seems to make him happy, so why not? 

As a sidenote, Flip is _not_ thin. His sister is a little pudgy, and he is, according to the vet, just about right.


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## manitu22 (Apr 25, 2003)

Miss Lily does this when she does not like the food I give her. She is sooo silly.


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## nancyLA (Feb 13, 2005)

I have been feeding the cats the same dry food for months, and they seem to like it..they are eating constantly! I had never seen that sort of "pawing" behavior before, except when covering feces in the litterbox. Interesting!


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## devfoo (Jun 29, 2005)

my cat has always "burried" her food, her water bowl, any glasses of water she sticks her nose in, my morning coffee


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## allisonstacey (Aug 11, 2005)

My cat does the same thing.


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## jafa73 (Oct 17, 2005)

my cat drinks water by sticking his paw in then licking the water off


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## Palanggingging (Oct 10, 2004)

Yep... both of ours bury their food too. Its funny how they never seem to notice that their "burying" doesn't actually cover it and that they should just give up.


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## manitu22 (Apr 25, 2003)

My cat Lily attempted to bury our other cat and his food this morning. It was pretty funny.

The other interesting thing is she doesn't bury anything unfortunatley in her litter box. I think she wants everyone to be proud of the little (sometimes not so little) gifts she leaves.


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## ~ASH~ (Oct 21, 2005)

my old cat used to do the same thing my vet told me its an instict like cats in the wild would do bury their food its very common


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## dayzduke (Mar 18, 2005)

My cat only does it with wet food. And he really doesn't care for wet food, so he tries to cover it often.


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## joharriforce4 (Jun 28, 2005)

Spooky will paw at his food and knock it out of the dish... maybe its the same thing as the rest of your cats are doing, but I wish he didn't do that because he leaves such a mess :lol: ....boys!


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## HelenKariv (Sep 9, 2005)

My Charlie does that quite often. I thought at the beginning that he didn't like his dry food but it is now obvious that he is "burying it" for later pleasure.
Helen


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## jivemiguel (Feb 18, 2004)

Yep, same with one of my cats. She only does it with hard food, and sometimes knocks the bowl over. 

I always wondered why, but the notion of 'hiding' it for later makes sense.


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