# Floor scratching after eating or drinking



## coco & little guy (Jan 5, 2004)

Hi all,

I don't know what to think of this, any ideas? After eating dry food, or drinking cat milk, one of our cats will place a paw out (like he's stretching) and then pull it back towards him. He does this several times in a row. It's like he is scratching in the litterbox, but he doesn't use his claws. He does this on the floor next to the dry food bowls. 

Anyone else ever had this? They are brothers of the same litter and will be 2 in August.

I know he is not hurting himself or the floor, just wondering what the behavior might be.

Thanks,

Bryon


----------



## Bean (Mar 10, 2003)

Is it like what most people call "kneeding"? It could be related to what most cats to when happy, and it stems from stimulating milk production in mommy when kittens. If it IS the same, this is the first food related occurance I've heard.


----------



## coco & little guy (Jan 5, 2004)

*no, definitely not kneeding..........*

no, definitely not kneeding..........

It looks like the litterbox scratching motion, but only one leg, and no use of claws, just sliding his foot back towards him..........repeatedly. I thought he was getting ready to use the floor as the litterbox the first time I saw him do it. 

Maybe he is just a little defective :wink: ! 

But keep the ideas coming please.


----------



## faile (Sep 14, 2003)

my kitty digs at his place mat after eating, or scratches around the bowl. i just figured it as remnents of instinct of covering your food so other predators won't get it. like he is trying to cover it with dirt or something. anyway, thats my guess.


----------



## brandon (Dec 31, 2003)

one of mine does that to when he either doesnt like something i feed him or when hes done he will act like he is trying to cover it over with dirt


----------



## Kitty (Dec 16, 2002)

My kitties do that all the time. Someone once told me that cats do that because they want to leave their sent so other cats will now that somekitty already owns the food. They said there are sent glands in their paw pads. I'm only going by what someone told me so lets not carve this in stone.


----------



## coco & little guy (Jan 5, 2004)

The ownership of the food makes some sense. Little Guy, (he was the runt of the litter) has some food issues. One of which is the scarf and barf. I am working with him on that. Coco, our other cat, is much more particular in how he eats, and he eats much more slowly. Little Guy will bury his head in his bowl and eat his way out as quickly as possible, knowing that his brother will not be finished. Then that sneaky guy waits and finishes up Coco's food too. Coco is easily distracted also, something will get his attention while he is eating and wander off to investigate............Little will pounce on the now unoccupied food bowl and tear into it also. 

Little is a little more needy of the two. He likes to "mark" the litter box immedialtely after cleaning, before Coco can use it. So it seems very likely to me that the "ownership" of the dry food bowls makes some sense.

Thanks.


----------



## maymariya (Sep 27, 2003)

if my cat doesnt like the food, he will smell it for about 2 mins, and then do the litter box motion thing. I think that is his way of saying I dont like this, give me something else. :wink:


----------



## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

I agree with Faile. This is a leftover trait from their "wild" days. It's instinctive. They are attempting to cover the food (or the odor of the food) to discourage predators. My cats try to bury my plate also- if I set it where they can reach it.


----------



## lunamystique (Dec 10, 2003)

I have a kitty who does this to show disapproval if I serve him something he dislikes. It's like he is sending a loud clear message: this is like %&*# (litter box waste)! Thinking to himself, "Gotta' cover up this awful smell." Such a little prince ...


----------



## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

All of the above! According to a really neat site, these are all reasons cats "bury" their food. This site will provide the answers to a lot of "Why does my cat---?"Check it out! http://cats.about.com/library/guest/ucfeature9b.htm


----------



## mismodliz (Dec 5, 2003)

thanks for the link to that great site! My Stephen suffers from kneading, slow blinking, and plastic sack issues! It was interesting to read that other cats have these problems, also.

I wish I could find an explanation of the "sucking paw" syndrome. I just decided the reasoning is the same as the kneading paws. She's like a little kid sucking her thumb...and she's 5 years old!


----------



## Bean (Mar 10, 2003)

I've never heard of this! Makes perfect sense though. Guess all my cats knew the bowl magically refilled so they didn't care.


----------



## kittygirl04 (Jul 8, 2003)

Kittygirl "covers up" her bowl every time she eats. I just assumed that she was trying to hide it from Kitty and Sophie because they are pigs. She just wants to make sure that the food is still going to be there when she's hungry again.


----------



## juliahadley (Oct 2, 2003)

One of my cats also 'bury's' his food
it is really funny

it's just somehting some cats do, I think it is really cute

am going to check out that website now,

we slow blink at our cats, and they slow blink back it is really cute try it with yours
j


----------



## Bean (Mar 10, 2003)

Only thing Moby does is that he sometimes takes mouthfulls of food in the living room to watch me while I eat. :x 

Then I have to vacuum.


----------



## coco & little guy (Jan 5, 2004)

I am sure it is because he wants to either hide it, or he is claiming ownership of the food, because he eats it. So does Coco. It is not a thing where they don't like it.

We were watching some tv last night, having some cheese and crackers. Coco came up first and helped himself to some cheese, then later Little came and got some. Coco, of the two, is the more dairy oriented. Littles just came down and tried probably because he saw Coco eating it. So much for that show!  

Then we had to get the vacuum out, and they didn't like that much.


----------



## kitkat (Sep 22, 2003)

Bean said:


> Only thing Moby does is that he sometimes takes mouthfulls of food in the living room to watch me while I eat. :x
> 
> Then I have to vacuum.


Hehe what a mess! 

My cat sugar used to paw at the bowl and move it around but she hasn't done that since I gotten them switched over to the new food. I thought she was looking for more food or about to use the litterbox but thank goodness she was just motioning, not doing anything she shouldn't be doing! I guess the idea of them wanting to cover the food is kinda true but why in the world doesn't she cover her mess in the box then? :wink:


----------



## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

> why in the world doesn't she cover her mess in the box then?


Now that is a puzzle. :roll: If I were you, kitkat, I'd show her this thread!

My cats used to move their dishes around too, but I have a rubber mat with ridges on it now, and they can't move them. They have dragged the whole bag of cat food into the dining room, though!


----------



## kitkat (Sep 22, 2003)

Jeanie said:


> > why in the world doesn't she cover her mess in the box then?
> 
> 
> Now that is a puzzle. :roll: If I were you, kitkat, I'd show her this thread!
> ...


Now she insists that she will not cover her mess!! That lil' devil :twisted:


----------



## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

:lol: Hey, I'm not the one who taught her to read! :lol:


----------



## sentimentalgirl (Jan 29, 2004)

*scratching*

Yoda does the same thing! Not always after she eats.. sometimes she just walks by and starts scratching around the bowl!


----------

