If, like me, you enjoy the company of a house cat, I bet you’ve noticed that it occasionally paws or scratches the ground. And it happens most often around his food, especially before or after eating. While some cat admirers and owners believe that he does it because he does not like his menu, the reasons for such behavior are very different. Rest assured, because this is nothing to worry about, but it will still be interesting to explore the possible causes. Why does my cat scratch the ground around his bowl after eating?
My cat is scratching the ground! Should I care?
It turns out that scratching the soil around the food bowl is a fairly common attitude among domestic cats. Sounds like the kitten is trying to dig a hole to bury something in, doesn’t it? Well, that opinion is not too far from the truth… It is strange, but from what I could find, it is safe, at least for the animal… My floor, on the other hand, is not of the same opinion! Read on if you are asking yourself one or more of the following questions: “Should I try to prevent this strange action?” », « How to deter attacks? and above all: “Why is my cat scratching the ground? »
Your cat trusts his instincts
Cats are keen nocturnal predators that must hunt for food when in the wild. By hunting there and eating in portions, they end up with leftovers that they don’t even want to swallow later. However, they must hide them so that other carnivores cannot detect their scent. So the main reason your domestic cat scratches the ground is to try to dig a hole and bury food scraps in it for protection. Doing his best to hide the smell of his food scraps is nothing more than his innate instinctive behavior!
The female seeks to protect her kittens
If you have a cat with kittens at home, she has another reason to try to dig a hole in the ground. Not only does mom want to bury the food to hide its aroma, but her even greater motivation is to prevent other animals from finding out that kittens are nearby.
You give the kitten too much food
As already mentioned, cats scratch the ground around their bowls mainly with the idea of burying their food. So if Velvetpaw does this after finishing his meal, it could indicate that he is getting more food than he can eat. As responsible cat owners, we naturally need to control how much we feed our companions to prevent obesity and the subsequent health problems.
The cat scratches the floor to keep the room clean
“I give him some food, but my cat always scratches the ground, why? This is a question that I have come across several times in the forums. Connoisseurs explain that it is a kind of habitat maintenance, connected to the inherent nature of our feline friends sense of cleanliness As you no doubt know, they are creatures obsessed with cleanliness, so they strive to keep their place spotless.
A cat scratching the ground is not in danger. As we’ve already established, your cat’s instinct to hide its presence to stay safe 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 preventative measures and practices that I have found beneficial when my cat is scratching the ground and I would advise against it:
- when my cat is done eating, I remove the bowl and immediately clean it of any leftovers
- as soon as my cat starts scratching the ground, I try to distract him with a favorite toy (providing him with a cat scratching post is also very useful)
- I moved the bowl to the tiled part of my kitchen floor and the scraping doesn’t bother me anymore
