Why does my cat scratch around his bowl ?

This post is also available in : French German Italian

Any human can remain perplexed in front of this behavior, and wonder : what is my cat trying to tell me ? Is the food I serve him really as bad as that ?
Pixie explains why she scratches around her bowl
No, not at all !

Zorro rarely scratches around the bowl, but me, I do it very often. It’s an ancestral reflex, a vestige of my wild life. In the nature, when a cat did not finish a prey, he buries it to hide it and be able to come to finish it later. By scratching the ground, he recovers his prey, but in more he deposits pheromones thanks to the glands he has under the paws. The cat so tries to conceal the smell of his food, and also indicates to the other predators that this meal belongs to him.

Thus, when I scratch around my bowl, even if I scratch the stone floor, I show Zorro that I have not finished my meal yet and that this wet food is MINE !

Do you also scratch around your bowl ?

25 thoughts on “Why does my cat scratch around his bowl ?

  1. Sammy

    I do that once in a while…..and will also do it with a treat I’m given and even once in a while with my blanket! I’m claiming EVERYTHING in sight!

    Hugs, Sammy

  2. easy rider

    oh you create scratch-border around your food bowl… how clever… that’s like a no-protest zone, right? have I to say a magic spell or is the scratching enough to keep thieves away?

  3. Fur Everywhere

    That is very interesting. Jewel used to scratch around her bowl a lot, too. She liked to eat some of her canned food and leave some of it for later. She’d actually take a piece of paper and cover her bowl with it if there was one around!

  4. da tabbies o trout towne

    pixie…inn deed eye due…boomer & dai$y…knot sew much sew; bee coz de cuzinz kleen ther bowlz sew each other cant get any left overz de other one ….leeved 🙂 !!

    tuna of moon ♥♥♥

  5. Jenna Meow

    Cornelius just started an awful habit when he is hungry in the night he will scratch my bedroom door until I wake up and feed him. The is open, he just sits next to it and scratches it. Unfortunately I have given in. Now he will do this anytime is hungry. 🙁 He has trained me too well.

    1. The Swiss Cats

      Jenna, we have a pawsome trick for you : put some adhesive plastic on the bottom of the door, where Cornelius is scratching, but with the sticky part outside. Claire and Momo did it when Angel Hercule (Persian cat too) began to scratch the bedroom door in the night. Sounds familiar ? Scratching adhesive when you have fluffy paws is really unpleasant : Angel Hercule gave up. Tell us if it works for Cornelius ! Purrs

  6. Toby

    BobbieSue does that all the time – mom didn’t know why – she thought she was telling mom the food tasted like – well, you know!!! Thanks for the insight!!

  7. Flynn

    I do that sometimes, but only if my mum has served me poison that I will not touch under any circumstances. She knows that if I scratch beside my dish that she will end up giving me a different flavour.

Comments are closed.