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My 11 month old cat has recently started some odd behavior in the last month at his food bowl. At his food dish he will paw each side as if he's at the kitty litter box...a couple times with his left foot then his right, etc..till he thinks he's accomplished..I'm not sure what. There is no food on the ground.

Any ideas?!

>>My 11 month old cat has recently started some odd behavior in the last month at his food bowl. At his food dish he will paw each side as if he's at the kitty litter box...a couple times with his left foot then his right, etc..till he thinks he's accomplished..I'm not sure what. There is no food on the ground.
>>
>>Any ideas?!

A lot of cats do this. I have always assumed they were just trying to hide their food from others.
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Jaime owned by
Mya the dog
and the cats:Crash, Moxie, Gabby and sometimes Tucker

Jaimie may be right here - although I never thought of this behavior this way. I always thought there was something "stinky" about the food that made them think they needed to bury it.

Anyhow, if he's eating ok then don't worry too much, but be sure the bowl and the floor around it are clean. If he is not eating OK then you might want to consider going to a vet for further examination!
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

my kitten does this not to his food bowl, however if I set a plate of food down on the floor or table and he comes sniffing at it, he will paw at the ground on either side of it as you described. He doesn't try to eat the food or move it, just that burying type of action. It's puzzling, but if I pick up the plate he quits.

I looked the behavior up last night. It said that feral cats and wild big cats bury their food that is left over and they can't eat to save for later. I am assuming this is what our indoor cats are doing.
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Jaime owned by
Mya the dog
and the cats:Crash, Moxie, Gabby and sometimes Tucker

Thanks Jaimie! Now we all know!
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

That sounds about right... My cat Butch does that after almost every meal. He used to live with a feral colony (but he's not feral), and was a tom cat until we adopted him. His instincts seem very strong, as a result.

I assumed he was "covering up" his leftovers and/or his scent so no one else would find it. Silly kitty!

Thank you, Jaimie, for finding the answer to this. I asked a vet once, and he just mumbled something about that's how cat's behave.

My oldest (5) has always done this when he has leftovers. He will go around doing it to the other cat's bowls (I have 4) if they have any leftovers. I guess it's just imprinted in some cat's genes from way back.

My Abby has done this for years! He didn't start until he was about 2 years old, but the vet says it's nothing, they just like to bury thier food sometimes!

My calico, Allure, does this all of the time. I figured it was for that reason, she was a stray where there were a bunch of other cats around. But the thing that gets me about her is it's not just the floor. She walks around and does it to the wall, chair, table, anything she can reach?!

My 3 - almost 4 - year old cat does this constantly!!! Over food, even the water fountain that we have for them. He'll cover for several minutes at a time.

It's REALLY getting annoying to a point of my husband and I wondering if there is anything that can be done about it.

Is there any way to curb this behavior?

>>My 3 - almost 4 - year old cat does this constantly!!! Over food, even the water fountain that we have for them. He'll cover for several minutes at a time.
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>>It's REALLY getting annoying to a point of my husband and I wondering if there is anything that can be done about it.
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>>Is there any way to curb this behavior?

I don't think there is since it is so instinctive. I hope someone else has a better idea than I do here!
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!