Newbie needs advice pls - cat scraping over feed

[Bazsmum]

  to Purrs.... 

My Maisey goes round all the food bowls with food in she wont eat and does this so I think she is saying "no way Im not eating that!" 

[clarenmax]

  to Purrs, Sid is gorgeous   

My Bridge Baby Max used to do that around his food and water bowl too, we put a large mat under there to catch any water spills which would invariably happen 

[Janeyk]

Sid's a Cracker 
I think i remember reading Cat's will also scrape at the water bowl as if to move leaves and debri so they can get a clean drink
a natural instinct kinda thing

btw - we require More Piccys of the Handsome Sid 

Pepper does - what I call a moonwalk always before he has a drink, Oh calls it a burnout  it's very comical to watch

Sid is lovely 

[Stuart]

Sid's a Cracker 
I think i remember reading Cat's will also scrape at the water bowl as if to move leaves and debri so they can get a clean drink
a natural instinct kinda thing

btw - we require More Piccys of the Handsome Sid 

[sidneycat]

Thanks all for your advice and kind words about Sid. What you have said makes sense, he isn't a greedy cat and will often go back to his food over and over again so he must just be 'burying some for later' lol.

[Kay and Penny]

my Russian Blue Trigger, who has never had to fend for himself for a single second, is an inveterate scratcher

for him at least, I'm sure it's a question of trying to save a favoured food for later, as when his scratching fails to cover it he usually finishes it off

[Rosella moggy]

  to Purrs.  

This is a common thing and harks back to cats hiding their food so they can come back to it later.  I used to think it was more common with ex strays but not so sure as extremely well fed ginger 2 doors up does it all the time and has certainly never gone hungry.  I know it can be a bit of a bind as it can get a bit messy but really not usually a problem

Sydney is a bit of a hun  

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

Hi Sidneycat and welcome!  

Yes, he is a handsome boy all right.  

The behaviour you describe is normal and cats in the wild do this often. Sometimes they do it if they want to save some food for later. Like a squirrel does.   Sometimes though, your guess would be correct and Sidney might be telling you the food you are giving him is   and he'd prefer a change of menu.

No way really of telling which it is until you've learned more about Sidney's little foibles, although thinking about it his recent past as a stray may be making him feel a bit protective of his food. You'll know which scenario it is in the fullness of time. Looks like Sidney's training of you is a work in progress.  

[snarf]

Apparently its fairly common and one of mine does this, its part of a natural urge to conceal their kill from other predators- i think i read to mask their prescence?
the one of mine that does it was also stray for a while and she does it less often and for less time now that shes more comfortable that shes safe and food will continue to exisit in sufficient quantities!
if youre worried about flooring i think the best think is probably a good sturdy mat- im not sure its possible to discourage them from doing this but to be honest i didnt try to stop mine

[sidneycat]

Hi all, I'm new here and wondering if you can help. I've recently taken on a lovely 2yo rescue cat from Cats Protection called Sidney. He was left behind when a family moved away and was a stray for a while. He is a delight in every way, but he has 1 strange habit... I often find him scratching the floor around his feed and water bowls - its the same action he would do burying his 'doings' in the litter tray. It looks like he is trying to bury his feed bowls! Any ideas? I've never come across this before so any advice is appreciated. 
And just because I'm sure you all want to see how handsome he is here is a pic...