Why does my cat scratch the floor after eating?

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Okay, so this was sent in by Vicki and it is her very lovely boy, Rupert. And Vickiy's asking me what is this about?

[00:00:10]And I get this question a lot. So, let's talk about it a little bit. Why is Rupert scratching around outside of his bowl like that after he's done eating?

[00:00:19]Well, I'm not going to pretend I know the exact answer, but I we can talk about what it could likely be. One of those things is that he's burying his food. It's totally instinctual for a cat that they're going to want to hide where their kill is, where their food is. And if they want to save a little bit for later, then that's how they're going to do it by scratching around. One of the things that I noticed about him that you'll notice is that he scratches and then once he's done it enough times, he sniffs that area. What's he doing? Well, when he scratches, he's putting scent down because he's got scent glands in his little pads and it will replace the smell of food. So, he could have dropped like a little piece of food there. Now, he's scratching. Cover up. Then he goes, "I'm successful." And he moves away. But then he goes back towards the bowl. He eats some of the crumbs off the floor.

[00:01:13]Then again, cover, cover, cover. And it again, I think it's more about him removing the scent of the food from the ground so that you know it's safe.

[00:01:23]Again, this is something instinctual.

[00:01:25]Rupert doesn't look like he has to like hoard food in any way. Now, here's something for you guys. You also might see this happen when your cat really doesn't like it. I don't know what that's about, but I'm sure you've seen it. Your cat really hates something.

[00:01:38]They just try to bury it. So, in that sense, I think they're just like, "This is rancid. I'm getting rid of it." I'm like, it's like the equivalent of flushing it down the toilet. The last thing I want to talk about is this. If for some reason Vicki, you think that that Rupert's habit here is annoying, I mean, it looks cute, but if it annoys you for any reason, the way to make it not happen is don't feed him so much.

[00:02:00]Because when we talk about him burying or saving or trying to remove the trace of it's because there's still food left in the bowl. So, if he eats everything at one time, there's going to be less to scratch. There you go. I still think you're awfully cute, Rupert. Thank you for sending that in, Vicki.