Odd Behaviour
 

Hello all,

A week and a half ago I took in a mama (a kitten herself - approx. 8 months) and her 2 (now 2 week old) kittens. She came from a barn (where there are still 4 other mamas + babies all of whom I'm also trying to get out of there and spayed...anyone want a kitten? ;) ) but has adjusted to life inside pretty well. She is/was full of worms and skin and bones but has been dewormed and has all the soft food she will eat (which isn't as much as I would like) as well as free choice, good quality/grain free kibble (but she barely touches it) and water. She's slowly gaining a bit of weight and her bowel movements are getting much more normal so we're on the right track, I think.

BUT the odd behaviour comes when I give her the soft food. If I give her more than she wants, once she's done and there's a little bit left, she starts pawing all around her bowl like she's trying to cover it up - exactly as she does in her litter box. Has anyone seen this before? I'm more curious than anything but it can be a little annoying when I'm sleeping so if it's possible to stop, I will. :)

Thanks!
Laura

Good question , I also had a female cat that used to do that :)

That's a very natural reaction for cats, even the big cats, like mountain lions and lynx, will bury prey they haven't finished eating, and come back later to eat it. Not every "domestic" cat does it, but quite a few do. Just something cats do, and some other animals do too like foxes. Nothing to worry about, but all the scratching trying to bury it can be a little annoying in the middle of the night I agree.

Just following their natural instincts to protect their leftovers from scavengers. Benni is the worse one for doing it in the catuary but Zara tries too if there is a blanket nearby her food bowl. Benni has shown her son how to do it so if she doesn't bury their leftovers he will. Tinka even tries it occasionally.

Interesting! Thanks everyone! :)

She was born in a barn and has probably had to fight for her food her whole life so that's probably it. She even growled at her kittens (they were a couple days old :p ) while she ate when I first got her. It makes complete sense that she's just trying to save it for later. :)

While it is a little disturbing in the night, I'll forgive her ;) as I'm just happy she's safe and sound and getting healthy. :)

The burying of unconsumed prey theory is good but I am sure it does not apply to our Ginger. Ginger did that to food she did not like. I am sure it was her way of telling us, "I'm not eating this s***" :D Ginger picked up bad language on the rough streets before she came to us. :(

[QUOTE=Longblades;916922]The burying of unconsumed prey theory is good but I am sure it does not apply to our Ginger. Ginger did that to food she did not like. I am sure it was her way of telling us, "I'm not eating this s***" :D Ginger picked up bad language on the rough streets before she came to us. :([/QUOTE]

If you think about it though - it might apply. "I don't like this but if I can't get anything better, it'll be here."