kitten behaviour

[sunflower68]

Why does my little kitten do a sort of sweeping with a front paw before it eats from the bowl? Is it a primeval thing???

[wiggal]

I dont know why they do it, but at the weekend at my bfs sisters, sitting in the garden and the cat walks up to the water bowl, puts his paw in it & started moving it round in big circles making the water move!
He then sat with his front paw in the water whilst drinking from it, maybe its just a strange feline thing!

[leelapops]

Hmm, not just related to cats either, as my dog occassionally takes to pawing the carpet as he approaches his bowl! Also when he was younger he used to do the "cat thing" with his water, dipping a paw in it to make sure it was there!

I was told cats paw their water because they only have 2D vision, so they can't tell if the water bowl is full or not. Not sure if that's right, or if dogs have the same.

Lisa x

[cockroach]

My cat does it but it seems to be when its food she dose not like & turns her nose up.. I feel like she does it it discust at what I have given her & wants to bury it. Stange pussy.

[Roughquest]

Cats and kittens may do this scraping by their food bowls mostly after they have eaten their fill, in primitive times any food that had not been consumed was then buried by the cat to be dug up and eaten later and so to hide it from other predators that would steal it.

[sunflower68]

Thanks all. Lol cockroach maybe I have a fussy kitten then!

It makes a lot of sense about the food thing though, although Colin does it before he eats; maybe saving some away so the other 'lions' don't get their hands on it.
They are funny, these felines. I have never owned one before so all is new. When he found his shadow he was hilarious!