[Neo]

Our 8+ year old cat tries to cover his food plate with his paws when hes finished eating it, even though the plate is on a lino.Its very cute to see and he only does it if he likes the food and if hes no longer hungry.We know his instincts tell him to store it for later when he may need it, but hes been doing this for as long as we have had him. (Not that we want it to stop).Surely he can see its not getting covered?

[Dannie]

Cats are weird little creatures, My cat stratches the side of the bin when he has finished eating & if we move the bin he'll walk over to it & start scratching!

[onutza]

I don't think he's trying to cover it... I think he's just playing with it...

[lynda_is]

He might think you're going to take his food away, and he won't have it for later on.

[leelayne]

Cats are really instinctive creatures and his instincts are telling him he really likes his food and he does not want anyone else to eat it. So by covering and hiding it,the food will still be there later on when he is hungry again. I have a 10 year old female who still does it now. I dont suppose they ever lose the instinct.

[Jonno]

Ok, your cat covers its food up because it's precious to the cat, your cat has Had 8years of basic life and it now knows that its either give or take, or even 'finders keepers', and as you may know that cats are very territorial. With that all in mind, he protects it or in other words, hides it from other cats, well that's what he thinks.So basically, he is protecting it from what he thinks other cats!And maybe he doesn't know that he's not fully covering it?Any way, I hope that helped!Thank-you