Why Does My Cat Scratch the Floor Before Drinking Water?

I have a friend. His name is Shan. He is an extreme animal lover. Especially he loves cats. He takes care of so many cats at home. One day, I asked him – why does my cat scratch the floor before drinking water? Hearing this, he joked with me for a while. He even mocked me and said a lot. But later he also became serious. At one point we met a veterinarian nearby. The vet was very friendly. He listened attentively to us and gave us some important information, as well as some advice. Today I will discuss those issues. According to the vet, I’ll try to answer the question – why do cats scratch the floor when drinking water?

Why Does My Cat Scratch The Floor Before Drinking Water?

The vet I met said that there are different reasons for which a cat can kneading the floor before starting to drink water. Check the following reasons which are very common. And get the answer to why do cats scratch the floor when drinking water. Such as:-

1. Instinctive Behavior:

When a cat is thirsty in the forest, it needs to dig a hole in the ground to reach the water source or remove debris, leaves, etc. Maybe my cat also got this behavior from his ancestor. Although I always keep a clean pot or bowl for drinking water in front of my cat and there is no need to look for water. What’s more, he can learn it from other cats in society. Because there is a very practice tendency among cats. That’s why he scratches the floor for his instinctive behavior even though the water is easy in front of him.

2. Cat Doesn’t Like Bad Taste or Smell Anything

Another possible reason is that cats may not like the taste or smell of water. The cat tries to bury it to remove the bad smell and intense taste. The cat thinks, this smell came from her stool. And cats bury it all the time after they leave the stool, we all know that.

You may ask, the water and pot were very clean and odorless which is served by you. So, why do cats scratch the floor when drinking water? The answer is that cats have a strong sense of smell. But it is not as strong as a dog. However, the thing that people fail to smell is the cat but the smell of that object is easily found. And so unknowingly, the cat gets the smell from the water you serve or from the pot.

In this case, it would be wise to wash the pot well and change the water. Choose cool (not freeze-up) and clean water to serve. Even then, if the cat continues to do the same thing, you should consider the water fountain.

3. Curiosity of Cats

Cats are very curious animals. So cats can scratch the floor or the ground to satisfy curiosity. Perhaps his attention was drawn to something on the floor, which he did out of a strong desire to know.

When we give something new to young children, it becomes very dear to them. That’s why they try to see a lot of things. The same thing happens with cats. In fact, he scratches the floor as he introduces himself to the new bowl.

4. Making Cats Territory:

Why do cats scratch the floor when drinking water? Answer is… Perhaps your cat is trying to identify its own territory. If you have more than one cat in your home, this is normal. This behavior can be noticed when one cat tries to drink water from another cat’s water container. Such behavior also happens when the pot is new. This is something we have tried to discuss in the previous section. This can be noticed even when a cat discovers itself in a new place.

5. Water Bowl Near/Same the Food Bowl

Studies have shown that cats do not like to have a bowl of food and a bowl of water together most of the time. In this case, the smell of food is more intense than water, and the cat is attracted to food instead of water. The water became disliked by the cat and began to scratch the floor.

Again, if you give her water in the same bowl in which you fed the cat, then that water seems to be contaminated to the cat. Thinking of being polluted, the cat began to scratch on the floor and expressed aversion to water. We already know that cats have a very good sense of smell. And that’s why he can smell the food in the water. So it is better to separate the bowl of food and the bowl of water.

6. Afraid of Water:

Someone thinks that the cat does it from her afraid of water. Do you know cat scares of water? If you don’t know, you should read an article – Why Do Cats Hate Water? From here you can know some important reasons of afraid.

How to Stop a Cat from Pawing the Floor?

In the above discussion, we’ll try to get the answer to the question – why does my cat scratch the floor before drinking water? Now we’ll know the answer – how to stop a cat from pawing the floor? If you think that scratching the floor of a cat is destructive and annoying, you can change this habit. The veterinarian I met gave me the following suggestions. ‍Such as

Cover the Spot:

One of the most effective ways to stop scratching is to cover the spot. For this, you can use a small cat carpet. So that your cat can’t destroy your favorite floor. The vet forbade me to use anything that is uncomfortable for cats. If you use an uncomfortable carpet or anything else, then the cat may stop drinking water, which you never want. If you are aware of this, you can buy good-quality carpets from Amazon. I brought the Pawkin Cat Litter Mat carpet from Amazon. This carpet is a patented design with litter lock mesh, soft, easy to clean, durable, litter-free floors, and fits under the litter box.

Spray a Pheromone:

You can use a special cat pheromone. It is like magic. It helps to stop the marking area of the water bowl. It will relax the cat and happen to drink water with calm and peace without floor scratching.

Conclusion:

Why does my cat scratch the floor before drinking water? It may be a simple behavior of a cat. But if you find it annoying, you can follow the advice of the section – how to stop a cat from pawing the floor?