5 Cat Habits Explained: Water, Swatting, Food Covering and More

By Dr Duncan Houston

Your cat ignores a new bed, climbs into its cardboard packaging and then sends a pen rolling off the desk. These habits can be entertaining, frustrating or both, especially when you are unsure what the cat is trying to achieve.

Many everyday quirks make more sense when you consider opportunities to investigate, hide, manipulate objects and choose resources. Start with the setting and the individual cat rather than assigning one fixed meaning to every action.

Quick Answer

Habits such as investigating running water, swatting objects, pawing around food, kneading and playing with food can reflect ordinary feline preferences and behaviour. Support them with safe choices, suitable play and a predictable routine. A new or excessive behaviour, especially alongside the health changes described below, deserves veterinary advice rather than being dismissed as a quirk.

1. Choosing a tap or drinking glass over the water bowl

A cat may investigate the movement, sound or reflections of running water. Another may favour a particular bowl shape, location or freshly refilled container. Interest in a tap does not establish that all cats prefer moving water or that their ordinary bowl is unsafe.

Look at the whole setup. Is the bowl clean? Is it positioned where the cat can drink without being crowded by another animal? Does its depth or shape differ from the glass the cat keeps approaching?

What to try

• Keep clean, fresh water available in accessible locations.
• Offer a stable alternative bowl in a quieter spot and watch which option the cat uses.
• If you try a pet fountain, keep familiar water sources available during the introduction.
• Clean the fountain and its components according to the manufacturer's instructions; circulation does not make it self-cleaning.

Keep your own drinks out of reach and provide a suitable water container for the cat instead. A fragile glass near an edge is not a useful substitute for a stable bowl.

Make one change at a time. Replacing the bowl, location and water source together makes it harder to identify the preference. There is no need to purchase a fountain simply because another cat enjoys one.

2. Knocking objects off tables and shelves

A moving object can invite investigation and play. A paw tap makes a pen roll, changes its sound and creates another interesting event. The response from people can also become part of the pattern if knocking something over reliably brings attention.

This does not require an explanation involving spite or a deliberate wish to annoy you. Ask what the cat can do in that location and what happens after it does it.

Make the alternative easier

First, remove breakable or dangerous objects from accessible edges. Do not leave a risky item in place to test whether the cat has learned a lesson.

Offer suitable toys on the floor or another safe play surface where batting and chasing are welcome. Rotate a small selection to maintain interest, while keeping toys your cat reliably enjoys.

Provide attention and play at ordinary times, rather than only after something crashes. Reward comfortable use of an appropriate perch or play area. If an object falls, address any immediate hazard calmly instead of turning the event into an exciting chase.

A useful note is “this happens before the evening play session” or “only objects beside my keyboard are targeted”. That gives you something practical to change without labelling the cat naughty.

3. Pawing around the food bowl

Some cats scratch at the floor or pull nearby material towards leftover food, even when there is nothing available to bury it with. This is often described as food covering or caching.

Possible explanations relate to hiding food or its scent and keeping it in a familiar area. Those explanations are more useful as context than as certainty about what your cat is thinking during one meal.

Check the feeding arrangement

Notice whether the cat has finished eating, whether another cat is nearby and whether the behaviour began after a change of food or location. The movement alone does not prove that the meal is disliked.

Provide a quiet feeding area and enough separation that cats do not have to eat shoulder to shoulder. Clear away leftovers appropriately, especially food that should not remain at room temperature.

A washable mat can protect the floor, but it should not become a way to overlook a change in eating. Do not punish the pawing or force the cat to remain beside the bowl.

If appetite has changed, seek veterinary advice as you would for any other feeding concern. Adding a puzzle or changing the bowl does not explain away that change.

4. Kneading blankets and choosing boxes

What kneading looks like

Kneading is the alternating pressing of the front paws against a surface. Kittens use this movement while nursing, and some cats continue it as adults.

The exact reason adult cats knead is not fully settled. It commonly appears in comfortable settings, but it is too strong to claim that every episode proves affection or has one confirmed hormonal explanation.

If your cat kneads on you, place a suitable blanket between the paws and your skin or gently change position. Do not pull at the paws or punish the cat for using its claws during the movement.

Why a box can be appealing

A box provides an enclosed place to rest or watch activity from a partly hidden position. For a cat, that practical function may matter more than the appearance or price of the bed beside it.

Offer a clean, stable box with an easy entrance and remove packing straps, loose tape and staples. Place it where the cat can use it without being cornered by people or other animals.

Respect the refuge. Reaching in repeatedly to stroke a resting cat defeats much of the purpose of providing a private space. Let the cat emerge in its own time.

If cardboard is being swallowed rather than simply explored, remove the unsuitable item and seek advice. Not every object a cat likes to chew is safe to leave available.

5. Batting food around or working for a meal

Some cats use their paws to move pieces of food before eating them. Movement and manipulation can overlap with play and food-search behaviour.

A simple feeding activity can offer a suitable outlet, provided the cat can obtain its normal food without frustration. Start with a very easy arrangement, such as a small amount of the usual food placed where it is obvious and accessible.

Keep the activity achievable

Introduce a suitable food puzzle at its easiest setting while leaving the familiar feeding option available. Watch the cat use it before increasing the challenge.

Use part of the normal food allowance rather than adding unlimited treats. Choose equipment suited to the cat and food type, and clean it properly between uses.

Do not assume that failure to solve a puzzle means the cat needs to become hungrier. The design may be awkward, the task unfamiliar or the cat simply uninterested.

If your cat already has an individual feeding or mobility plan, choose activities that fit it. An enrichment game should not interfere with access to the established diet.

Decide whether to allow, redirect or seek advice

• Allow a harmless preference: a familiar, relaxed cat choosing a suitable box or kneading a blanket may need no correction.
• Redirect a practical problem: move breakables, offer safe batting toys or improve the layout around food and water.
• Stop access to an unsuitable item: chewing plastic or swallowing pieces of an object is not something to encourage as enrichment.
• Seek veterinary advice for concerning change: do not assume every new habit is simply personality.

Observe the sequence rather than just the most noticeable moment. What happened before the behaviour, how did the cat move and what did it gain or avoid afterwards?

When this is not just a quirk

Changes in appetite, vomiting or diarrhoea should be discussed with your veterinarian. Persistent or excessive plastic chewing, increased hiding or signs of anxiety also need advice rather than a purely playful explanation.

Panting is not one of the harmless habits described here; seek veterinary advice rather than treating it as another form of quirky communication. Do not use an enrichment activity or an online behaviour interpretation to delay appropriate care.

Note when the change began and whether it occurs only around one object or throughout the day. A naturally recorded video can help explain the pattern, but avoid provoking the behaviour to obtain footage.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Assuming every cat needs a fountain, puzzle or expensive bed
• Using punishment for normal investigating, kneading or food-covering behaviour
• Leaving unsafe objects accessible while trying to train around them
• Adding extra food to every game without considering the normal allowance
• Changing several resources at once and losing track of what helped
• Dismissing a new health or behaviour change as “just being a cat”

Frequently Asked Questions

Does knocking things over mean my cat is angry with me?

Not necessarily. Investigation, play and learned attention patterns can contribute. Remove hazards and look at when the behaviour occurs before assigning a human motive.

Why does my cat prefer the box to its new bed?

The box may offer the enclosure, position or privacy your cat prefers. If it is suitable and safe, you can leave it available without treating the unused bed as a problem to solve.

Does pawing around food mean the cat hates it?

No single movement establishes that. Check whether the cat is eating normally and consider the feeding environment. An appetite change still warrants veterinary advice.

Should I make food puzzles harder every day?

No. Keep them at a level your cat can comfortably use. Variety and choice are more useful than a compulsory schedule of increasing difficulty.

Use the habit as information

Choose one small, safe change based on what your cat actually does. A better-positioned water bowl, a clear play surface or a quiet box may be more useful than trying to stop every unusual habit. Keep the familiar routine in view, and seek advice when the pattern becomes concerning.

Sources

Cats Protection: guidance on running water, food covering, kneading and boxes; VCA Animal Hospitals: object-swatting and feline play guidance; International Cat Care: cat-friendly interaction and enrichment principles.

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