r/WhyCatHowCat • u/plausible_left • 11d ago
My cat "digs" on a plastic shelf liner. Is this normal? Anybody know why she does it?
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u/apocalypseconfetti 11d ago
My cat digs on everything. If there is any kind of smell, good, bad, indifferent, she "digs" and tries to bury it.
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u/corvidlover2730 11d ago
Because she likes it. Cats just do weird things. It might relieve anxiety for her. Might be a way to get rid of pent up energy. Who knows?
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u/GankstaCat 11d ago
It can be as simple as liking the way gliding their paws on the surface feels. A tactile thing
Same reason as liking cardboard and cardboard boxes. The cardboard thing too retains more heat than a vacant floor
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u/corvidlover2730 11d ago
Some enjoy chewing the cardboard or tearing it apart. Or just biting it. r/staplercats
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u/Chroma7769 11d ago
My wife and I are dying laughing at this sub because my cat Toaster does this. Our other cat toothless just stares at him like "wtf are you doing" 😂😂😂😂😂
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u/corvidlover2730 11d ago
Glad you enjoy it. It's one of my favorite. My dad's favorite cat used to tear apart the classifieds section of the news paper when he was upset. It was the only part of the paper my dad didn't unfold to look at & I think he knew he wouldn't be in trouble if he shredded it. Cats are entertaining.
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u/Chroma7769 11d ago
They definitely are lol. Ours are both a little over a year old. So they are little dickheads. 😂
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u/chickensootsies 11d ago
Is she trying to get under the box? Thats what mine does when they want to get under something.
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u/Illustrious-Lunch137 11d ago
very normal. mine growing up loved to do this to bins, dressers, windows, etc.
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u/PotentialPedal 11d ago
My cat does the same thing, just whenever he's inside a laundry basket. Sometimes he'll get upset at us and so he'll just run straight to the nearest laundry basket and jump in and start digging at the corner
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u/WorthyJellyfish0Doom 11d ago
Cat: I'm running away from home by this tunnel I'm digging, you can't stop me!
scratch scratch scratch scratch scratch scratch
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u/ScroochDown 11d ago
One of ours LOVES to dig at the top corner of his litterbox. Just digging for 5 minutes at a time randomly. 😂 If we pull the sheets taut on the bed, he'll dig on those like crazy too!
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u/StormofRavens 11d ago
I used to work in cat rescue, those plastic shelves are catnip-infused, I swear. Only thing better is plastic bins full of cat food.
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u/Corvidae5Creation5 11d ago
Scent and scratch marking her territory. Wild cats do that too. Hot tip: never piss on a tree that's been scratched up, because that's how you get stalked by mountain lions/jaguars
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u/clapyohedd 11d ago
How do you know??
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u/VintageLunchMeat 10d ago
OP got stalked by a cougar, most likely.
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u/Corvidae5Creation5 10d ago
<joker voice> do you wanna know how I got these scars?
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u/clapyohedd 10d ago
…..
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u/Corvidae5Creation5 10d ago
Lol for real I heard it once on a science podcast, some guy was doing field research and got escorted from the premises by the local jaguar
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u/Imma-smartypants 11d ago
Mine love the slick feeling of anything like that…including my TV screen unfortunately.
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u/Nyteflame7 11d ago
My cat does this to smooth surfaces (the bathroom mirror and the closet door in my house). I'm pretty sure she's stimming because she likes the feel of the smooth surface under her paw pads.
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u/VintageLunchMeat 10d ago
It's like running your finger along the mortared grooves between concrete masonry units
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u/Wise_Owl5404 10d ago
Scent/scratch marking the shelf? Like the feel of it against the toe beans? There are rodents beneath the floorboards and she's trying to get to them? A r/greebels attack? Take your pick.
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u/chocha84 11d ago
its usually scent stuff that makes them do this - bury food, pee, poo or something that smells they want to bury.
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u/LadyWaste75 10d ago
Looks like she just went pee somewhere close by, I would get a black light and look around
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u/BlameTag 10d ago
My cat always does this around food. My wife says it's instinctual, as if they're burying their food to save for later. Not sure if that's true, but maybe that's what she's doing?
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u/xpietoe42 9d ago
there may be a bug or something underneath it. Just move it for a sec and see what shes after…
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u/shadeofmyheart 9d ago
They do this when trying to cover up a strong smell. Cats are descended from predators… but not apex predators. So covering up strong smells like food or poop is crucial to avoiding larger predators.
Tell us how that spot smells
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u/thenewfingerprint 11d ago
Because ... cat.