Cat Behavior: Why Do Cats Bury Food?
Cats have many weird and loveable behaviors. They love to bunt their heads and play games when they are alone. Unneutered Toms will spray the door with urine. Many cats will bury their food seemingly without a good reason. Sometimes, they bury it in the weirdest places. If you have placed a mat under the food bowl, she may try to shred the meat and use it to cover the food. If this behavior gets on your nerves, you may have to learn to cope with it for a while. It’s a primal instinct. But you can do something about it.
Read on and learn why she buries her food and what you can do about it.
What you may have seen
Perhaps you had not discovered this behavior yet. But have you ever noticed your kitty pawing or scratching the floor as if it was trying to bury something?
You are right; she is trying to bury her food. It is not unusual behavior. Don’t worry; there’s nothing wrong with kitty. If you recently brought her home from a shelter, it’s a good sign. It means she’s getting comfortable with the environment and considers it her territory. Next, she might lick you.
But why do cats bury their food?
Domestic cats, and all felines, instinctively bury their food because:
- They want to hide it and eat it later at a more convenient time (food caching)
- They want to keep a low profile by covering up their scent and hiding their tracks
- They are not hungry at the moment
We’ll dig deeper and find out what’s behind each drive and what you can do.
Food caching (or hoarding)
No matter how well-trained a kitty is, some behaviors are hard to erase.
Survival behaviors are among the hardest to erase or change, and food caching is one of them.
When the kitty sees a bowl full of food, she could try to hide the food. It could be because she’s not famished at the moment. Or she wants to get back to it at a more convenient time. She could do the same for leftover food even though there’s no competition.
Felines in the wild often bury their food to hide it from other predators and scavengers. They return to eat at a more convenient time. Leopards are the most famous food-caching-cats. However, they don’t bury it. Instead, they hoist it up trees. Bobcats, on the other hand, have no problem digging holes and hiding their food.
Keeping a low profile
In the wild, survival is for the fittest. Most felines know that the scent of a prey’s carcass can attract other predators and scavengers. To avoid this, they gorge themselves after a kill and bury any leftover food.
Females with young ones do this to avoid attracting other predators to their “territory.” The scent of a carcass could do more harm than attract a hungry predator. It could tip it off about her presence since her scent is on it. This could be catastrophic for her young ones.
Burying the carcass also helps the cat to remain hidden from the prey.
- If you have multiple cats, feed them sufficient food so that there’s no competition or fear of other predators
- Ensure the males are neutered, and females are spayed. It takes away that strong, territorial, or protective mothering instinct
- Visit the vet to rule out illness
- If it’s a diet change, consider resuming the previous diet. If that’s not possible, consider gradually phasing out the old diet
To conclude, now that you know why kitty wants to bury her food, be careful not to punish or speak harshly. Doing so may lead to a worse behavior issue and strain your bond.
Your home may not be anything like the African Savannah. However, kitty’s ancestors lived in such an environment for so long. The instinct stuck deep in her DNA. Now, she’s just following her gut.
She’s not hungry or doesn’t like the food
If she’s not hungry, the kitty will try to bury the food and return later. But she could also lack appetite. Perhaps you recently changed her diet, and she began to cover it. Maybe she is unwell and doesn’t feel like eating.
If you have not recently changed her diet, yet she looks like she doesn’t have an appetite, consult a vet. Lack of appetite could be a sign of illness.
Sometimes kitty may protest about diet changes, and she may cover the bowl with her body. This could also be a territorial marking move driven by instinct.
What can you do?
Since the kitty is simply following instinct, try not to be offended by the behavior. But you are not entirely helpless. The following moves can help to lessen the behavior.
- Reduce the food portions and serve multiple small meals
- Keep an eye on the feeding cat and remove the food bowl immediately after she looks satisfied
- If she starts scratching the mat before eating, distract her with a toy and take away the food bowl
- If you have multiple cats, feed them sufficient food so that there’s no competition or fear of other predators
- Ensure the males are neutered, and females are spayed. It takes away that strong, territorial, or protective mothering instinct
- Visit the vet to rule out illness
- If it’s a diet change, consider resuming the previous diet. If that’s not possible, consider gradually phasing out the old diet
To conclude, now that you know why kitty wants to bury her food, be careful not to punish or speak harshly. Doing so may lead to a worse behavior issue and strain your bond.
Guest Blog provided by: Emma Williams, professional writer and pet parent.
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