As a cat owner, you must have seen your cat making a “burying” motion towards its food, right?
Why do cats bury, bury, bury their food instead of their cat litter? Actually, there are two possible reasons~ Let’s take a look!
Reason One: They Don’t Like the Smell
A cat’s behavior of burying food might reflect its eating habits. If a cat is not interested in a certain food, it might try to bury it, which could be a way of expressing dissatisfaction with the food. So, if your cat makes a burying motion towards new food, you can try mixing in some of its old food, using the familiar scent to encourage it to eat.
Additionally, cats may also want to keep their feeding area clean, so they might try to bury leftover food after eating!
Reason Two: Saving It For Later
Cats are born with a strong sense of territory. When a cat feels its food might be stolen by other animals, it will choose to bury the food to protect its resources. This behavior can be traced back to their ancestors. In the wild, food was a precious and scarce resource; after catching prey, they needed to hide the food to prevent it from being taken by other predators or members of their own species.
Also, cats have small stomachs, so they often can’t finish all their food in one sitting. Cats will also bury food to come back and eat it later. This is an instinct formed through a long process of evolution, which is why domestic cats might exhibit it too!
Does your cat bury its food? Feel free to share this knowledge with your friends who also have cats~
Original article by 搬运工, if reproduced, please cite the source: https://www.kaipet.com/en/cats-bury-food
Comments(2)
My cat often tries to ‘bury’ its water bowl! Is that related to keeping the area clean, too?
@CriticX：Hello CriticX, thanks for sharing your observation! You’ve brought up an interesting point. The instinct to keep an area clean, as discussed for food, could certainly extend to water bowls. Cats might be trying to ‘cover’ or ‘hide’ it, or perhaps they’re reacting to the bowl’s location. A fascinating behavior!