Why Does My Cat Try To Bury Her Food?

Cats, even if fully domesticated, still are creatures with animal instincts. They are born with the habits of their kind. This being said, you should not worry when you see your furry friend scratching around their food. Burying food is a ritual that cats do inside or outside the house. Various reasons are discovered by experts as to why cats do this thing. One of which is their fear of not having enough in the days to come. In this article, we’ll answer frequently asked questions like “Why does my cat try to bury her food?” and “What should I do to stop them?”

Why Does My Cat Try to Cover the Food?

There are plenty of reasons for this habit of cats in covering the food you gave them a while ago. A few of which are as follows:

To Save for Later Consumption

As mentioned above, cats have adopted the animal instincts from their ancestors living in the wild. The term for this behavior is called “caching” or preserving food for later consumption when there is no food left to eat. It is very interesting how cats manage to maintain the food in its edible state while hiding the same from predators. So when you see your cat doing this, you can let her be as long as there are no damages done inside.

They Are Selfish

Even though cats look like adorable creatures that every pet owner loves, they have selfish personalities. The food that you serve them should only be eaten by them and not shared with anyone else. You will be able to observe this behavior by how they cover or bury their meal surpluses in their cat litter or inside their cat houses. This is true especially when you have new kittens roaming around or even other pets like puppies.

Cleanliness Uplifts Them

Cats are not fond of water and bathing in them. However, it is a well-known fact that they love to clean themselves by licking every part of their bodies. If they are not sleeping, you can see them cleaning themselves meticulously. This being said, they are also very particularly clean with the surroundings they are in. So every meal, they make sure that there are no food crumbs scattered around the food bowl and bring them in their cat litters.

Animal Instincts

Another reason why do cats bury their food or cover them in some instances is that they wish to cover its smell. Their animal instincts kick in and act like predators are roaming around the area. And because they are considered predators in the wild, they do not want to share anything with their fellows. We all know that animals have a great sense of smell so submissive cats try to do their best to hide the smell of the food they just ate.

Food Doesn’t Taste Great

Last but not least, they do not like the food you have put in their food bowls. This is not happening often because most cats nowadays leave the food bowl full when they do not like what’s in it. They bury the food for the reason of eating the same when scarcity of food hits them. So as an owner, make sure that your feline friends at home only eat the best food you can offer.

What Should I Do to Stop My Cat Bury Her Food?

So the next question that needs to be answered now is what should you do as the owner to stop your cat from burying her food. Below are some steps you can take to prevent cats from exhibiting this kind of behavior:

Feed Them Smaller Portions

One of the most practical remedies that you can do at home is to only feed your cats smaller portions of their meals. This will not only prevent them from burying their food in their cat litter or somewhere else but it will also make sure that they don’t overeat. Another adjustment you can do to prevent your cat from doing this act is to buy a smaller food bowl to make the food look a lot.

Clean the Food Bowl After They Eat

Cats tend to bury the leftover food from their scrumptious meal. To avoid this from happening, you need to quickly clean their food bowl right after they eat. This will help them get disinterested from playing with the bowl and will tell them that no food can be buried at the moment. By doing this every single day, you will be able to alter the instinct of your cats and make them behave better.

Only Prepare Dry Cat Food

According to seasoned cat owners and some experts, felines are more urged to bury moist food. They believe that those will last a longer time than the dry ones. This being said, what you can do is to make sure to prepare dry ingredients only. But incorporating moist cat food is also permissible only if they have removed the habit from their bodies.

Distract Them Using Cat Toys

After they are done eating their food, what you can do to distract them is to use cat toys. You need to engage them in a fun and exhausting activity that will make them lazy and sleepy. This is so much better than seeing them scratching your floors at home trying to cover up their food leftovers. You can buy laser pointers, feather teasers, and more!

Use Puzzle Feeder to Satisfy Animal Instincts

One of the best creations for cats and cat owners is the puzzle feeder. You don’t want your cat to fully forget their animal instincts, right? Then invest in this kind of feeding technology. Instead of eating from bowls, your cats need to quickly solve what’s in front of them to get the treats they deserve. There is a lot of variety to choose from and you can choose puzzles from easy to difficult.

Find out more at Amazon: Puzzle Feeder by Cat Amazing and Interactive Food Puzzle Toys for Your Cat

Place Food Bowls in a Scratch-Proof Surface

Lastly, to fully prevent cats from digging on your carpet floors and wooden ones, place the food bowl on a scratch-proof surface like marbles and tiles. Over time, they will get tired of doing the burying they do every single day. And hopefully, they might stop doing the same for better domestic behavior.

Why Do Cats Scratch Around Their Food?

There are various reasons why cats scratch around their food but the most popular ones are:

To Keep the Food for Themselves

The first reason for this behavior is to make sure that they are the only ones that can eat the delicious food you just served them. They have this selfish desire to keep everything they want and deserve.

To Disguise Their Traces

Another reason for this is to disguise their traces from predators. Even if they are in the comfort of your home, cats have this instinct that other animals might attack them and get their food from them.

Wrapping Up

Even if cats are considered domesticated for a very long time already, they still are animals, hence, the urge to preserve and protect their food. If they are not destroying anything from your house or if they are not bothering you, leaving these cats alone is the best response. However, if it’s otherwise, you need to act on it as soon as possible.