Cat "burying" behavior

[cmshap]

He could also be marking his territory. Cats have pheromone glands in their feet.

Yeah, I have read that before, and that is definitely another plausible explanation.

I am not looking to stop the behavior, as there must be some reason that it makes him feel better, according to his cat instincts, to bury his food or mark the area around it.

But I want to prevent the dish from being tipped over. I started looking for a way to adhere the rubber mat to the floor (in a way I can easily remove it later), or a dish with low sides that can't be tipped over. Any suggestions are welcomed.

 

[FeebysOwner]

You said you tried a plate and he was still able to tip that over? Is the plate elevated? If so, don't elevate it anymore. Maybe the elevation is making his obsession worse. Or try one of these types of bowls (see pics below), one is not elevated the other is. I used the former one to stop Feeby from tipping over her water dish.

A bit of silicone caulk or rug gripper tape can be affixed to the bottom of the rubber mat to secure it. When you need to remove the mat, the caulk/tape won't stop you, but you will need to clean up that caulk and apply new or replace the tape when you put the mat back down.

 

[Alldara]

Yeah, I have read that before, and that is definitely another plausible explanation.

I am not looking to stop the behavior, as there must be some reason that it makes him feel better, according to his cat instincts, to bury his food or mark the area around it.

But I want to prevent the dish from being tipped over. I started looking for a way to adhere the rubber mat to the floor (in a way I can easily remove it later), or a dish with low sides that can't be tipped over. Any suggestions are welcomed.

I use mine as "inserts" to a raised dish so the the worst that happens is he moves the dish up and down.

 

[catsknowme]

Big cats such as mountain lions and panthers cover their food with leaves, brush etc. My disabled daughter's cat and her adult offspring are "burie inrs" and I allow lightweight cloths such as handkerchiefs and also white tissue paper to be nearby for them to use for covering. They're Siamese mixes and extremely creative at finding undesirable items to use for coverings, including opening drawers and dragging out freshly laundered clothes (due to physical limitations, I can't install childproof latches). They also are enthusiastic about covering litterbox findings if an "outsider" uses their boxes.

 

[cmshap]

You said you tried a plate and he was still able to tip that over? Is the plate elevated?

Yes, I am currently using a regular, small plate made for human food. He has successfully tipped over both the elevated dish which is pictured in my original post, as well as the regular plate I am using now. He manages to lift up the corner of the rubber mat while digging, such that it completely flips the plate over.

A bit of silicone caulk or rug gripper tape can be affixed to the bottom of the rubber mat to secure it.

Good suggestions. I feel like this is the best solution, as this particular rubber mat works very well for catching his spilled food. He is a licker, so when he eats wet food, he only licks it up. Which pushes it around the edges of the plate, and pushes it off the edges. I have to scoop it back up and put it back on the plate often. He won't eat it after it falls off.

If I use a deeper dish, he is less interested in eating wet food. I'm sure it's the whisker-fatigue issue. When it's dry food (which I give him as 25% of his diet), he scoops pieces out with his foot, and then eats the pieces that come out. But with wet food, it has to be in a shallow dish/plate.

My disabled daughter's cat and her adult offspring are "burie inrs" and I allow lightweight cloths such as handkerchiefs and also white tissue paper to be nearby for them to use for covering. They're Siamese mixes and extremely creative at finding undesirable items to use for coverings, including opening drawers and dragging out freshly laundered clothes

That's serious dedication, for those cats to seek out items to cover food with! My parents' Siberian cat frequently covers her uneaten food with toys. She will drag 2-3 toys over to her dish, and pile them on top of her food.

I started another thread about this. My cat occasionally drops a single toy in his food dish. It's probably related to this burying activity.

Do any of your cats put their toys in their food dish?