Why Does My Cat Try & Bury Her Food Dish?

[Crystaljanie511]

I've had Sookie for about two months now. Someone found her in the rain, took her in and my boyfriend got her for me. She has her first vet appointment next week but until then, we have no idea how old she is. She's young though. Not a small kitten but more like a teenager we joke around and say. We don't have any other pets either. Twice a day, I give her wet food along with her dry food. Lately she's been trying to bury what food she has left (but only the wet food~she doesn't do it with the dry food). It would make sense to me if we had another animal but we don't and I'm so confused why shes acting this way. When she does it, I put the dish up on the counter. Her dishes are glass so when she's "burying" her food dish, it's loud & I don't want her to break her dish. Does anyone have any clue why she's doing this and is there anything I can do to make her stop? I worry maybe she IS nervous someone or something is going to take her food & I don't want her scared. Thank you in advance for any help.

 

[amethyst]

She could just be trying to hide any leftovers so the smell doesn't attracted any other animals. The wet food has a stronger smell then dry, so is more likely to attract a predator or scare away prey. Domestic cats aren't like big wild cats or dogs, they don't normally come back to a kill, so she likely isn't trying to save it for later or afraid someone will take it.

To help stop the behavior try feeding smaller meals, just what she will eat in one sitting, so there are no leftovers in her bowl. You can store any leftover food in the fridge for later use. Also pick up her bowl after she eats so the smell of food is gone.

 

[molly92]

Yes, as amethyst explained, it is a common cat instinct. She's not actually afraid that a predator is around, it's just cat common sense that if something smells, it should be covered up.

 

[KarenKat]

Olive does this too! She eats all of her meal, but if there is a little residue she digs at the carpet and tries to bury it. I just pick the bowl up and put it away and it seems to satisfy her.

 

[tabbytom]

In the wild, the big cats does that so that not to attract other animals or let the other predators know their presence.

My boy does that too. If he doesn’t finish his food, he’ll have this motion of covering up his food and if I lay food down for him and he’s not hungry at that moment, he does the same and cover his food.

Like what the above posters said, it’s their instinct. Sometimes I find it very funny when he does that

 

[di and bob]

My cats do this too, but only with food they don't like......and there I thought they were trying to tell me what they thought of it, it tasted like you know what so they were treating it like you know what!

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

My cat has done this as well.

She never picked up this behavior, though, until I had to confine her in a crate after surgery. She did it a lot while in her crate. It has made me wonder if a cat starts to do this when they are feeling particularly protective or possessive about their own territory. Perhaps as they come to know a certain defined territory, whether in your house or if confined to a territory smaller than they are used to (like, in a crate), they feel more instincts to "cover" their food? Now that surgery and crate confinement is well behind us, she only does it off and on depending on her mood. She also does it immediately if the smell of the food is not to her liking. Cats are hard to figure out!

 

[sabian]

I've never had a cat do this. Manny and most of my past cats were big breeds and part pig. They usually lick the shine off the bowl and left it spotless! As others have mentioned though, I would assume it's instinctual. Kinda like a dog burying a bone.

 

[Shane Kent]

My cat Taz is like di and bob's cats, he only does it to food he does not like.

 

[DreamerRose]

Mingo does it to food he doesn't like too. He can't stand it when Lily is licking a food dish of mine, so he chases her away, then decides he doesn't like it, and tries to cover it up. It's like "You can't have it if I can't have it."

 

[GGG]

I've had Sookie for about two months now. Someone found her in the rain, took her in and my boyfriend got her for me. She has her first vet appointment next week but until then, we have no idea how old she is. She's young though. Not a small kitten but more like a teenager we joke around and say. We don't have any other pets either. Twice a day, I give her wet food along with her dry food. Lately she's been trying to bury what food she has left (but only the wet food~she doesn't do it with the dry food). It would make sense to me if we had another animal but we don't and I'm so confused why shes acting this way. When she does it, I put the dish up on the counter. Her dishes are glass so when she's "burying" her food dish, it's loud & I don't want her to break her dish. Does anyone have any clue why she's doing this and is there anything I can do to make her stop? I worry maybe she IS nervous someone or something is going to take her food & I don't want her scared. Thank you in advance for any help.

My cat does that when she doesn't like the food, sometimes she smells it and tries to bury the food without even trying it and some time she picks on it or licks it a big then trys to bury it. She does it to the wet food only too.

 

[maggiedemi]

Same here, Maggie tries to bury her wet food if she doesn't like it. Sometimes she will even take a piece of packing paper and throw that over her plate.