One of the cat’s behaviors that it’s impossible not to have noticed is the diligent and zealous covering of its feces when using the toilet. In fact, the zeal can exceed all limits, leading to explosions of the cat in the toilet.
But why does this happen?
Why Cats Bury Their Feces?
1. Because They Try To Cover Their Track From Predators
It is the same old story of the cat who believes that a jaguar is lurking in the living room, waiting to attack. Aside from small predators, cats are also potential prey of larger predators. That’s why its wild ancestors in nature made sure to bury their feces to hide their smells from potential predators.
This behavior is probably recorded in the genetic memory of the cat and performed mechanically. Additionally, it’s a behavior newborns have observed by their mother! So this behavior is perpetuating.
2. They Can’t Stand Their Smell
Smell is the strongest sense a cat possesses. There’s another theory claiming that with such a strong sense of smell, the cat may be annoyed by the smell of its feces, so it buries them to limit the odors!
3. State That They’re Not Threatening
There’s also a theory that cats which aren’t very confident bury their feces as a message to other cats that they aren’t hostile. Therefore, the peaceful and safe atmosphere is maintained!
Why sometimes a cat doesn’t bury its poop?
But why some cats don’t follow this beaten path? Why some cats don’t bury their feces?
1. It Claims Its Territory
A cat’s feces contain all its signature smells. Unlike those timid cats that bury their feces to denote lack of hostility, many intensely confident cats wish to show their strength and mark their area in the distinctive olfactory way of the cat! So, they don’t bury their feces to mark a territory as theirs since it has their smell!
2. They Haven’t Learned To Bury Their Feces
Some cats aren’t used to burying their feces because they’ve never observed their mom doing something like this, so they haven’t adopted similar practices.
This theory contrasts with the notion that this behavior is written in the cat’s genetic code.
3. There’s Something Unpleasant In The Cat’s Litter Box
Sometimes cats refuse to bury their feces because something unpleasant happens in their toilet (ex. not clean enough), so they refuse to engage in this activity in such an unpleasant environment!
In this case, more consistent cleaning of the litter box solves the problem directly.
For similar reasons, cats often seek to defecate outside their toilet.
