Why do cats bury food?

Four-legged friends are known to walk on their own. They are mysterious, playful, at times simply intolerable, but thousands of people practically adore furry pets. But for the owners it remains a mystery why cats, after eating, bury their food. Probably anyone who has a beloved mustachioed friend lives with this phenomenon. A cat or cat suddenly starts digging around its own bowl, amusingly scraping its claws on the floor surface that the owners have made in their own kitchen, trying to bury their lunch.

The action of furry friends is associated with feline instincts or habits, that is, acquired skills. No need to worry or come up with terrible reasons for what is happening - your cat "listens" to his own intuition. But if you are absorbed by interest or you need to realize the messages of an unusual action - read our article.

Any animal endures all the hardships thanks to absolute reflexes. Cats, kittens hunt and strive for this "by nature". Purring, fiddling with paws in place, pliable rubbing on the hand - these are also instincts. There are a number of fundamental, absolute instincts that control the life of a pet as a whole: breathing, coughing, sneezing, sucking, chewing, sickness, vomiting.

The mother cat not only tries to bury food every time, but can also hide it in the most unexpected places. For example, a piece of meat steak in the freezer. Burying food can be associated with almost any absolute reflex.

Experts believe that cats have preserved some ancient instincts. Thus, a tame cat is prone to very unbridled actions, for example, burying food. What are the reasons?

The trivial root cause of this action is associated with the desire to hide the remnants of food from rivals to satisfy their own hunger.

The instinct is the drive for satiety. When the animal is hungry or not full, the pet begins to dig the floor, tries to "dig" the supplies from it, in which they seem to have been buried.

Digging and burying food appears only in autumn or spring. This is due to the presence of vitamin deficiency and an increase in appetite.

Burying food or food leftovers can be explained by the cat's desire to clean up.... Cats are very clean - they will definitely bury their toilet and leave a clean place after dinner.

Another food instillation reflex is associated with smell. This means that if the food emanates a "scent" - an unbearable, unacceptable smell resulting from spoiled food, then in this case the four-legged pets will also bury the food.

Quite possibly, your tailed pet does not like it, or he decided to arrange a fasting day for himself (yes, it happens with cats too).

And if more than one tailed pet lives in an apartment, then burying food is, first of all, the desire to hide it from the opponent.

Habits and rules are the result of an experienced skill, both positive and negative. The main household felines are trained to go to the litter box. Many may have a logical question: "How exactly is the tray associated with burying food?"

Almost directly. As a rule, bowls with food and water are close, and at times they are combined. Not all owners have the time to purchase a Velcro mat. With combined bowls, the cat often, making its way to the food, clings to the drinker and splashes water.

Seeing a puddle on the floor and realizing that the owner will not like it, the cat will try to very quickly eliminate the "offense": she digs the floor, and afterwards she knocks over the cup and buries the water with food.

There is also a root cause for burying a bowl of food - the cat does not like its eating place. There are a great many reasons: the pet does not feel protected there, it is cool, or it is repulsed by some unpleasant aroma. Also, do not place cups of food for a cat near the washing machine: the sound made by the appliance can immediately scare the animal, as a result of which it will experience discomfort and fear.

Move the bowl to another place, cover the eating area with a rug, you can use thick oilcloth, do not distract the cat when she is having dinner, and make sure that other family members do not distract her. A more effective way is to put bowls of food and water on a windowsill or on a rug near her bed, protect your pet from possible irritants.

There are times when a pet tries to bury a bowl of food every time. It is likely that he was severely hungry in the past and still cannot forget this unpleasant stage in his own life. This oddity must be treated with understanding. Only affection, affection, calmness and stability will help your friend get rid of the fear of hunger.

Some "diggers" are driven by antipathy. Do you remember how painstakingly neat cats bury their own excrement so that the "scent" does not spread? Also, the cat can painstakingly bury food - exactly the one that she did not like.

If the bowl is located in the kitchen not far from the garbage bin, the not very pleasant smell coming from there irritates the tailed beasts - in this regard, the pet may also begin to bury the bowl.

In addition to the above reasons, cats may bury homemade food if they like it.Thus, he experiences and demonstrates gastronomic admiration. The dish seemed so tasty to the animal that the genes of the forefathers woke up in it, and the pet decided to arrange a supply. Please note that wild cats also hide not all prey, but only the most delicious.

Well, connoisseurs of good cuisine undoubtedly value only what they like best. If the cat begins to dig after having had lunch or dinner with great appetite, this means that he appreciated your kindness and care.

So, to summarize, what are the reasons for instilling food:

• unfortunate place where the bowl is;
• poor quality of products;
• stress due to loud and unpleasant sounds, the presence of other animals or annoying people;
• the cup is very dirty;
• low floor temperature;
• depressed position of the pet;
• illness and malaise.

Playing with food is an ingenious method to attract the host. Often, pets do not have enough attention from their owners, who occasionally visit the house and ignore them. Scolding animals for playing with food is contraindicated.

If your pet bury, bury a bowl of food, then Felinologists first of all advise to make sure that the four-legged pet is not stressed. It is necessary to provide the cat with its own place so that other animals do not have the opportunity to approach his food. Also, it is not allowed to put loud technical devices near the bowl. In addition, the area where the animal eats should be kept clean.

To stop the cat from digging the floor you need to look after him, monitor his feeding, allocate portions of food at the same time, carefully check the quality of the products.

You will learn more about the reasons for the cat's behavior in the video below.