Caching, the instinct of covering "burying" food in cats

Cats have some behaviors that we humans find them little odd. One of the most common of these behaviors is covering food or what is known as burying it.

You may see your cat scratching around the bowl, trying to cover or bury her food. She might even do the same with her favorite food. Some cats do not scratch around their bowl, but rather use newspapers, rugs, or towels to cover them, while others will drag anything from elsewhere in the house to place directly on top of their bowl.

⌛ Later, they may "uncover" the food and eat it, or they maybe leave it as it's buried. 

This behavior may puzzle and worry you at times, as it is harmful to carpets, furnishings, and home furnishings, and it may be a cause of damage to many objects in the house, and it'll push you definitely to look for why your cat is behaving like this, and think that something is wrong with her.

First of all, this behavior does not indicate that something is wrong with your cat. It is an instinctive behavior that is found in all cats known as "Caching", and it will appear spontaneously in some conditions that you maybe find strange and puzzling. 

Keep reading our article to learn about what is "Caching behavior", and what are the reasons that push your cat to cover or bury her food❕

A Tale of The Most Famous "Food-cover" Cat :

In 1853, Priest John George Wood recorded in his book "Illustrated Natural History" tales about his cat and her crazy obsession with covering her food.

The cat was always keen on covering her food. She was looking for a piece of paper to cover her bowl. If she had no paper on hand (or a paw), she had "Plan B"; She would rummage into the priest's wife's pocket for a napkin, to cover her bowl instead of paper.

But it became even stranger when the cat didn't find a piece of paper or a napkin😾 She would become incredibly nervous and tense❕

Immediately, she would bring one of her kittens and put the poor kitty on top of her bowl; and if there were no kittens, she would tear up the rug and put the rough pieces on top of her food.

Finally, if the cat didn't find paper, napkins, kittens, and rugs, she would pull the tablecloth from the table, causing, as Priest John says in his book: a sad demolition of the superincumbent fragile ware💥.

CACHING, THE INSTINCT OF COVERING "BURYING" FOOD IN CATS

Burying or covering food in domesticated cats is an instinctive behavior, which scientists call "Caching" and it's a common behavior in wild cats too, from lions (Big cats) to small jungle cats (Small cats). 

 ⛏ As it is a safe mechanism for cats to keep their food fresh and cool and also to protect them from other animals.

🌴 In the wild, cats (big and small) are predators and omnivores, which means they spend their day searching for prey and eating portions. 

For leftovers or the rest of the prey, they tend to bury them to keep them cool and fresh. So when they come back later, they'll ensure to have fresh food to eat, or at least to feed their young with.

However, the importance of burying food is due to the need to hide the scent of prey's flesh, as it may attract scavengers and other predators to the food and devour it. Hiding the scent will also help not to alert other prey to the presence of a hunting cat in the area, so they do not panic and run away.

Also, small wild cats are prey, so they have a lot of fears and worries about predators that are everywhere. Therefore, hiding the scent of prey's flesh will help not to attract predators to the cat's territory, and thus they won't win a combo meal; the cat's meal + the cat herself, or maybe her young.

Since caching behavior is more instinctive than practical, not all cats cache their food by burying it, for example:

🦁 Lions don't tend to bury deer and also don't leave them under the open sky, so they may cover leftovers with leaves, sticks, and grass; sometimes they may leave around the prey their paws with their bare dirt.

🐯 Cheetahs and Leopards do "Caching" in trees, to keep their food high up and out of reach of lions and hyenas, who are less adept at climbing.

REASONS WHY YOUR CAT BURIES HER FOOD:

Since covering or burying food is an instinct behavior present in all cats, whether they live in the wild, in the streets, or at your home, it will appear in your cat spontaneously and without thinking in some situations for multiple reasons:

1) Cleanliness "Hygiene" Concept:

Most cat owners say that the main reason their cats cover or bury their food is that they don't like it, and that is quite true. They will also say that their cats will do the same with food that has a foul smell and makes them feel nauseous.

At first glance, this may seem to you as an objection to the type or quality of food, but in fact, cats apply the "Cleanliness or Hygiene Concept".

Since cats are clean-loving creatures and have a passion for keeping their living space clean and tidy, they will consider unliked food or foul-smelling food as "waste", and they treat "waste" like "feces"🚽; Burying them🧺.

2) Protection Concept:

As mentioned above, cats in the wild will bury leftovers to protect them from predators and scavengers. But your house is not "The Wild" and has no predators, but it may have other cats or a dog that steals cats' food.

😼 Cats are famous for competing and irritating each other. A cat may steal the other's food for teasing her, and to eat it later.

🐶 As for dogs, they are known to be "scavengers", and their curious nose always leads them to any food they can eat, even if it is not dog food, or even if it is harmful to their health.

⛏ Therefore, your cat will be keen to bury its food for the purpose of protection, because she is fully aware that there is a cat that may steal her food to tease her, or a dog will eat her food if his nose catches its scent.

3) Maternal Instinct:

When your cat has had kittens and becomes a new mom, the well-known maternal instinct in cats will prompt her to save a portion of her food for her new young by burying this portion so that it will be fresh when it is time to feed them.

🍼Since a cat is a mother by nature and understands well that keeping her young healthy is through a constant supply of good food, she will save enough of her food to feed her young, and make sure to keep them healthy.

Your cat doesn't need to be a new mother to save food for her kittens; The cat, who was previously a mother, will also save food for the kittens that are not her own.

4) Save Excess Quantities:

You may be shocked when you see your cat trying to bury the food she loves. The most surprising part is that the food smells delicious and attracts you to eat it, Not making your feline feel nauseous.

However, she tries to bury it❕

🕵🏻 But if you look closely, you will find that your cat does not bury all the food, but only part of it; an excessive quantity over her need. As a result, she will apply her "Cleanliness concept" and treat it like "waste" and bury it; but does not forget to come back later to eat it.

⚠ When the excessive quantity of food is the reason for burying food 🠞 indicates that something is wrong with YOU, not your feline. 

Since you are responsible for the health and nutrition of your cat, you are supposed to pay attention to what she will eat and the amount that will be eaten, to avoid several health issues, including obesity.

CONCLUSION:

Unlike other articles that claim to prevent that "instinctive" behavior and they recommend "dumb" and naive ideas, we suggest nothing to do as it will happen whether or not you try to prevent it because it will occur spontaneously. Even your cat does not have the ability to control it.

👌However, there is nothing to worry about.

🙏🏻Finally, we hope that our article was helpful and that you now know what caching is and why your cat does it, and that it is not harmful behavior.

🙏 if you have a comment, feel free and leave it, as well as share the article on your social media to benefit your family and friends.