Why do cats bury their own poop?
It is a natural behavior for cats to bury their poop, which is mainly related to the cat’s survival instinct. When cats live in the wild, they try to hide their excrement as much as possible to protect themselves from predators. Doing so not only reduces odors that attract enemies, but also keeps the active area clean, which is good for hunting and survival.
In addition, burying cats in their poop is also a social behavior that helps them divide their territory in the group and identify the tracks of other cats. When cats bury their poop with litter, they release pheromones that can tell other cats that the area is their territory or show identification with other cats.
The cat’s poop-burying behavior is mainly due to the instinctive behavior left over from its wild ancestors, and there are several biological and ecological reasons for this behavior:
- Hidden odors: Cat poop contains strong odor pheromones, which are a noticeable marker for other animals. Wild cats can bury their poop to eliminate or mask the smell so that it doesn’t attract predators or other competitors to track them, and it also prevents revealing their territory.
- Survival instinct: In the wild, burying excrement can reduce the probability of being found by predators, which is conducive to the self-protection of felines.
- Territory marking: While cats bury their poop to reduce the spread of odors, their urine is often used to mark territory. The excrement in the litter box is also a kind of territory marking behavior to some extent, and burying the poop is also doing a subtle territory information management.
- Cleaning habits: Cats are relatively clean animals, and burying their poop is also a manifestation of keeping themselves and their living environment clean.
It is worth noting that domestic cats defecate and bury in the litter box, which is a behavioral habit learned and inherited after domestication, which is undoubtedly a good habit for cat owners.