My cat tries to cover her food after she eats. Why does she do this?

The first point to make is that not all domestic cats do this and those that do it don’t do it all the time. In fact, in my experience, it is not that usual. But if a cat has eaten enough he or she may try and bury the remaining food. This is caching food for another day and hiding it from ‘competitors’ so that they can’t find it. At least that is the intention.

Cat eats
Cat eats. Image by birgl from Pixabay
Two useful tags. Click either to see the articles: Toxic to cats | Dangers to cats

It is entirely instinctive and inherited from the domestic cat’s wild cat ancestor, the North African wildcat. It is so completely ingrained that it has not been lost over about 10,000 years of domestication but it is a feline behavioral trait that is probably gradually fading away.

Obviously it serves no purpose for the domestic cat in a nice home but that isn’t the point as it is, as mentioned, instinctive and not a rational decision based on the pertaining circumstances.

This behaviour, therefore, does not mean that your cat dislikes the food but that he or she is full up if she has already eaten some of it. It is completely normal.

Below are some links to articles on the topic of domestic cat food which may interest you.

Domestic cat not eating

How long can a domestic cat go without food?

Cat not eating. Veterinarians call this anorexia and there is a long list of reasons but there might be no ...
Cat bites hand

Cat licks your passive hand and then suddenly bites it hard. Explanation.

My conclusion from my discussion below is that domestic cats can get confused when they are licking their owner's passive ...
Grey cat manically eats dry cat food with left paw and stuffs the pellets into his mouth

Why do domestic cats use their paws to eat food?

The reason why domestic cats sometimes use their paws to eat commercially made food is because it is natural to ...
Cat soliciting meow

My cat is always hungry. Hyperthyroidism? Or another reason?

Some people are visiting Google and searching for "my cat is always hungry". They think their cat is always hungry ...
Cat licks a cornstarch bag

Why do some domestic cats lick biodegradable bags?

Nowadays, biodegradable plastic bags are made from PLA (polylactic acid) which is derived from cornstarch. These bags are compostable. They ...
Domestic cat (a Benga) eating with their left paw

Why do domestic cats sometimes use their paws to eat and drink?

If and when domestic cats use their paws to eat food or to drink water they do so in a ...
Useful tag. Click to see the articles: Cat behavior

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