Actually, it does. In your cat's world, there is a direct connection between hiding the faeces and surviving.
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Cats seem to be so obsessed with staying clean, that we start to attribute a lot of their behaviour traits to this particular goal. Many of us believe that felines bury their poop to keep the litter box tidy and show off their impeccable manners, especially in a contrast to dogs, but it’s not at all true.Defecation disguise has a lot more to do with staying alive than keeping up appearances.
After realising the real reason cats bury their poop, you’re likely to see these fascinating animals in a new light.
This is why your cat buries their poop
According to Live Science, the act of meticulously burying their waste stems from cats' long history of using urine and faeces to mark their territory.
Cat poop may all smell the same to humans, but the fluff balls themselves can tell their ‘treasure’ apart from other animals’ ‘treasure’ thanks to unique chemical scent markers called pheromones, which are present in their urine and faeces.
In the wild, dominant cats such as lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars often do not bury their excrement when they want to claim a particular area. Smaller, weaker or more submissive wild cats (the ones our pet felines come from) bury their faeces not to challenge these dominant cats and avoid attracting unwanted attention from predators.
Our beloved kitties harbour the same instincts. Even though there are no predators in your home (hopefully), your cat follows its gut and buries its poopies to feel safe, just in case.
Some even suggest that your fluffy is simply thinking that you are that big bad dominant cat they should fear.
Zoologist and ethologist Desmond Morris wrote in his book, Catlore:
In an undisturbed home, all domestic cats see themselves as subordinates of their human owners, so under normal circumstances, all domestic cats use litter trays or bury their faeces in the garden.
What if my cat doesn’t bother burying its poop?
Cats may use faeces as a social signal to other cats to establish or reinforce territory boundaries in a behaviour called marking, Daily Paws write. So, how to decipher their unwillingness to bury their poop? This is where it gets even more interesting.
One reason that your cat might choose not to use the litter box or use it without a typical disguise may be that they see themselves as dominant over you.
Though it can also be due to rebellious behaviour, an illness such as urinary tract infection, stomach problems or simply a lack of training, it’s still worth asking yourself if you're still a boss in your feline-populated house.
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