Why do cats cover up their poop

If your cat doesn't cover her poop, what can you do? It can be frustrating (and a little smelly) if you find uncovered poop waiting in the litter box. Just remember: your cat isn't doing this to be mean. If she's not covering her poop, it could be because of nervousness, competition with other cats, health issues, or other reasons. You can encourage your cat to cover her poop by trying different litter and litter boxes, calming products, and decreasing the stress in her life.

1. Teach Your Cat to Bury

If your cat has never buried her poop, it might be because she never learned from mamma kitty.1 Try sitting with her while she uses the litter box and then gently use her paws to cover the litter when she's done. Give her treats when she does cover it. You can also use clicker training to "capture" the right movements and slowly encourage her over time.2

2. Add More Litter Boxes in Different Locations

If a cat's not covering his poop, it might be because the litter box is in a location your cat doesn't like. Or maybe you don't have enough boxes. It's a good rule of thumb to provide at least one litter box per cat.

Put the litter boxes in different locations. Make sure that some are away from loud noises like washing machines or heavy foot traffic. A cat who gets distracted by noise might forget to cover his poop.

3. Reduce Stress

Sometimes stress can cause cats to leave their poop uncovered. In the wild, cats may cover their poop to hide their scent so predators don't know they're around.3 Or they might be trying to show that they're not a threat to an "alpha" cat in the area. So a cat who isn't covering his poop might be in competition with another cat and is trying to show dominance. Other stress triggers, like other cats wandering outside the house, might leave her feeling insecure. Even having visitors over or moving to a new house might trigger your cat to feel stressed.

If you've got a stressed-out kitty, reducing stress can help her feel more confident about covering her poop. Try a calming diffuser. These release a drug-free, odorless vapor that mimics the pheromones a cat uses to indicate an area is safe. You could also try a calming collar, which releases those same vapors wherever your cat goes.

Setting up cat trees so your cats aren't all stuck on the floor together can help. Playing with your cat to expend some of that nervous energy can help too.

4. Test Different Kinds and Levels of Litter

A cat may not cover his poop because the litter hurts his paws or he just doesn't like the smell or feel. So try a variety of litter, from pine to shavings to granules. You can also try fragrance-free litter.

Long-haired cats might get litter granules caught in the fur that sticks out from their paws. Try "crystal" litter designed for long-haired felines. Long-haired cats can also get mats on their bums, so check for this too.

You might even try different levels of litter and cleaning it more frequently. Some cats won't cover their poop if the litter is too shallow or too deep. Others won't cover if it's too dirty.

5. Give a Low-Sided or Larger Box a Try

Try a low-sided box. Some elderly cats or cats with hip dysplasia might feel pain when they try to step into the litter box. This can cause them to want to leave the box fast, or they might start pooping outside the box instead. If you use a low-sided box (or cut out one of the sides), your cat might warm up to the litter box over time.

A larger box might also help. If the box is too small, your cat might not feel comfortable moving around and burying his poop. A covered box often restricts the space your cat has to move around in. But some cats feel more comfortable in a covered box, so experiment with different types.

6. Talk to a Veterinarian

It's always a good idea to chat with your veterinarian if your cat has a sudden change in behavior. If she's been covering her poop and suddenly stops, she might have a new health issue. Get her a checkup to make sure she's okay.

Remember: if a cat's not covering his poop, he's not trying to be mean or show that he's mad at you. A cat typically doesn't cover his poop because of stress, pain, or litter box problems. So go easy on your little fur baby and try some of these solutions to see if they help.

1. Harrell, Jane. "Q&A: How Can I Get My Cat to Bury His Poop in the Litter Box?" PetFinder, https://www.petfinder.com/blog/2011/05/train_furkeeps_qa_how_can_i_ge.

2. Driver, Nancy. "Ask a Trainer: Cat Soiling the Carpet." Karen Pryor Clicker Training, 9 June 2015, https://www.clickertraining.com/node/4868.

3. Shojai, Amy. "Why Cats Don't Always Cover Their Poop." The Spruce Pets, 22 October 2019, https://www.thesprucepets.com/cat-behavior-covering-poop-553937.

Whether they do it in the litter box or the garden, we’ve all witnessed our cats carefully burying their poop, and the behavior can seem strange indeed. But burying waste is actually not at all uncommon in the wild, and many other animals are known to do the same thing. Luckily, this behavior is perfectly normal in cats and nothing to be concerned about.

Still, the behavior is certainly curious, and you may have found yourself wondering exactly why cats do it. Let’s take a look at the three reasons for this strange but perfectly normal behavior.

The 3 Most Common Reasons Cats Bury Their Poop

In the wild, big cats are at the top of the food chain, and as such, there is a constant battle for territory and dominance. Lions, leopards, and cheetahs do not have any natural predators to worry about, so they do not need to worry about hiding their poop. On the other hand, smaller cats, like domesticated felines or bobcats, are extremely vulnerable to these apex predators, so they bury their poop to let larger cats know that they are not a threat and present no territorial challenge. This habit has been passed down through generations of cats and is still a part of their natural instincts today.

While territorial disputes with larger cats are certainly a concern, there is more in the wild that smaller cats have to worry about. Predators are a constant and deadly threat, especially if a small cat has a litter of kittens around. Predators have a keen sense of the world around them, and scents like poop or urine are a glaring sign that a small cat is in the area. For this reason, small cats will bury their poop in an attempt to stay under the radar and not attract larger predators.

Your domesticated cat still has survival mechanisms in their DNA, and certain habits are purely instinctual. You know that no large predators or big cats are roaming around the neighborhood (hopefully), so why would your cat still carry on the practice of burying their poop? Your cat is not as sure about this as you are and likely sees you as the dominant member of the household. They’ll still bury their poop to avoid conflict, and this is a part of their instincts that is unlikely to go away.

Also, cats are fastidious about cleanliness, so they may just bury their poop to keep the smell away from their sensitive noses.

What if your cat doesn’t bury their poop?

Since burying poop is such normal behavior for cats, there may be an issue if your cat is not engaging in the behavior. Even in a calm, predator-free domestic home, most cats still see themselves as subordinates of their human owners. Cats that avoid using the litter box may feel dominant over their owner or possibly another cat in the home, and this is a part of their way of asserting that dominance. That said, the behavior is more likely due to issues like lack of training or something being wrong with their litterbox. It may even be due to illness.

Cats may also learn this behavior from observing their mothers, and kittens taken away from their parents too early may not have had a chance to observe this. The behavior is largely instinctual, though, so this is possible but unlikely. Litter box issues are possibilities, as your cat may not like the feel of certain litter or where the litter box is situated, so they avoid using it.

In general, there is probably nothing to worry about if your cat is not burying their poop, as cats are notoriously finicky and the smallest issue may be preventing the behavior.

See Also: Why Do Cats Sometimes Bury Their Food

Final Thoughts

Burying poop certainly seems like strange behavior for a domestic cat, but when you take into consideration your cat’s ancestors and lineage and the fact that they were once wild animals that needed to fend for themselves, the behavior makes more sense. You can now rest easy knowing that your cat burying their poop is perfectly normal behavior!

Featured Image Credit: Mikhail Olykainen, Shutterstock