Burying food?

We brought our new kittens home 3 days ago and they've settled in really well, eating well, using the litter tray, playing like mad and enjoying the attention from us.

I'm intrigued, though, about a certain thing they both do, particularly Bruce. When we've fed them their wet food, they eat it and then scrape around the bowl as though they are trying to bury it. Bruce will do it for ages, and it's a good prompt for us to clear away the dirty bowls!

They do this occasionally with the dry food as well, and when I introduced one of toys that's a ball with food inside that falls out when they play with it, Bruce seemed quite bothered and was walking round the room trying to bury all the bits of dry food (it's a tiled floor)!

I'm not worried - I assume they have been taught by their mother to cover up smells, and are reacting in this natural way to the smell of the food, but I wonder if anyone has any comments or a more qualified explanation?

I wouldn't be worried by it at all... they're just kittens!

My male cat does this still. Sometimes I think it's his comment on the food service. But really it's just their instinct to cover all smells so they can't be tracked by predators. I don't know what predator my male thinks he has to hide from inside my house. But since we swear he sees ghosts, maybe he knows something we don't.

9 week old kitten and 3 year old female cat do this. I think it's just partially instinct. Cats, in the wild, if they don't eat their entire kill, will try to bury it and hide it to come back and eat on later.

My 3 year old male cat doesn't do this, but he's weird in enough ways to make up for it. It's nothing to be alarmed about just a habit some cats have.

My cats "bury" any food they are either done with or not interested in. Its normal. Although my cat JoJo takes it to the extreme and scratches and scratches...

2 out of my 2 still do it and they 2 years old.They do it with dedication.I think its the "feral gene" in them.(both parents were successfull ferals in a managed colony)and they all show more "catly" behavoirs than others that have been born to "pet" cats.Altho this just might be my imagination.

Originally Posted by compmom42

But really it's just their instinct to cover all smells so they can't be tracked by predators.

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That is why I think cats try to cover food. I have seen my cats do this when they are done eating.

Originally Posted by catk102

2 out of my 2 still do it and they 2 years old.They do it with dedication.I think its the "feral gene" in them.

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There's isn't a feral gene, however if the kittens are left in feral situation long enough they'll pick up the behavior.

Both Sho and Tomas tried to bury food when they were younger, both have grown out of it. It's something that usually passes, like how young kittens think they have to climb into their food to eat.