Ok it's not Peet's, but it's not Folger's either
April 5, 2010 7:34 PM   Subscribe

Why does the cat want to bury my coffee?

The family cat likes to post guard on the table behind the couch where I put my coffee in the morning. Recently, i've watched him take a sniff of the coffee cup after I set it down, and then he makes that bury/covering motion with his paw that cats make after they go potty (I've seen him do this around his food dish too). I believe it's instinctual to cover up unfinished food, and to cover their waste, but what is it about the coffee that makes him do this? I can't imagine the coffee smells like his food or his waste.
posted by tdischino to Pets & Animals (24 answers total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
you will never figure out the motives of a cat!
posted by HuronBob at 7:38 PM on April 5, 2010 [22 favorites]


The cat thinks coffee smells like shit, and is trying to tell you that.
You can generally safely disregard cat's opinions about what you eat.
But if he's doing it with his own food dish, you should probably respond in some way.
posted by hexatron at 7:42 PM on April 5, 2010


I can't imagine the coffee smells like his food or his waste.

I suspect you're wrong.

There are all sorts of chemicals that you and I cannot smell, but that other animals can. Even ignoring that, I can actually see the resemblance between coffee and cat urine--cut the "burnt" out of the coffee, and the ammonia out of the piss, and they actually start to smell similar in my head.
posted by Netzapper at 7:42 PM on April 5, 2010


i've posted this answer at least once before: cats are weird.
posted by TrialByMedia at 7:43 PM on April 5, 2010 [1 favorite]


Not on preview:

But if he's doing it with his own food dish, you should probably respond in some way.

In the wild, cats bury the remainder of their kills. They'll return over several days, digging up the kill and eating, then reburying it.

It's a totally normal cat behavior to attempt to bury uneaten food, and has nothing to do with them thinking it's shit.
posted by Netzapper at 7:44 PM on April 5, 2010


I always figured it's the high acid content, indicating to the cat that you're drinking a steaming mug of its own pee. I'd try to stop you too! (all my cats have done this.)
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 7:45 PM on April 5, 2010 [1 favorite]


Most cats are weird around coffee. All of my cats have had *something* about cups of coffee, the coffee maker, etc. I think its smells awful/strange to them so they acts ...odd.
posted by The Whelk at 7:49 PM on April 5, 2010


I asked a similar question a while ago. Answerers were almost equally divided between 'he's trying to save it for later' and 'he's complaining about the food'.

I eventually figured out that for my cat, at least, it's a gesture of distaste. He does do it arbitrarily, when I feed him foods that he's enjoyed in the past. But he also does it whenever his bowl is dirty, and when his food ends up in his water.

So, my answer is: yes, cats are weird, but the burying motion is a sign that something smells bad to them. In your case, it's probably for the best - imagine the chaos if the cat decided it liked coffee.
posted by embrangled at 7:55 PM on April 5, 2010


If I drop a coffee bean on the floor, my cats will roll around in it like it's catnip. So I don't think it's poo-covering behavior, but something else.
posted by cabingirl at 7:55 PM on April 5, 2010


I've always thought that there was something about really strong coffee that smelled like cat piss [and I love coffee, it's just some similar dankness that they both share] and your cat may be picking up on this too.
posted by jessamyn at 8:10 PM on April 5, 2010


I am just popping in to say I have a cat who routinely covers her food. with dirty laundry that just happens to be on the floor. So it's not unheard of in a domestic cat. I am betting on the "like food" idea rather than the "like waste" idea.
posted by marble at 8:28 PM on April 5, 2010


Seconding jessamyn - I love coffee, but sometimes I'll catch a whiff of it that reminds me of cat piss in an odd way.
posted by needs more cowbell at 8:45 PM on April 5, 2010


I have two cats (littermates) but only one of them does this. When he does, it is with a visible expression of distaste. So in his case, it's definitely a "this smells like poop to me, and you should have the decency to bury it" deal.

He always does it to my homemade grilled cheese sandwiches. Which I find wholly insulting. Because my homemade grilled cheese sandwiches are awesome, yo, and totally do not resemble cat poop in any way. Pinkie swear.
posted by ErikaB at 8:45 PM on April 5, 2010 [1 favorite]


Is there cream in the coffee? Some cats love cream, and hence it's triggering that instinct of burying leftover food.

That being said, nthing the cats are weird motto. At least every cat I've known has at least one odd trait, usually more.
posted by cgg at 8:52 PM on April 5, 2010


I've got a cat who has done this off and on for his whole life. There doesn't seem to be any sort of pattern to it. He's "covered" (or in his case, pretended to cover) both distasteful, nasty things and delicious things he's interested in eating. But I have also recently discovered that all cats living in my house are deeply intrigued and offended by coffee. I accidentally knocked the freshly-used grounds out of the coffee maker and all over the kitchen floor a couple weeks ago. The same cat tried the fake bury, but ended up getting wet grounds on his feet, and he was definitely not pleased. The smell offends them for sure. Ever seen a cat sniff a really strong smelling substance, like vapor rub or nail polish? (I do not intentionally make the cat smell horrible things, but horrible things are sometimes in the house and he's nosy) He got the same sort of squinty, slackjawed horror with the coffee. Maybe the strong, bitter smell is just sort of overwhelming to their noses. Or maybe, and this is far more likely, cats are effing weird.
posted by kella at 9:58 PM on April 5, 2010 [1 favorite]


I asked my cat what she had to say about the subject, and her reply was:

"Reow. Reeeeeeeeow. Row."

Then she stormed off, got one foot caught in the carpet, shook herself loose and sat on top of the coffee table glaring at the remote.

By which she meant to say,

"Cats are weird."
posted by Quadlex at 11:58 PM on April 5, 2010 [3 favorites]


No way, I thought it was just my one cat that did this! I just assumed he doesn't like the smell.
posted by InsanePenguin at 3:11 AM on April 6, 2010


I've known cats whose attitude seems to be "Dear God, something smells horrible. Let me fix this for you by covering it with the delightful fragrance of my own urine." My guess is your guy's trying to bury it, but don't turn your back on your mug anyway.
posted by Metroid Baby at 4:08 AM on April 6, 2010


My cat chitters whenever we open the tin of ground coffee - the sound they use when they see a bird. I didn't know other cats were weird about coffee!
posted by Omnomnom at 5:42 AM on April 6, 2010


Is it perchance french roast? I confess I've stumbled out of bed early in the morning, certain that Irritable Bowel Cat had created one of his unfortunate unburied litter box situations, only to find that the husband had brewed up a pot of french roast. This occurred repeated times and we just don't get french roast anymore because ew.
posted by Lou Stuells at 7:33 AM on April 6, 2010 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: OK, I'm going to go with the "coffee has strong smells that might resemble waste" line of reasoning. I must admit, i've grown accustomed to the strong smell of coffee as a positive smell. Since the cat doesn't get the same benefits out of it that I do, I am guessing that strong smell is something he just wants to cover up. Thanks for the replies!
posted by tdischino at 1:29 PM on April 6, 2010


Um, I don't mean to be indelicate, but human waste that occurs after drinking coffee - often smells strongly of said coffee. That might be the association, since your cat lives with you. Oh, and cats are weird.
posted by agregoli at 4:28 PM on April 6, 2010


Oh wow, I thought I was imagining the odd cat piss odor in coffee, especially since I don't notice it in most coffee. Glad it's not just me.
posted by kiripin at 4:45 PM on April 6, 2010


kella: "Ever seen a cat sniff a really strong smelling substance, like vapor rub or nail polish? (I do not intentionally make the cat smell horrible things, but horrible things are sometimes in the house and he's nosy) He got the same sort of squinty, slackjawed horror with the coffee. Maybe the strong, bitter smell is just sort of overwhelming to their noses. Or maybe, and this is far more likely, cats are effing weird."

That's called the flehmen response.

And as for the smell, it occasionally smells like skunk to me (I don't drink the stuff).
posted by deborah at 12:11 AM on April 9, 2010


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