Why Does My Cat Try To Bury My Coffee?

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Stray cat living in wild digs a hole to bury its evidence. Istanbul, Turkey

Cats have a lot of weird behaviors that we humans can’t understand. Even scientists sometimes can’t unravel the reasons for such behaviors. In most cases, however, a cat’s actions are natural and instinctive. Sometimes these actions seem funny and cute but are a sign that something is wrong with them. But in other cases, it causes their owners to worry unnecessarily because of a strange, innocuous act.

As for cats, they have a habit of digging and burying food similar to when going to the toilet, usually, their behavior is nothing to worry about. However, there are many questions surrounding cats that even want to bury coffee when they are near it. Such action may be caused by the animal’s intuition. In this article, we will take a closer look at the reasons for the question “Why does my cat try to bury my coffee?

Why Is Your Cat Buying Your Coffee?

red cat sniffing a mug of black coffee while standing on a table with paper and pen
Red cat sniffing a mug of black coffee while standing on a table with paper and pen

The reason is very simple, cats hate the smell of coffee.

We can see perfumes, essential oils, and coffee-scented candles, for many people coffee is a relaxing, addictive aroma. In contrast, cats hate the smell. That’s why when they smell this smell, you will see that cats have an instinct to scratch the ground, scratch the floor as if they want to “bury” the coffee they hate. This action can continue until the cat can no longer smell the pungent smell of coffee around them. 

However, not all cats will act like that, not all cats hate coffee. Similar to the smell of durian, some people will smell it, some people will not be able to smell it, and some people are “addicted” to the characteristic “rotten” smell. Cats too, their response to coffee will be different for each cat. That’s why you can sometimes see cats showing love for coffee, then their attempt to bury the coffee maybe because they want to store the coffee. The number of cats that love coffee is quite small, most of them hate the smell of coffee.

Cat’s Instinct To Try To Bury Something It Hates

This action is often caught when cats try to bury their poop to prevent the scent from spreading. Quite similar to that, maybe cats are trying to bury coffee out of a feeling of hatred, or aversion to coffee. Cats will snort at the smell of coffee and then try to scratch the floor as if to bury all that coffee.

Why Do Cats Hate Coffee?

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Funny Black cat Vector

As discussed above, most cats don’t like coffee.

To explain this, there is currently no clear answer. Some people think that coffee contains a large amount of caffeine, which is known to be toxic to cats, so cats have evolved to become disliked and avoid this scent. However, it is also theorized that cats haven’t been near the coffee bean for most of the main species’ evolution so this may just be a coincidence.

Is Coffee Toxic To Cats?

Yes, coffee is not suitable and dangerous for cats.

Cats’ bodies can struggle to get rid of caffeine’s toxicity if large enough amounts of caffeine are consumed to harm them. Even decaffeinated coffee has the potential to be toxic to cats because in the decaffeination process there will still be a small amount of residual caffeine.

Of particular note, a large enough caffeine content can kill your cat. Coffee toxicity is determined to be caused by caffeine. Humans can also experience caffeine poisoning, but a much higher concentration is needed than cats. The cat’s digestive system is not able to digest caffeine, so the toxicity in caffeine will affect the cat’s body if it doesn’t get rid of the toxins quickly.

Not only coffee, any substance with caffeine ingredients such as energy drinks, strong teas have the potential to cause poisoning in cats.

What Happens When Your Cat Licks Coffee?

If while your cat is trying to “bury” your coffee, it accidentally licks it, don’t worry, just one or two licks is not enough to poison their body. You can contact your veterinarian for advice. Your doctor will ask you to bring your cat in for a check-up or will give you a list of symptoms of caffeine poisoning for you to keep an eye on.

In the worst-case scenario, if your cat drinks more coffee or drinks a stronger coffee like espresso or Turkish coffee you need to take the cat to the vet for a checkup. There, the doctor can induce vomiting for the cat to get all the caffeine out of its stomach or use activated charcoal to absorb the caffeine.

Should Coffee Grounds Be Used To Repel Cats?

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The cat looks to the side and sits on a green lawn

Cats hate coffee, coffee grounds often retain high levels of caffeine, which can cause cats to run away. In theory, you can use coffee grounds in places you don’t want your cat to touch. However, in reality, this method will work more with feral cats, if you are a coffee drinker, domestic cats are also used to smelling coffee. Once they have made an effort to bury your coffee, they will also pick up the coffee grounds to play with. 

In addition, caffeine in coffee is also dangerous for cats, you can use other substances that have the same effect without causing danger to cats such as citrus scent, rosemary scent, eucalyptus smell, …

The reason why your cat is trying to find a way to bury coffee is simply that they hate the smell of coffee. Finding the answer to why they hate the smell of coffee so much is still uncertain. Sometimes the reason comes from the strong smell of coffee that makes cats just want to stay away or because they realize that the caffeine in coffee is toxic to them. Don’t worry if you see them acting weird when they see coffee, but don’t be subjective and note that cats should not be exposed to coffee or coffee grounds to avoid poisoning them.