It’s the age-old mystery: who knows why cats do anything? Cats are as resistant to logic as bullets are to Kevlar.
The most likely explanation, however, is that this is a relic behaviour from their evolutionary past.
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Wild cats, from which domestic cats are descended, have an innate instinct to bury their waste.
This helps to prevent disease and infection, and avoids leaving blatant scent markers that predators and rival cats could use to locate them.
So, either cats have retained the genetic legacy that prompts this behaviour, or they simply enjoy the art of mime. You choose.
This article is an answer to the question (asked by Ben Catchpole, Croydon) 'Why do cats pile up imaginary litter outside their litter box?'
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