Pees while standing... burying behavior at food bowl

by Sue
(New York)

Hello, My cat seems to be confused about a few things. She stands while peeing and the pee often goes over the edge of the box. I bought a tall box which helps somewhat but it still goes over the edge sometimes. Is this normal?

Also, she constantly scratches around her food bowl as if she was covering her food with litter gravel. Why does she do this?

My thoughts: I've never seen a cat actually standing while peeing, so that's a new one on me. I've seen cats that put one leg up and brace it against the side of the litter box, and I've seen them put their front paws on the edge so they're upright. I've never seen one fully standing up and urinating, though.

You might want to call the vet and mention it as it could be a sign of physical discomfort, but that is a wild guess. Perhaps another reader who has experienced this will see this question and give us a clue?

As for the food burying behavior, this is off-topic to the litter box issues, so I may move this to another part of the site at some point, but to answer your question...

This is common. Teddie does that all the time. The commonly given reason for this is that either she's trying to hide the food and cover her tracks, or she's not totally happy with the food selection itself. I think it's more the former, at least in the experience with my cat.

To a cat in the wild, burying your food is a protection mechanism just like covering up your feces, and not using the feeding area for a toilet. It keeps competition away, and it keeps you alive.

Remember, most attempts the cat makes at killing do not succeed, so every bit of food counts. One technique used by the tree climbing African leopard, is to bring the kill up high in the tree, and eat it over a period of time.

House cats use the burying technique, or, at least they think they do since there's no dirt or rocks to cover things (not on my floor anyway). I suspect this might be a more common behavior in multi-cat households, since there is some competition for food, but the instincts are there just the same.

Other than when Teddie and Frankie were kittens, all my cats have always shared food and water bowls without any fights, and they often have eaten from the same bowl at the same time.

The exception to this is special treat time, when we crack the tuna or other meat. Separate bowls are necessary then because it's a frenzy, with Teddie trying to eat from everyone's bowl, and Priscilla and Frankie (who doesn't really like tuna that much anyway) letting her get away with it.

Perhaps if they all had separate bowls, Teddie would not do that food burying behavior, but I have no way of knowing.

I hope that helps.
-Kurt