Cats, instincts, and evolution

How odd. I've had cats all my life, and have yet to see one try to bury something it actually *likes,* LOL. I guess that just lends more credence to the old saw about 'herding cats,' even where more abstract applications are concerned.

At the moment, I have two fine felines -- a lean, extremely-active Russian blue clone and a big, sturdy tank of a silver tabby.

The blue never tries to bury his food -- he only seems to be interested in burying the other stuff that cats are known for burying. Then again, he doesn't seem all that interested in food, as cats go (unless his bowl is empty, and then only when his buddy brings it up).

The tabby doesn't bury *his* food, either -- however, he *does* try to bury anything food-like that doesn't appeal to him.

He only seems to like dry cat food. We've tried feeding him other things -- he made the 'repulsed cat' face, then tried to bury them, every time. If we have a snack, such as buffalo wings, and set the bowl within reach, he'll also try to bury those -- but he absolutely never tries to eat them.

Quite frankly, I believe this must all be part of the Great Feline Conspiracy (even the part where they trick us into complying with their scientific experiments by pretending to be 'subjects' in ours). Rationally speaking, there can be no other explanation ;)

I believe this may be just some instinctive artifact of cat evolution. In the wild, cats of course are carnivorous predators, and in a serangety setting must fool scavangers from stealing their hard earned meals. But house cats do not have any competition to disguise their food from, so this must just be some sort of behaivoral reflex which is left over from early evolutionary necessity.

I have also considered the possibility cats do this to sharpen their claws before digging into a traditionally lean meal.

For all we know this may just be some ritualistic dance or feline "prayer" to celebrate the meal, dont laugh, if humans could be so stupid i wouldnt put it to far behind a feline. Obviously the cat is not going to answer this question for us anytime soon, so i will stick with the first hypothesis, and its just a artifact in feline evolution.

I find it hilarious, especially when they end up eating more of it a few minutes later. I tell them, hey, don't you want to save that for later?

My cats will even go so far as to scratch at the wall, as if to try and slough off parts of the wall onto the food. They always scratch a few times, then check the food to see the status of their efforts. Yet they dont seem to care they arent doing anything.

Oh, and they only do it when it's wet food, not dry food. And they love wet food 10 times more than dry food, so it isn't distaste.

What was the selective advantage in wanting to bury your food? Less attention, less predators?