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Why do cats usually bury their faeces but dogs don鈥檛, even though they are good at digging?

鈥� Dogs are pack animals. They evolved their sensitive noses for hunting and, helped by scent glands around the anus, use them to recognise odours that tell them if another dog is a friend from their pack, or an enemy.

Dogs leave their smelly faeces and urine around their territories to inform other dogs about who they are, and to warn off unfamiliar dogs. This is called 鈥渕arking鈥�. They will smell another dog鈥檚 anus when they meet so they know who the other dog is. Some people think that a dog can use anal gland smell to recognise another dog just as humans recognise faces.

Cats are solitary animals. To a wild cat, any cat is a threat, never a friend. It is not advantageous for a cat to leave smelly faeces; better to hide it underground where it can rot down quickly. But cats are hunters too, have just as sensitive noses as dogs and sometimes use marking behaviour. When a cat is looking for a mate, it will use smelly urine to mark its territory and to tell other cats about it. Cats have scent glands in the skin of their faces and sides, and that鈥檚 why they like to rub themselves against you 鈥� they are marking you as their territory.

鈥淐ats are solitary. To a cat, another cat is a threat, so there is no advantage to leaving smelly faeces鈥�

John Davies, Lancaster, UK