[eugakico]

For some reason, no matter how far I place their bowl from their litter boxes, my rats grab pieces of kibble and then go munch while standing in their litter. Is there a reason for this? Does it feel safer to them?

 

[-Lemon-]

My rats do that too but I have no idea why.

 

[Tinytoes]

Because they are filthy little beasts 🤭 😅

Actually yes, I think they do feel safe and comfortable in the midst of their own personal mess

 

[anguam]

One theory I've heard is that their instinct is to stash/eat food in areas that are heavily rat-scented (aka pee) so that the pee smell covers the smell of food and "hides" it better from other animals. One of my boys would grab mouthfuls of food and run to stash them in the litterbox. Once he moved on I would move all the food back.