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A silver tabby British Shorthair with soil on its whiskers sits beside a freshly dug hole in a sunny garden. 9 / 32

Someone Dug a Hole in the Garden. The Silver Tabby Knew Nothing.

AI imagebritish shorthaircaught in the actgarden

Soil clings to the whiskers of a silver tabby who sits very close to a freshly dug hole in the garden. Loose dirt is mounded up beside it, small pebbles are scattered across the lawn, and the cat's striped gray coat is dusted with brown. He has turned his round face away from the camera, one yellow eye still watching for trouble. Flowerpots and green plants glow in the sunshine behind him. We'll call him Pepper, and he is currently the most suspicious gardener in the neighborhood.

Cats dig for several natural reasons. Loose soil feels like a giant litter box, and many cats will dig, scratch or bury things by instinct. Garden beds can also hide interesting smells or insects that are worth investigating. If you'd rather your plants stayed put, covering bare soil with chicken wire, large stones or mulch can discourage digging, and a sandbox just for your cat gives the instinct somewhere to go. Check that any fertilizers or garden products are stored out of reach, and remember that some plants, such as lilies, are toxic to cats. Your vet can tell you more.

Pepper, meanwhile, is calm as can be. He has dug a very good hole, and he would like some credit for that. Every plant in the yard has lived to see another day, and the neat pile of dirt remains as a monument to his hard work.

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