How to Dig a Cat Hole: The Complete Guide to Burying Your Poop Correctly
Quick Answer
A cat hole is a small pit for burying human waste in the backcountry. It should be 6 to 8 inches deep, 4 to 6 inches wide, dug at least 200 feet (about 70 big steps) from water, trails, and campsites. Pick a spot with dark, organic soil, dig with a real trowel, do your business, pack out your toilet paper or wipes, fill the hole completely with the original dirt, and disguise the surface with leaves or rocks.
The depth matters more than anything else: 6 to 8 inches puts waste in the biologically active soil layer where microbes break it down, but keeps it deep enough that animals and rain won't bring it back to the surface.
In this guide you'll lear
What Is a Cat Hole, and Why 6 to 8 Inches?
A cat hole (you'll also see it spelled cathole) is exactly what it sounds like: a small hole you dig, poop into, and cover, the same way a cat instinctively covers its business. It's the standard method recommended by Leave No Trace for disposing of human waste in most forested backcountry, and when it's done right, it genuinely works. Soil is a living system, and the top layer of it is very good at breaking down organic material.
The key phrase is "done right," and that's where the specific numbers come from. They're not arbitrary.
Why 6 to 8 inches deep?
That depth hits the sweet spot in the soil profile. It's deep enough that animals won't smell and excavate your deposit, deep enough that rain won't wash it away, but still within the biologically active layer where the microbes, fungi, and invertebrates that support decomposition live. Go too shallow and you've left a surprise for the next hiker's dog. Go dramatically deeper and you've buried your waste below the busiest decomposer zone, where it breaks down slower.
Why 4 to 6 inches wide?
Practicality. Wide enough to be easy to poop into, small enough to quickly and easily fill back in with dirt.
Why 200 feet from water?
Pathogens from human waste, including E. coli and Giardia, travel through soil and runoff into waterways. 200 feet (roughly 70 adult paces) gives soil enough distance to do its filtering work.
We wrote a whole deep-dive on this one 👉 How Far From Water You Really Need to Poop
Step 1: Pick Your Spot (Most Important)
A well dug cat hole in a bad location is still a miss. Here's what you're looking for:
At least 200 feet from water, trails, and campsites. Count 70 big steps. Most people wildly underestimate this distance, so actually count. Further is better because it spreads buried waste out even more.
Dark, rich, organic soil. The darker and softer the soil, the more decomposer life it holds. Forest floors with leaf litter and duff are ideal.
Some moisture and shade. Decomposition needs moisture. A shaded spot under trees beats a sun-baked clearing.
Natural privacy. Look for a tree, a boulder, a rise in the terrain. Consider it part of the site criteria.
Flat-ish ground you can balance on. A slight uphill slope in front of you makes squatting easier. Avoid anything you'd describe as "a ledge."
An unpopular spot. If it looks like an obvious bathroom area near a busy campsite, others have had the same idea. Spread out. Concentrated waste overwhelms the soil's capacity to process it.
💡 Pro Tip: pick your spot before you're desperate. When you start feeling like you need to go, start scouting for a spot. The difference between choosing a site with five minutes of margin and choosing one with thirty seconds of margin is the difference between doing this right and doing this fast.
Step 2: Dig the Hole
Clear the surface. Scrape leaves, duff, or pine needles to the side in one pile. You'll want them back for camouflage at the end.
Cut the perimeter first. Score a circle 4 to 6 inches across with the edge of your trowel. If there's a plug of vegetation or moss, try to remove it intact, like a divot in golf, and set it aside. You'll cap the hole with it later.
Excavate to 6 to 8 inches. Pile the dirt right next to the hole so refilling takes seconds. Roots get cut with the serrated edge of a decent trowel; rocks get levered out. Every PACT trowel has a 6-inch depth marker etched on the blade, so you know exactly when you're deep enough instead of guessing. When you’re stabbing the ground, really stab!
Check your work. The most common failure is stopping at 3 or 4 inches because the digging got annoying. Get to six inches.
Total time in reasonable soil: about two minutes. In rocky or root-bound soil, longer, which is exactly why the tool matters (more on that below).
💡 Pro Tip: if you’re a morning pooper, find your spot and dig your hole the night before. That way, you’re all ready to go in the morning.
Step 3: Use It
- Get ready for cleanup first. Hydrate a PACT Wipe (or two) with a squirt of water, or have your TP staged. Never start the main event before your supplies are ready.
- Position yourself over the hole. Feet wider than shoulder width, squat low, lean slightly forward. Hold a tree or trekking pole for balance if it helps. Consider it free quad work.
- Poop in the hole. You got this.
- Wipe, and pack out the used wipes or TP. Put your used paper in a ziploc bag. Even wipes that decompose fast (ours are third-party tested to fully break down in 95 days) should be packed out per Leave No Trace guidelines. Paper on the surface, or dug up by animals, is the single most visible form of backcountry pollution.
- Drop in 3 PACT Tabs if you have them. These are wood plugs inoculated with fungal mycelium from Stropharia rugosoannulata, a native fungus that breaks down poop up to 10x faster and kills pathogens like E. coli in the soil.
Step 4: Cover It Up Like You Were Never There
Backfill completely with the original dirt. Use your trowel to fill in the cat-hole with dirt.
Tamp it down gently. A loosely filled hole invites digging animals.
Replace the vegetation plug and scatter your surface debris back over the top. The goal is that the next person could stand on the spot and have no idea.
Sanitize your hands. Fecal germs on hands are the leading cause of gastrointestinal illness in the backcountry, and no one wants to be the reason the whole group got sick. We recommend hand sanitizer in the moment, and soap before handling food.
What Tool Should You Dig With?
❌ A stick (not recommended)
The classic. Also the reason so many "buried" poops are three inches deep. Sticks snap, and turn a two-minute dig into a fifteen-minute process. A stick is what you use when you forgot your trowel, not what you plan for.
❌ Your boot heel (not recommended)
Works in soft duff, fails everywhere else. It’s not going to get you 6-8” deep.
❌ A tent stake (not recommended)
Better than a stick, still slow, and your shelter now depends on a stake you've used as a poop shovel.
✅ A real backpacking trowel
This is the answer. Look for durable aluminum, a serrated edge for roots, a comfortable grip, and ideally a depth marker so you're not eyeballing it. Ours weighs next to nothing and is designed to be comfortable to hold in two grip positions– one for stabbing and breaking up dirt and another for scooping it out of the hole.
💡Pro Tip: Want an all-in-one kit that includes a trowel with integrated storage for PACT Wipes and PACT Tabs? Check out our PACT Lite Bathroom Kit.
The PACT Lite Kit ($40) holds about a week of supplies. It comes with Wipes and Tabs that are stored in the integrated storage compartment. It weighs only 4oz when fully stocked.
The Lite Kit has won Gear of the Year Awards from GearJunkie and Bikepacking.com. Check out Gearjunkie’s in-depth review here.
When a Cat Hole Is the Wrong Answer
Digging skills don't help in terrain where burying itself doesn't work. Skip the cat hole and pack out your poop instead when you're in:
Alpine terrain above treeline.
Thin, cold, rocky soil with almost no decomposer activity. At these elevations and in these ecosystems waste never really goes away.
Arid desert.
No moisture means no meaningful decomposition. Waste mummifies.
Canyons and river corridors.
200 feet from water is usually physically impossible.
Snow or frozen ground.
You can't dig in frozen ground, so burial isn’t an option.
High-use areas or anywhere regulations require pack out.
If it’s a highly popular destination, plan to pack out. Check before you go.
This is why we recommend carrying a PACT Pack Out Kit or two as a backup even on trips where you plan to bury. Conditions change, and the backup weighs about 2 ounces.
The full decision guide is here: 👉 Why Burying Poop Doesn't Always Work
Common Cat Hole Mistakes
Digging too shallow. The number one issue, usually caused by a bad tool or impatience. Six inches minimum. The PACT Shovel’s depth marker exists for a reason.
Burying the toilet paper. TP can take years to break down depending on conditions, and animals dig it up long before that. Pack it out, always.
Going too close to water or the trail. Pace out the full 200 feet. It's farther than you think. Bonus points for going even further,
Digging in bad soil because it was convenient. Sandy washes, gravel, and sun-baked hardpan don't decompose as effectively. Walk another minute and find good, microbially rich soil.
Leaving the hole poorly filled. A half-covered cat hole is barely better than none. Fill it, tamp it, disguise it.
Waiting until it's an emergency. Every mistake on this list gets more likely when you're in a hurry. Scout early, dig early.
Cat Hole FAQ
How deep should a cat hole be?
6 to 8 inches deep and 4 to 6 inches wide. Deep enough that animals and rain can't expose the waste, shallow enough to stay in the biologically active soil layer where decomposition actually happens.
Can I bury toilet paper in a cat hole?
You shouldn't. Even biodegradable paper takes far longer to break down than poop does, and animals excavate it. Pack out all paper and wipes in a sealed bag.
Do I really need a trowel?
If you plan to bury, yes. Skipping the trowel is the single biggest reason waste ends up on the surface or in a too-shallow hole. A purpose-built trowel weighs a couple of ounces and makes everything so much faster and easier.
What if the ground is too rocky to dig?
Look for a better spot within the same area first (soil pockets under trees are common even in rocky terrain). If the whole environment is undiggable, that's your sign that you’re in “pack out” terrain. Use a PACT Pack Out Kit instead.
Can I put anything in the hole to help it break down?
Yes. PACT Tabs were built for exactly this. Drop three in before you fill the hole, and the mycelium breaks the waste down up to 10x faster while killing pathogens like E. coli. Don't add anything else (no lime, no chemicals, no trash).
Is a cat hole okay for pee too?
Pee doesn't need a hole. Just get 200 feet from water, trails, and camp, and aim for durable surfaces like rock or bare ground where salt-seeking wildlife won't tear up vegetation.
Final Thoughts
The cat hole is one of those skills that feels like a big deal at first. After that, it's a five-minute routine: scout, dig to the marker, do your thing, pack out the paper, drop in PACT Tabs, fill and disguise, sanitize. Done.
And it genuinely matters. Poorly buried waste is one of the fastest-growing problems on public lands, and it's driving the access restrictions and closures nobody wants. The fix isn’t about lecturing people into caring more. People already care. The fix is better tools and information, because if you give people better tools, they'll happily use them for the benefit of everyone.
Dig the full six inches. The trails, the water, and everyone who comes after you will be better for it.
