Can you teach a cat to cover its poop?

Some cats do, some don't. There's not much you can do about it. Just be happy he's USING the box in the first place. My cat only goes around the edges of the box instead of using the larger middle part. Go figure.

If the smell is what's bothering you, it may help to mix some baking soda with the litter

Personally I don't think a cat can be taught anything. I had a cat that would pee in the box but hanged her butt over the edge and pooped right outside the box. (Solution, I put the box on a large cooking tray also with a little litter in it.) I would suggest you cover the poop for the cat preferably while the cat is just finishing. The cat's mother may not have taught it. I would also suggest you visit some cat help web sites.

It's kind of like having a roommate that won't flush, isn't it? Like people, some cats are slobs and won't cover poop. Unfortunately it isn't something that can be trained into them. At least he's using the box!

Not really. Some claim to move their paws in the litter to cover, but its up to the cat. Has nothing to do with dominate or submisssive. Some cover, some don't. Just scoop more if your cat is not covering it

Our first cat, Loki, wouldn't cover, no matter how many times we tried to show him. He'd scratch forever at the edges of the pan, until we chased him away and covered it for him with the scooper or scooped it out. We got used to it and joked that our cat didn't like getting his paws dirty. :p