As Caccobius cavatus occupies a very wide range and shows a bias to open vegetation with generalist dung type associations, it is not considered to be threatened despite its localisation to deep sands. It is therefore listed as Least Concern.

This species has a wide distribution in Africa, where scattered records are known from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, northeast Namibia, Chad, Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Tanzania, Zambia, and Côte d’Ivoire (Davis et al. 2020, Schoolmeesters et al. 2022). It has also been reported from unspecified localities in the Central African Republic (data summarised by Davis 2013), but this country is not mentioned by Schoolmeesters et al. (2022). This is presumed to be an artefact of the species' small body size, and that it is more widespread between the known localities (Davis et al. 2020). A previous Red List assessment (Davis 2013) suggested however that its specialised soil associations may contribute to this patchiness, although Davis et al. (2020) note that deep sands are widespread throughout its range. In southern Africa it is known from sea level to 1,066 m asl. (Davis et al. 2020). Davis (2013) report, based on 23 records, that it reaches a maximum elevation of 1,410 m asl.

Quantitative trap data show that this species is extremely abundant in parts of its range such as Chobe National Park in northern Botswana (Tshikae et al. 2008) although this may not be true of its entire range as much lower numbers were trapped in Mkuzi Game Reserve in South Africa.

In Mkuzi Game Reserve in South Africa, trapping across a range of soil types in open or shaded localities recorded this extremely small-bodied, dusk-flying species almost exclusively on deep sand (5.5 per trap) with a strong bias to open vegetation (70%). Few were recorded on duplex soils of sand overlying clay (0.4 per trap), and none at all on sandy clay loam (makatini) and clay (Doube 1991). At Abokouamekro, in Côte d’Ivoire, the species was abundant on both cattle (total 58) and human dung (total 133) (Cambefort 1991). This observation of generalist dung association is supported by trap data from deep sands of grassland, open shrubland and open woodland in the moister northeast savanna of the Botswana Kalahari where the species was attracted abundantly to four different dung types, but hardly at all to carrion. In one study on the deep sands of Chobe National Park, northeast Botswana, a total of 7,603 individuals was trapped with proportional distribution biased to pig (40%) and cattle (27%) dung, but with fewer on elephant (16%) and sheep dung (17%) (Tshikae et al. 2008). However, this trend was not consistent: in Savuti, northeast Botswana, there was a hierarchy in abundance (total 507) from sheep (44%) to cattle (29%) to elephant (16%) to pig dung (11%) that was repeated at three different sites (Tshikae unpublished data).

This species' range coincides with savanna ecoregions including patches or areas of deep sand and the following list is presumably incomplete owing to undercollection of the species. In west to northern central Africa, they include West Sudanian savanna (AT0722), East Sudanian savanna (AT0705), and Guinean forest-savanna mosaic (AT0707) (ecoregions based on Olson et al. 2001). In southern Africa, they include Kalahari Acacia-Baikiaea woodlands (AT0709), Zambezian Baikiaea woodlands (AT0726), Southern Miombo woodlands (AT0719), Kalahari Xeric Savanna (AT1309), Zambezian and Mopane Woodlands (AT0725) and Maputaland coastal forest mosaic (AT0199) (Davis 2013, Davis et al. 2020). In Botswana, the distribution exhibits a strong bias towards moister ecoregions of the northeast and it is comparatively scarce in the arid southwest (Davis et al. 2020).

Based on 26 locality records from southern Africa, mean annual rainfall within is between 320 and 1,006 mm and mean annual temperature 17.9-23 °C (Davis et al. 2020).

No obvious threats to this species have been identified. Davis et al. (2020) note that its vegetation associations are insufficiently known to determine whether it is subject to any impacts from land transformation, but also that it exhibits generalist dung associations.

There is no use or trade information available for this species.

There are no species-specific conservation actions in place. In view of its wide distribution on deep sands, generalist dung associations, and high local population density in several reserves, particularly Chobe National Park in Botswana (Tshikae et al. 2008), no further conservation action is necessary at present, at least not in southern Africa. Quantitative research is recommended to clarify its ecological associations and consequently to inform any necessary conservation actions.