Question:

We have a beautiful 6-year-old rescued greyhound. We feed her only dry Purina dog food. Should we occasionally give her canned food along with the dry? Our vet says she''s healthy and has great teeth. She does get some table scraps from time to time. Is she missing out by not getting the canned food?.

F., Stratford, CT Jul 01, 2007

Answer:

The problem with most dry dog (and cat) foods is that they are too high in starches and low in essential fatty acids. Heat processing may denature proteins and certain vitamins.For those people who do not make their dogs'' food from scratch, I advise using a top-quality brand of both dry and canned dog food. Your local health-food store may stock some of the better brands.A basic daily supplement for your dog, mixed in with her food, would be 1 teaspoon each of brewer''s yeast (or nutritional yeast flakes), flaxseed oil and powdered kelp (seaweed).

Question:

I have a 6-year-old social, playful orange male cat named Tiger. Our problem is that he gets car sickness. I can''t even get the car down the driveway without him vomiting and defecating.I''ve tried no food for 12 hours before getting into the car. On my vet''s advice, I''ve given him Dramamine one hour before getting into the car. I even made him some ginger tea. So far, nothing works.The strange thing is that when I first got him about three years ago, he had no problems traveling in the car. And then, all of a sudden, this problem started.Tiger is very outgoing, not fearful, has a very good appetite and is otherwise healthy (with the exception of occasional wax buildup in the ears). The vet suggested that the act of getting into the car might be producing the anxiety.We don''t know what to do. I hope you have some suggestions for us.

D.F.P., Chelsea, NY Jul 01, 2007

Answer:

Since your cat shows signs of fear or anxiety, desensitization may help.This entails sitting in the stationary car for five to 10 minutes, four or five times a day, over a five- to seven-day period, followed by a similar regimen with the engine running.Your veterinarian could prescribe a low dose of Xanax to be used with this desensitization regimen if it does not prove effective on the first round.Dogs suffering from car sickness often show much relief and no more vomiting if given a small piece of ginger 15 to 20 minutes before going for a ride. Raw or sugar-crystallized ginger can be effective. Putting tiny pieces in a couple of gelatin capsules and popping them down your cat''s throat may do wonders. Spraying a mist of lavender-oil water inside the car may also help.

Question:

My 3-year-old female spayed cat (adopted as a stray two years ago) seems to be suffering from extreme separation anxiety.When she is alone or thinks she is alone, she''ll carry one of her toys around in her mouth while yowling. If she realizes someone is home, she looks surprised and drops the toy.Ever since I got her, she has always overgroomed her belly, so there is only peach fuzz there. She is now overgrooming her legs and licking or pulling the fur off them. I got her a kitten companion, thinking this would take her mind off grooming or that, perhaps, she had lost a litter and was grieving, but this didn''t help. In fact, she''s been overgrooming the companion kitten (male) to the point where he has bald patches, and she''ll even chew his eyebrow whiskers down to nubs, if given a chance. Therefore, I think we can rule out allergies.She recently had a complete blood workup and thyroid test, and all was fine. At the vet''s suggestion, I''ve tried amitriptyline. This made her completely lethargic. I am now tryin

C., Falls Church, Va Jul 01, 2007

Answer:

Your cat is clearly suffering from an obsessive-compulsive disorder, the cause of which will probably never be determined. It is possible that it began with separation anxiety and served as a self-comforting behavior when she was alone, but it has developed into OCD.Some types of OCD can be alleviated with Prozac. Have your veterinarian prescribe this psychotropic medication for a two- to three-week period and evaluate the effects.I would also put your cat on a home-prepared, whole-food diet free of additives, preservatives and other chemicals and food ingredients. I am apoplectic about some major-brand cat-food manufacturers who are selling, at great profit, what are essentially bags of corn and other cereal byproducts, with a bit of meat or poultry "meal" (and I leave it to your imagination to figure out what that consists of) thrown in. That is not an acceptable diet for carnivorous cats, no matter how "scientifically formulated and balanced" the stuff may be.

Question:

My son has an 11-year-old chocolate Lab who spends much time presiding over a large, fenced-in backyard.For the last two summers, a mother rabbit has had her babies a few feet outside of the fence, only to have them killed by a cat. This year, it appears she made a decision to outsmart the cat and have her babies within the fenced yard. Boldly, she made her home exactly eight feet in front of the doghouse entrance.We are happy to report that the bunnies are thriving and unbothered by the dog.Could this have been a deliberate strategy on her part, picking the lesser of two evils in trying to create a safe environment for her offspring?.

N.H, Minneapolis, MN Jun 24, 2007

Answer:

What a beautiful story! It shows how intelligent rabbits are. This mother learned that your son''s dog was not a threat.It is a reminder that cat owners should not allow their cats to roam free. There is no logic behind municipalities having laws prohibiting dog owners from allowing their dogs to run free, but not prohibiting cat owners -- for many similar reasons, including the well-being of the cats, as I document in my soon-to-be-published book "Cat Body, Cat Mind" (Lyons Press).

Question:

I adopted a 6-1/2-year-old cat from PetSmart in Midland, Texas.He is a wonderful cat but has an extreme craving for green plants. I have since gotten rid of all green plants and switched to plastic. He tries to eat the plastic ones, too.He loves ivy and would throw up profusely after eating the leaves. It was severe enough for me to contact a woman from the Midland Adoption Group to ask for help. She took him to the vet and had extensive bloodwork done as well as abdominal X-rays. Everything came back normal. I have since started giving him Nupro natural food (dry) and sprinkling Barley Cat on top. I also mix the Missing Link Omega 3 Feline Formula into his wet food.Since I have made these changes, he hardly throws up anymore, but he continues to try to eat my plastic plants. Any suggestions?.

V.I.L., Houston, TX Jun 24, 2007

Answer:

Keep your cat away from the plastic plants. Plastic contains chemicals that are both attractive and potentially harmful to cats.Many cat owners set out little pots of sprouted wheat grass and other greens, or sprout their own so their cats can "graze" as they wish. You can also finely chop 1 teaspoon of such greenery and mix it into the cat''s food once a day.Do your best to transition your cat to a moist cat food, because most dry foods, being loaded with carbohydrates and vegetable proteins like wheat gluten, are not good for cats, who are carnivores.

Question:

Our little stripey tiger cat Silka has some very exotic tastes, and we are wondering if we are hurting her by indulging her in some of them.She loves crab spice -- not the commercial kind but one made locally by one of our fishmongers. It''s a very spicy, red-pepper variety, with large chips of sea salt. We cannot keep her away from it. If we have it out on the counter, she attempts to take the whole plastic bag away, so we have been giving her about 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon to lick on her mat. But we have to watch her closely, since she insists on lying down in it, rubbing her face in it and licking her paws.She also loves spicy pepperoni and spiced black-pepper jerky. Her favorite pet food is Alpo dog burgers or steak treats. She and her sister, Apache, both go crazy for the green tops of celery.We are not too worried about the celery, but what is your advice on the crab spice and pepperoni?.

M.H., Manteo, NC Jun 24, 2007

Answer:

Cats can be easily addicted little souls, some even craving cigarettes (especially the menthol variety).Let your cats enjoy a nibble of celery and whatever natural whole foods you have on hand. But all things in moderation.I strongly advise against giving your cat any crab or other spices because of the high salt and probable MSG content. Cats can suffer from high blood pressure and heart disease, just like humans (who are put on a low-salt diet). The sugar content of many spice mixes is also problematic.As for commercial cat (and dog) snacks and treats: Reading the package label can be confusing and misleading, so it''s best to avoid these. No cat should be given dog food on a regular basis because the ingredient formulation probably does not provide adequate nutrition for felines, whose metabolism and nutritional requirements differ significantly from ours and our dogs.

Question:

We have a spayed German shepherd that is 6 years old. We adopted her when she was a year old. For almost two years now, the whites of her eyes are red with pus in the corners, and it''s driving us crazy.We have taken her to three different vets. One told us to give her two Benadryl allergy pills along with brewer''s yeast. A friend told us that this worked for his Lab. Another vet gave us Terramycin, and yet a third gave us Optimmune. Nothing has worked.One of these vets said this condition is common to German shepherds, but we''ve had several since 1960 (some living to be 15 years old), and they never had this problem. Please advise.

J.D., Clever, Mo Jun 24, 2007

Answer:

If your dog does not have entropion (turned-in eyelids, which can injure the corneas), and if antibiotic treatments do not result in an improvement, transition your dog to a home-prepared diet like the recipe on my Web site (www.doctormwfox.org), and try herbal eyedrops called Eye Bright. If this doesn''t improve your dog''s eyes in two to three weeks, see a veterinary eye specialist.Your dog could well have a corneal disease (common in this breed) called pannus. Blood vessels and pigment invade the cornea, resulting in progressive vision loss. The cause of this malady has not yet been determined. Hereditary factors clearly play some role, and it might be a genetically linked autoimmune disease triggered by the body''s own reaction to a mild bacterial infection of the eyes.

Question:

What is your opinion of a "biologically appropriate" raw-food diet for pets? In particular, for our new puppy?.

K.B., Kensington, Md Jun 24, 2007

Answer:

There is a place for some raw-food ingredients in dogs'' and cats'' diets.An all-raw diet has to be introduced gradually and is not for all animals. Many may have digestive problems and suffer nutritional deficiencies and imbalances if the diet formulation is not complete and balanced.Some ingredients, like cereal grains for dogs, can be fed as green sprouts or cooked to facilitate digestion. Raw vegetables can be put in a blender.Meat requires special handling because of potentially harmful bacterial contamination. Cooking lightly is one way of dealing with this problem. Don''t buy pre-ground meat and poultry, which could have potentially harmful bacteria mixed in.The popular "Barf" diet for dogs -- bones and raw food -- has certainly improved the condition of countless dogs previously fed on manufactured and highly processed dog foods. But some have died due to the bones they were fed. The only safe bones for dogs are beef-marrow soup bones to gnaw on and keep their teeth clean.ANOTHER PET-FOOD WARNINGExperTo

Question:

We have 2-1/2-year-old cat who constantly scratches her ears to the point of them being alternately sore and rubbery. Six veterinarians have declared the ears to be free of debris, mites, etc., and have prescribed ointments and potions galore -- all to no avail. Officials at Texas A&M University recommended a feline specialist in Dallas, and she had no clue. Any suggestions?.

F.K., Alvord, TX Jun 17, 2007

Answer:

Cats can show dramatic improvement after a change in diet (as do many dogs with itchy, irritated ears but no apparent infection or ear mites). Ear problems can be a sign of a food allergy, and I suggest you explore this possibility with your cat's veterinarian.Hypersensitivity to certain food ingredients causes the release of histamine that makes the skin inflamed and itchy, especially around animals' paws, flanks and ears. More and more veterinarians are finding that a variety of skin conditions, allergies and other complex health problems show little improvement until the patient's diet is shifted from processed pet foods high in cereals and human-food byproducts to a whole-food diet that, especially important for cats, is high in animal protein and fat. Three to four drops of fish oil in the food every day can also be extremely beneficial.

Question:

I have been reading your column for many years in the local Florida paper and wonder why it''s published only on Sundays: I have come to live by your information!My two Labs lived to almost 14. They never ate a can of processed dog food in their lives.They are both gone now, and I loved them so much. Although I thought my heart would never mend, I went to the pound and got a 3-month-old Lab puppy. They gave the usual parvo vaccination and told me to bring him back when he is 4 to 5 months old for a rabies vaccination.I don''t think I will do that because my last dog developed seizures from that type of vaccination. He will be around other dogs only on our walks or playtimes with people who are animal caretakers. What do you think?.

M.W., Palm Beach, FL Jun 17, 2007

Answer:

Legally, your dog must be given a rabies shot. If he is not wearing a valid vaccination tag on his collar (as well as his identification and a way to contact you), he could be euthanized immediately if caught by animal-control authorities.Since the rabies vaccination could last for several years, the idea that dogs need to be revaccinated on an annual or three-year basis, as mandated by law, needs to be questioned and legally challenged when dogs given blood titer tests for rabies antibodies have readings that prove they are well protected and don''t need a "booster" shot. For more information about this issue, visit www.rabieschallengefund.org.There are risks with all vaccines, for dogs and humans alike, and the risks and benefits need to be balanced.