Question:

I see that you have dropped kelp as an ingredient in your home recipes for making cat and dog foods. I recently read a feature article in a pet wellness magazine about the benefits of giving seaweed to dogs. So why are you not using seaweed in your recipes or recommending it as a treat?

K.V., Silver Spring, Md Jan 01, 2012

Answer:

I decided to drop the seaweed ingredient in my home-prepared pet food recipes when it is not the only food given to dogs and cats. I made this decision after my veterinarian friend Dr. Jean Dodds alerted me to recent research that indicated a connection between high dietary iodine and thyroid disease in dogs and cats. Seaweed is high in iodine, so it would be advisable not to include this in the diet of companion animals. Fluoride is also a concern. For more details visit my website, DrFoxVet.com.

Dr. Dodds wrote to me stating, "Most commercial kibbled foods given to dogs and cats already contain more than enough iodine -- this can promote hypothyroidism and thyroiditis in dogs and hyperthyroidism in cats. So, when anyone also supplements kelp or other iodine-rich supplements daily, the animal is being overdosed on iodine. We recommend using these supplements, if desired or needed, no more than two to three times a week. If people feed raw or home-cooked diets, adding iodine-rich supplements should be safe and even useful."

Question:

I have a 3 1/2-year-old Lab/golden cocker retriever female named Maddie. Her ideal weight is around 40 pounds. Since November 2011, we have been having the same issue. This came on suddenly and is still happening.

It started the day before Thanksgiving, when she started throwing up and having diarrhea. This continued for a day or two, then we thought she bounced back. Well, she continued this pattern of being sick for three or four days and then OK for two or three days. Each bout got worse and worse. We began seeing the vet shortly after she got ill, and we were at the vet''s regularly for about three months until he said he didn''t know what else to do.

Her illness consists of the following symptoms: vomiting for several days at a time; diarrhea; not eating; squinting her eyes like she has a headache; loud, gurgling noises from her stomach; drooling; staring off into the distance, including sitting outside in the rain and staring; and weight loss -- at the worst of her condition, she had lost about 8 pounds.

These are the treatments we have tried: several different antibiotics; gastrointestinal medications; X-ray with barium; sonogram; blood work (twice); stool samples; changed to a no-grain food; changed to chicken and rice made at home; changed to a venison-based prescription dog food (which then added a hacking/wheezing cough to the above symptoms); and the last thing was to try a course of Prednisone. No test turned up any abnormalities.

Lo and behold, the steroids seemed to help. She ate regularly and gained back her weight and energy. When we tapered back off the steroids, she got sick immediately. We tried a different dose with the same results. As a last-ditch effort, I played a little with the dosage and determined that she needed 1/4 dose twice a day.

I am worried because today I found last night''s 1/4 pill and she didn''t eat her breakfast. By 4 p.m., she was exhibiting all her old symptoms.

I have seen three different vets, and they have run out of options. I am looking for a suggestion.

J.C., North Potomac, Md Jan 01, 2012

Answer:

Clearly, the attending veterinarians have done their best to treat and cure your poor dog. You give no indication of liver and pancreatic function tests, nor the judicious use of probiotic supplements, digestive enzymes, special low-fat diet or elimination diet testing to rule out food allergy. Dysbiosis -- a bacterial imbalance in the digestive tract possibly complicated by pancreatic and hepatic dysfunction -- can lead to inflammatory bowel disease, which the Prednisone temporarily alleviates.

Above all, I would suspect that your dog has a congenital abnormality called a portosystemic shunt, which your veterinarians need to rule out before trying the following diagnostic elimination and detox dietary approach. This entails a 24-hour fast on rice or hemp milk, then another 24 hours on boiled rice, quinoa or buckwheat with probiotics and digestive enzymes. After this detox, begin an elimination dietary regimen, adding an animal protein ingredient under veterinary supervision. Let me know the outcome.

Question:

I have a German shepherd, about 6 years old. I have fed him Purina Dog Chow dry food for most of his life, though I sometimes change brands. I have spent thousands of dollars with vets trying to figure out why he continues to scratch and bite his rear end and tail. His fur is coming off his skin. The skin underneath the fur is dark, and he has bad body odor. I have recently started feeding him pasta, sweet potatoes, carrots, ground beef and ground-up apples. Please help.

E.J, Kettering, Md Dec 27, 2011

Answer:

German shepherds are prone to a variety of health issues, including allergies associated with skin problems and colitis or irritable bowel syndrome. Emotional stress in this sensitive breed's environment can also play a role. But first you should have your dog checked for mange and fleabite hypersensitivity.

Check my website for veterinarian-rated dog foods, because what you have been feeding your dog is probably the root cause of his condition. He is most likely suffering from a nutritional deficiency and might improve on a quality diet that includes omega-3 fatty acids from fish and flaxseed oils. Chronic fatty acid deficiency, common in dry dog foods, could impair the immune system and bring on infections and susceptibility to allergies.

Also consider an elimination diet under veterinary supervision to rule out or identify one or more ingredients that he may have become allergic to. A lamb, rice and sweet potato-based commercial diet may do wonders, coupled with a daily dose of probiotics or plain, organic yogurt or kefir.

Question:

We have two white Persian cats: 12-year-old Ki Ki and 14 1/2-year-old Tumbalina.

Ki Ki stopped eating and drinking. He also had a urinary tract infection. I gave him antibiotics for 15 days, after which the vet did blood work and found the white blood cell count to be low. Another 15 days of antibiotics produced still-low white blood cells.

Tumbalina also had her blood work done, and her white blood cell count was low, too. She also suffered from a loss of appetite, lack of fluids and weight loss. I have spent over $2,000 and can't figure out what is wrong.

I feed them Fancy Feast moist food and Evo dry food. I also give them snacks. I am trying to find out what is wrong with my cats. I am now going to a doctor of internal medicine who took an ultrasound and found Ki Ki has cystitis. But we still have no plan.

Please help. I don't want to lose two cats at once.

M.L., Lanham, Md Dec 27, 2011

Answer:

You have certainly been through the mill with your poor cat -- his suffering from cystitis must be considerable.

Ki Ki is not a young cat and, coupling his age with his breed, he could have other underlying health problems that brought on the cystitis. A holistic approach is called for. You may have to force him to drink plenty of water, using a 10- or 20-cc syringe four to five times a day. Get him used to a few drops of fish oil in his food, working up to 1 teaspoon daily. Fish oil, a natural anti-inflammatory, and probiotics will help boost his immune system and help fight infection. Discuss with your veterinarian giving him glucosamine and be sure he is on a corn- and grain-free diet. Corn is often associated with cystitis in cats -- several readers have told me that a corn-free diet was the final cure for this all-too-common feline malady. But corn is not the only cause: diabetes mellitus, for example, is often associated with bladder infections in cats and humans.

The low white blood cell counts in both cats calls for yet more deductive work, and I regret that I cannot offer any simple solutions. In the meantime, I advise you to not use any anti-flea chemicals on or around your cats and avoid all vaccinations.

Question:

My dog Cappy is a 9 1/2-year-old cocker spaniel-mix and until recently has been in good health -- except for many ear infections over the years.

Awhile back I noticed she was having trouble urinating, so I took her to the vet. He did a urine sample and put her on an antibiotic. This did not seem to help, so I took her back and an X-ray indicated she needed surgery for a bladder stone. That was done last May. The stone was very large (nearly the size of a half-dollar coin). She tolerated the surgery well, but got an infection the following week. I took her back to the vet, and she was given an antibiotic that seemed to help with the outside redness. She was also put on Hill's Prescription Diet u/d, 1 cup twice a day. She weighs about 43 pounds and never seems satisfied.

She has been passing clots and red blood since the surgery, and there have been numerous visits back to the vet. I had more X-rays of her bladder done, and I was told it looks good. A urine sample sent for further testing also showed nothing alarming. The vet has been treating her with Baytril and Uroeze (400 mg twice a day). He thinks the bladder wall may be damaged because of the large stone.

Today he suggested a sonogram of the bladder at the cost of $400, which is something I can no longer afford. All previous tests have come back with negative results, and I feel this would be the same. I felt as though we were dismissed today, and I am left with a dog who urinates infrequently, but with red blood and small clots.

I hope you can point Cappy and me in the right direction. She eats well and shows no sign of pain or discomfort. I am a retiree and cannot afford all this added expense, but I feel sorry for my dog and want her to be well. Further surgery is not an option.

T.S., Waldorf, Md Dec 26, 2011

Answer:

Cocker spaniels are especially prone to ear infections, and products like Zymox and Otomax can be very beneficial.

Now that the offending stone in your dog's bladder has been removed and she is on a prescription diet to help prevent recurrences, your veterinarian could provide you with a less costly home-prepared recipe if you are up to making your own dog food. Recipes are available from Balance IT (888-346-6362) and for no charge from www.dogcathomeprepareddiet.com.

Because of your financial constraints, economic "triage" is called for -- you must seek the least costly alternatives to improve Cappy's health. This means opting out of further expensive diagnostic procedures and discussing the benefits of various supplements that may help heal your dog's damaged bladder. Supplements to facilitate healing include fish oil, glucosamine, glutathione, probiotics and various herbs such as couch grass, nettle, corn silk, marshmallow and even apple cider vinegar.

You are not alone in feeling guilty for lacking the financial resources to pay for costly veterinary diagnostics and treatments. Veterinary journals are voicing concerns over this issue and the fact that people are not taking their animals in for treatment because of the anticipated expense. But regular annual checkups are the best preventive measures, along with a wellness program beginning with good nutrition. Many veterinarians are adopting a cost-saving approach to animal treatment and health care maintenance by relying less on expensive tests and diagnostic equipment, as I urge in my new book "Healing Animals and the Vision of One Health" (CreateSpace).

Question:

We have an indoor cat. She is 15 years old and has always lived inside. She's a large cat (not fat, just tall and long) and has been in good health.

One morning a month or so ago, she opened her mouth but no sound came out. What causes this problem? She tries, but no sound. She eats her dry and canned food and drinks plenty of water (no milk, though).

K.H., Chesapeake, Va Dec 26, 2011

Answer:

If your cat used to meow audibly (and some cats never do) and she now seems to be trying to communicate but is incapable of making a sound, a veterinary examination is called for.

There are various medical conditions that can result in paralysis of the cat's vocal cords, including viral infections, cancer and stroke. For your peace of mind, I would advise a veterinary appointment. She may have lost her voice for reasons that will never be known, but her attempt to vocalize could mean she is in pain, perhaps from arthritis -- a common, distressing affliction of older cats. The veterinarian will consider this and other possible geriatric issues needing professional attention.

Question:

We have a 62-pound mixed-breed older dog -- he may be a chow, German shepherd or Lab. We've had him for 12 years, but he was a stray, so we're guessing he's about 13 years old.

He has been leaking feces for months now. Our vet felt inside, did blood work, took X-rays and put him on antibiotics. He guessed it could be cancer and recommended an ultrasound and/or MRI, but those are too expensive. The vet also suggested we feed our dog chicken and rice, which we did for several months. We then started mixing the chicken and rice with his dry food, but he never stopped leaking poop. He strains to defecate in the yard and just dribbles feces. On the patio, he is constantly licking himself, leaving fecal matter behind. We bathe him once a month and try to clean off his behind from time to time.

I've started giving him half an Imodium tablet daily, but my husband says I should not give him something that will "stop him up" when he already struggles to go. Despite the Texas climate, he can't come into the house anymore.

What are your thoughts on this? We have a 62-pound mixed-breed older dog -- he may be a chow, German shepherd or Lab. We've had him for 12 years, but he was a stray, so we're guessing he's about 13 years old.

He has been leaking feces for months now. Our vet felt inside, did blood work, took X-rays and put him on antibiotics. He guessed it could be cancer and recommended an ultrasound and/or MRI, but those are too expensive. The vet also suggested we feed our dog chicken and rice, which we did for several months. We then started mixing the chicken and rice with his dry food, but he never stopped leaking poop. He strains to defecate in the yard and just dribbles feces. On the patio, he is constantly licking himself, leaving fecal matter behind. We bathe him once a month and try to clean off his behind from time to time.

I've started giving him half an Imodium tablet daily, but my husband says I should not give him something that will "stop him up" when he already struggles to go. Despite the Texas climate, he can't come into the house anymore.

What are your thoughts on this?

N.F., North Richland Hills, TX Dec 20, 2011

Answer:

Your poor dog is suffering terribly, being sick and banished from the house. If he is not used to being outside for extended periods, he will be suffering emotionally from separation. You must ask yourself, why are you keeping him alive? I appreciate your patience and concern, but it sounds like he should be bathed daily and be brought indoors. A holistic approach to possible chronic colitis or inflammatory bowel disease is in order if the attending veterinarian did not consider these possibilities. For a searchable list of holistic veterinarian practitioners, visit www.ahvma.org.

I would suggest trial medications like Tylosin or metronidazole, along with probiotics and psyllium seed husks (1 to 2 tablespoons in a gruel of boiled brown rice or oatmeal and ground lamb or turkey). You can also add 2 tablespoons of aloe vera juice (available in health stores) to his food, and encourage him to drink soothing and healing peppermint tea.

If he does not improve on this kind of treatment in 10 to 14 days or with what a holistic veterinarian might recommend, he could have cancer -- the most common cause of death in dogs today. In that case, I would euthanize him rather than allow him to continue to suffer outside.

Question:

My two 4-year-old male cats had urinary blockages a couple years ago. I now feed them Hill's c/d wet and dry food and change to Hill's s/d twice a year, per my vet's instructions.

I understand the old way to prevent urinary blockage was to add vitamin C to cats' regular food, but I don't trust myself to give mine the correct amounts. I give my cats small feedings a few times a day so they won't overeat and vomit. (I'm not too happy with the ingredients in the c/d and s/d.)

I also brush their teeth with a rubber finger brush, using sodium bicarbonate in water. Do you have better recommendations for these problems?

H.O., West Palm Beach, FL Dec 20, 2011

Answer:

Clearly, you care very much for your cats, and I am glad that you have gotten them used to having their teeth cleaned. You can add a little table salt to the sodium bicarbonate or check out your local pet store for any easy-to-apply paste or gel like PetzLife Oral Care products.

Acidifying cat food, as with vitamin C, was once thought to be beneficial, but it actually helped trigger a different kind of urinary tract-blocking stone (oxalate) when manufacturers started adding it to cat food to prevent common struvite stones from forming. These were associated with the high cereal content in big-brand cat foods. For details, see the book "Not Fit for a Dog: The Truth About Manufactured Cat and Dog Foods" that I co-authored with two other veterinarians.

It is especially important for your cats to drink plenty of water, even seasoned with milk or boiled chicken juice. Encourage your cats to play and get some physical exercise and to eat primarily moist (canned) cat food, including the home-prepared diet in the above book.

Question:

We recently lost our beloved dog, Ginger, to immune mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA). We are heartbroken. She was only 8 years old.

We have had dogs all our lives and had never heard of this devastating disease. After researching it online, it seems that it's fairly common and is possibly brought on by overvaccination.

Ginger had no symptoms except maybe panting, but it was over 100 degrees here in Texas all summer, so that seemed normal. We lost her within 24 hours. After a large dose of steroids, she never made it as far as a transfusion. We now wonder if we should bother with vaccinations should we decide to rescue another dog.

G. & T.C., Granbury, TX Dec 19, 2011

Answer:

My condolences to you. I know how distressing it is to lose a beloved dog so suddenly and how helpless you feel because IMHA is usually fatal. For details on the connection between vaccinations and the genesis of autoimmune diseases in animals and humans, visit my website.

An 8-year-old dog should not need booster vaccinations every year (or even every three years in most instances), except for the mandatory anti-rabies vaccination. A blood titer test can be done to determine if any core vaccinations (canine distemper, parvovirus and hepatitis) need to be repeated. Vaccinations have their place in disease prevention. I would not hesitate to vaccinate any new dog or pup following the protocol set by veterinarians with expertise in vaccinology, immunology and the risks and benefits of vaccinations. These protocols are available on my website and in my books "Dog Body, Dog Mind" and "Cat Body, Cat Mind," published by Lyons Press.

Question:

We adopted a 1-year-old male Siamese-mix cat from the SPCA six months ago. My vet diagnosed him with asthma. She put him on prednisone and prescribed Flovent to be administered with a mask to his face. Between his being a traumatized cat who runs from everything and the expense, this is not an option.

He usually coughs only once or twice per day. Is there anything else we can try? We are retired and on a fixed income. I was told that prednisone could lead to diabetes, hence the prescribing of Flovent.

E.H., Virginia Beach, Va Dec 19, 2011

Answer:

Asthmatic conditions in cats call for some detective work, provided a viral and/or bacterial infection of the respiratory system has been ruled out. First, every effort should be made to identify environmental sources of allergy-inducing materials. You must also rule out fur balls, which often cause cats to cough and gag when fur is swallowed after grooming and for which most cats need no treatment.

Prescribing prednisone may alleviate symptoms but, as you state, can have harmful consequences with long-term use. Putting a mask on cats is for emergencies only and takes expert handling.

Feline veterinary specialists now associate many cases of asthma with a food allergy. Corn, soy, beef and fish can be asthma triggers.

Try your cat on my home-prepared diet (on my website) or put him on one of the better brands of cat food, like Wellness, Evo or Castor & Pollux Organix. Get rid of all artificially scented products in your cat's environment -- from cat litter to laundry detergent and room fresheners. Many cats are allergic to the volatile chemical fragrances.