DEAR DR. FOX: Henry, our 8-year-old black cat, came from the U.K. and moved to the U.S. with us in 2007. We've been told he might be part Siamese -- he's friendly sporadically, but also skittish. He's not a fighter, so he doesn't clash with other cats. We've never had problems letting him outside for two or three hours at a time. Our older cat died in November, so Henry has been solo since.

We moved 300 yards across a busy road in May, from a townhouse to a single-family home. We have a nice, open backyard for Henry to explore. We kept him inside the first couple of weeks, as advised. On three successive outings, he looked around for 15 to 20 minutes (there were two stray cats we haven't seen for a while now), sniffed a lot, then promptly crossed the road to his old house!

I looked into an invisible fence -- $1,500, and who knows if he'll take to the training. I tried a harness, and he slipped it off within 15 minutes and went under our deck where, thankfully, I was able to fall on him like a fumble.

My wife is all for keeping him indoors permanently. We've added a scratching post, and he has a few toys. The problem, to me, is that he sleeps while we're gone all day and comes to life at night. I'm not the heaviest sleeper, and one to two times per week he decides he's hungry or needs to go to the loo and yowls loudly at 3:30 or 4 in the morning. I'd love to be able to trust him to go out when we're home late afternoons and evenings. I think he'd be happier, though he's been pretty good about it. All I can think of is getting him a better harness and slowly acclimating him. We have a large deck, so that would be a good place to let him explore a bit.

That's about the long and short of it. Do you have any ideas? -- R.B., Columbia, Md.

DEAR R.B.: Clearly you are devoted to Henry, and you have some issues not easily resolved. He misses his companion cat and the old home, so he will be "yowly" and unsettled for a while.

If you are a regular reader of this column, you will know the many reasons why I advise never letting a cat roam free. Invisible fences, which I do not endorse, are designed for dogs, not cats, and they do stop animals outside the fence from coming in.

Build a "cat house" or screen in the deck so he can spend time outdoors. Some people build a covered catwalk connecting, via a cat door, the house and an outdoor enclosure so their animals can go in and out as they choose. If this is not feasible for you, I would follow your wife's initiative to help Henry adapt to indoor life. Purchase a better-fitting harness, and consider adopting an easygoing companion cat for him to enrich his time when you are both gone from the house.

There are cat TV programs to also consider. Setting up a padded window ledge and a bird feeder or two outside for the cat to watch is helpful. One of our cats loves that and is entertained daily!

Check my books, "Understanding Your Cat" and "Supercat: How to Raise the Perfect Feline Companion," which includes mind and body stimulating games and IQ tests.

NATURE'S RECIPE DOG TREAT RECALL

Nature's Recipe has voluntarily recalled its Oven Baked Biscuits with Real Chicken due to possible salmonella contamination. According to company officials, no illnesses have been reported, but owners should discard the treats and seek medical attention for themselves or their pets if symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting or fever occur. The recalled treats were sold in 19-ounce resealable pouches.

For more information, visit naturesrecipe.com or call 800-237-3856.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox's website at DrFoxVet.com.)

DEAR DR. FOX: I have a 13-pound, 6-year-old neutered male Brussels griffon. He has had three surgeries (every two years) to remove oxalate crystals in his bladder and urethra. I have changed his diet several times to no avail. He is on Hills Prescription Diet g/d Canine Early Cardiac-Healthy Aging dry food.

I have had two other male griffons who also had several surgeries for the same problem. Those two were not neutered, and both died of kidney failure relatively young. All three dogs came from Australia, from different breeders. I brought them to Hawaii to raise.

Dr. Fox, have you any recommendations for a diet that might help my little dog avoid future stones? -- F.A.V., Honolulu

DEAR F.A.V.: Several factors are at play in the genesis of oxalate urinary calculi in dogs. These include genetics/breed susceptibility, high cereal content diets and artificial acidification by manufacturers to reduce struvite crystal formation. Also, many dogs do not drink adequate quantities of water, especially when they are on a dry-food diet.

I find it borderline malpractice when dogs with bladder stones/calculi are put on special prescription dry foods with no instructions to keep their urinary tract well flushed with copious fluid intake! For details, see the book I co-authored with two other veterinarians with expertise in pet nutrition, "Not Fit for a Dog."

Give your dog water flavored with chicken or beef bullion (make up your own, salt free), and transition him onto a raw food or lightly cooked home-prepared diet, such as my own recipe on DrFoxVet.com. (Use about one-quarter of the amount of rice in the recipe, or use quinoa as an alternative.) Herbs such as gravel root, stone root, shepherd's purse, plantain and marshmallow are said to help dissolve stones, making future surgeries unnecessary. You may want to explore this with a veterinarian with interest and expertise in such holistic/integrative medicine. To contact a holistic veterinarian in your area, visit holisticvetlist.com.

DEAR DR. FOX: Our 4-year-old schnauzer has been diagnosed with dry eye KCS. This came on suddenly, and after three weeks of erythromycin with no results, she was switched to cyclosporine. I have been applying it twice a day, and after three weeks, I can see no difference. I have heard surgery is sometimes necessary for this. What is your opinion? -- G.B., Arlington, Va.

DEAR G.B.: There are many causes and predispositions -- such as breed and being spayed -- that can contribute to dogs developing this distressing and potentially blinding condition of keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS), a chronic deficiency of aqueous tear secretion. Drying of the corneas can lead to opacity and ulceration and can be extremely painful. Your dog will need to be on the cyclosporine two or three times daily for the rest of her life.

Changing her diet gradually to a whole-food, organic formulation with omega-3 fatty acid supplements, such as my home-prepared diet on my website, www.drfoxvet.com, or a commercial raw-food diet may provide some benefit. Artificial tears and eyedrops containing eyebright may also help and can be used once daily as a substitute for one cyclosporine treatment. Your dog's eyes must, of course, be constantly monitored, and any rapid blinking (blepharospasm) or rubbing of the eyes calls for a veterinary eye examination for possible corneal ulceration.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox's website at DrFoxVet.com.)

DEAR DR. FOX: I have three cats -- ages 1, 2 and 3 years old. They have never had their teeth cleaned. I took my previous cats to a veterinarian who would clean their teeth while he gave them their annual shots --without putting them under. I no longer have that veterinarian. I am concerned that the new vet wants to put my cats under general anesthesia. I'm worried about the cost and the danger.

What do you think about cats and teeth cleaning? -- S.F., St. Louis

DEAR S.F.: I am receiving more and more letters like yours, and it does concern me that veterinarians are putting cats and dogs through the risks of general anesthesia. In many instances, putting the cat under is not warranted when the teeth cleaning needed is minor and the animal is amenable to gentle and effective restraint in a blanket wrap. In some instances, a mild sedative must be administered.

It is true that the older veterinarians did not routinely put cats and dogs under for minor dental work. With new equipment, rising practice costs and a new generation of graduates more aware of the high incidence of dental diseases in cats and dogs -- in part due to the kinds of manufactured pet foods these animals are consuming -- giving a general anesthetic for any and all dental procedures is becoming a standard practice. But it needs to be questioned, especially when animals die as a consequence.

Very often only some tartar and scale on the back molars need to be removed, and this can be done with a fingernail.

Applying PetzLife Oral Care spray or gel formulated for cats can help loosen scale, fight any gum inflammation and reduce infection (oral dysbiosis). It should be used, in my opinion, for three to five days (closely following the manufacturer's instructions) before any dental procedure is done on cats and dogs. This may help reduce post-anesthetic complications associated with oral dysbiosis by reducing the inflammation and bacterial infection prior to dental surgery.

Such products can also be used on a routine, short-period basis as a way to prevent dental problems in pets. Try it along with safe chewy things cats and dogs enjoy, like scalded raw chicken wing tips and thin strips of beef shank meat for cats and organic rawhide strips (processed in the U.S) and scalded raw chicken or turkey necks for dogs.

For more details visit my website, DrFoxVet.com.

LAWN CHEMICALs AND THE RISK OF CANINE MALIGNANT LYMPHOMA

Malignant lymphoma is an all-too-common cancer in dogs. After adjustment for dogs' age, weight and other factors, the use of specific lawn-care products was found to be associated with greater risk of canine malignant lymphoma (CML), according to a recent report in the journal "Environmental Research" by Dr. B.B. Takashima-Uebelhoer and associates. Specifically, the use of professionally applied pesticide was associated with a 70 percent higher risk of CML. Risks were also higher in those reporting use of self-applied insect growth regulators, but the use of flea and tick control products was found to be unrelated to risks of CML.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox's website at DrFoxVet.com.)