The Animal Doctor

DEAR DR. FOX: We have a question regarding the diet for a cat with high triglycerides. Any advice you can give would be most appreciated by us and our lovely cat, Bess.

Bess is about 6 years old and weighs about 15 pounds. She is an indoor house cat and our only pet. We rescued her from the animal shelter.

She is on a special diet that is supposed to control her high triglyceride level (originally 2400, but now maintained for two years around 618). Our vet tells us if we change her diet, her triglycerides will skyrocket, with possible seizures and other dire results. We worry that the restricted diet does not give Bess the variety of nutrients she needs to stay well and happy.

She eats 1 to 1 1/2 cup Hills Prescription Diet r/d dry food over a 24-hour period (although the vet recommended only 1/2 cup due to Bess' weight) and 1 teaspoon Hills Prescription Diet r/d wet food twice a day. As a treat, we give her a small serving of dried bonito fish flakes from Cat-Man-Doo.

The problem is Bess is doing a lot of scratching and is trying to tongue-wash spots on her fur, usually near her flanks or on her tummy, particularly in the evening. She will suddenly jump up and seem irritated, like she was bitten; we had her checked and she doesn't have fleas. Thinking it might be dry skin, we have tried putting a few drops of fish oil in her wet food, but she will not touch it. She is very nervous and jumpy and sometimes stares crazily like she is hallucinating -- she crouches down and puts her ears back, flips over and starts racing around.

We are trying to determine whether Bess' symptoms are diet-related and how we can adjust her diet to give her the balanced nutrition she needs without her triglycerides skyrocketing. -- R.M., Fairfax, Va.

DEAR L.B.: It is good that your veterinarian has diagnosed your cat's condition.

Bess must certainly be kept on a zero-fat diet. But many cats and dogs have problems with manufactured prescription diets because of various additives and contaminants. Have your veterinarian contact Balance IT, veterinary formulated diets and therapeutic recipes at secure.balanceit.com. The company can offer a suitable recipe you could prepare yourself for Bess.

I would take her off the dried fish -- many cats are allergic to fish protein. See if her excessive licking abates.

Some cats develop elevated triglycerides after prolonged treatment with steroids. They can develop fatty growths on the abdomen, fat deposits in the eyes, show abdominal pain, be hypersensitive to touch and even have seizures. A grain-free diet may be the best preventive diet for many cats.

DEAR DR. FOX: I have an 8-year-old Yorkie who has had dry eyes for over a year now. He weighs 9 pounds. He has been taking the following medicines for his right eye for at least eight months:

-- Neomycin & polymyxin B sulfates and Dexamethasone Opthalmic ointment twice daily.

-- Tacrolimus eye ointment three times daily.

-- Optixcare Eye Lube as often as possible.

-- Pilocarpine hydrochloride ophthalmic solution mixed in his food twice daily.

When he was tested in April 2013, his right eye tear level was three; his left eye tear level was 12. He eats Wellness food. I understand I will have to continue with this treatment for the rest of his life.

Do you have any other suggestions or any other treatment that you would recommend for him? It is difficult to keep up with the treatment each day. -- E.W., Silver Spring, Md.

DEAR E.W.: I am glad that your little dog's dry eye condition was recognized and treated before serious damage to the cornea and loss of eyesight occurred.

While I have no additional treatment to suggest other than drops of ophthalmic Eye Bright, a potentially beneficial herb, your letter will serve as a warning to owners of Yorkies and other breeds, as well as all old dogs, about this condition. Undiagnosed and untreated, there will be increasing discomfort and eventual pain and suffering.

Usually this condition develops gradually and may be identified during the course of an annual physical or wellness appointment that I recommend for all dogs. More rarely, it is triggered suddenly by certain medications such as antihistamines.

(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.)

Current federal and state government initiatives, backed by diverse vested interests, are poised to reduce the nation's existing wolf population, which is contrary to the directives of sound science, reason and the public interest.

State wildlife management practices are directed to maximize deer numbers for recreational hunters. This has been accomplished by rural America's virtual extermination of the wolf over the past two centuries, coupled with forest management practices and agricultural expansion that indirectly provide feed for deer. The encroachment of housing developments with deer-attracting gardens and vegetation in municipal parks have had unforseen consequences associated with higher populations of white-tailed deer and elk numbers in western states. Two of these consequences concern public health and potential harm to the livestock industry, which a higher population of wolves would do much to recitify.

Hunters seek out the healthiest deer and trophy antler-bearers in particular. Seasonal hunts eliminating almost one-quarter of the deer population in states such as Minnesota means starvation for wolves in deer-hunted zones, increasing their predation on livestock. Increasing hunting quotas to better regulate deer numbers is not a biologically appropriate response, even though it is a multibillion dollar source of revenue for states and equipment suppliers, because killing the healthiest deer does not satisfy the same ecological need as predation by wolves.

Wolves prey on deer year-round, taking the slower ones weakened by injury and disease, and therefore play a significant role in controlling diseases carried by deer, notably the prion that causes chronic wasting disease (CWD). This disease also affects mule deer, elk and moose and is now spreading across the U.S. and Canada. Wolves are probably immune. But if these prions mutate and cross the species barrier to affect livestock, the consequences could have devastating economic consequences for the livestock industry. This could mirror the mad cow disease debacle in the U.K., which led to mass slaughter and export bans to protect consumers from cattle infected with this form of spongioform encephalopathy, which in humans causes the debilitating and fatal brain degeneration Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Dr. Christopher Johnson of the U.S. Geological Survey, who found prions in crops and vegetation consumed by deer, concludes that its findings "suggest that prions are taken up by plants (from infected deer) and that contaminated plants may represent a previously unrecognized risk of human, domestic species and wildlife exposure to CWD and scrapie agents.

This October, cattle in Wisconsin contracted insect-borne deer epizootic hemorrhagic disease, a historical first and a warning to the livestock industry about the need to better monitor deer numbers and disease risks, especially CWD.

Organic farmers and environmentally conscious ranchers have long recognized the role of predators and other wildlife species in helping preserve healthy ecosystems around and within their lands. What is called for now is an ecological approach to states' wildife management and predator control policies and practices, an approach that moves away from the farming of wildlife for the recreational sport hunting of deer, elk and other selected species.

In the final analysis, the wolf, long reviled by cattle and sheep ranchers and seen by many deer hunters as a competitor to be exterminated, may be the ultimate savior of America's livestock industry by stemming CWD and other communicable diseases through the predation of infected deer. This means more wolves in deer and elk habitats.

The Centers for Disease Control documented more than 30,000 cases of tickborne Lyme disease in humans in 2012. This disease is harbored by rodents and deer, and wolves can play an indirect role in helping control it. These concerns underscore the need for a revolution in state and federal wildlife and natural resource management. The adoption of principles and practices that enhance biodiversity and healthy ecosystems is the core principle of the One Health movement now being embraced worldwide by medical, veterinary and other authorities and agencies. These policies should include greateer protection for wolves as an integral aspect of a more enlightened and scienced-based approach to a better environment for all.

(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 www.twobitdog.com/DrFox.)

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DEAR DR. FOX: Our home is surrounded by woods, so we are frequently visited by wild animals. Unfortunately, this includes skunks.

Our Lab has been sprayed three times. Of those three encounters, he has killed two of the skunks. Can you tell me if there is anything we can put around the yard to repel skunks? -- K.O., Suffolk, Va.

DEAR K.O: Depending on the size of your yard, the best solution would be to out-skunk the skunks with a 5-foot-high fence. Skunks are not climbers, but they are diggers, so have at least 1 foot of the wire barrier buried under the ground.

Alternatively, remove all brush and places where skunks might hide, including under your house or porch, where a decorative lattice fence may be needed. Before you let the dog out, turn on a hose and spray any areas where skunks might be hiding -- they do not like getting soaked. Or make a loud noise by banging kitchen utensils; such aversive auditory conditioning is a good wildlife repellant.

DEAR DR. FOX: I don't put anti-flea/tick medication on my Maltese, but I found a tick on her last week. That scared me, but I don't like to think of putting the medications on her.

I don't have Internet access, so I was wondering if you have any pamphlets or book concerning this? I would gladly purchase one. I am taking Buffy to get her yearly shots, and I will ask the vet about this.

Buffy had a serious skin problem 1 1/2 years ago. She is now on a grain-free diet that has definitely helped.

Any information you would share will be greatly appreciated. -- R.H., Pinckneyville, Ill.

A RELATED LETTER:

DEAR DR. FOX: I am writing to respond to your column where you expressed what I would describe as disdain for people who use "potentially hazardous insecticides ... to prevent flea infestation. That's like taking antibiotics to prevent infection."

I am appalled that you completely ignored the plague of disease-bearing ticks that many areas of the country are experiencing, not just seasonally, but year-round.

I live in Virginia, and my Shetland sheepdog has already contracted Lyme disease once. Fortunately, she was treated successfully with antibiotics. We now apply those spot-on anti-tick drugs 12 months of the year. It is not like taking antibiotics to prevent infection; it is using these products to prevent having to take antibiotics and possibly prevent chronic illness.

If you are aware of safer, less toxic products that will protect my dog from disease-bearing ticks as effectively as the product I am now using, I would like to know about them. -- A.C., Earlysville, Va.

DEAR R.H. and A.C.: Thanks in large part to climate change (milder winters and more rain), vegetative growth providing cover for ticks and lack of wildlife species that help control ticks, we have a nationwide public health problem.

Giving your pet a pill or spot-on chemical to kill ticks once they begin to feed is no guarantee that disease from the ticks will not get into the bloodstream. Harmful side effects for some dogs are well-documented.

Eucalyptus lemon oil in a water emulsion or PetzLife's Complete Coat Spray would be my safe alternative, coupled with a flea comb and thorough inspection of the dog after outdoor exposure. Also, keep yards clear of brush and debris where ticks can find cover -- they avoid open areas and direct sunlight.

LYME DISEASE EPIDEMIC

The Centers for Disease Control recently announced that there were many more Lyme disease infections in the U.S. than previously thought -- 300,000 reported cases -- and reminds people to protect themselves and their pets. Preventive measures include using insect repellant and protective clothing to deter ticks, which transmit Lyme disease via bites. Suspicious symptoms such as a rash near a tick bite, fever, chills and aches should be reported to a physician. For details about how wolves, foxes and other hunted wildlife help control this disease in the wild, and about how free-roaming guinea fowl and poultry (who are voracious tick eaters) can help on your property, visit DrFoxVet.com.

(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.)