DEAR DR. FOX: Because I have worked for a veterinarian for 13 years, I find your ideas both interesting and useful in our clinic. I have been a volunteer at my local animal shelter for 25 years. My shelter is county-operated, so we must accept all strays, turn-ins, ferals, etc., from anyone who lives in our county. We are open seven days a week, and we do have bona fide hours of operation, but those go by the wayside daily because there is so much that doesn't get done by the end of the day.

We never have enough money, personnel, volunteers, foster families or fundraisers. Although this shelter is county-operated, the budget for animal welfare is very small. Usually, the money allotted for medical care has run out by February or March. We try to raise funds any way we can, but the county residents get resentful because they think that their taxes should pay for everything. I know this sounds like a personal problem, but when you write a three-column article in a newspaper like The Washington Post, it is going to get noticed. And when you say that most animals entering a shelter need quiet quarantine rooms, I am not sure you know the nature of a crowded animal shelter. How can we provide any more than we already do when we don't have enough people to help us? The turnover of paid help and volunteers is enormous because of the stress and sheer volume of the daily work. I have spent an entire day just doing laundry. It never ends.

What I would like you to know is that shelters all over the country are having the same issues. It usually boils down to lack of money. Can you give us some solutions to these problems instead of drawing attention to problems that will keep people from checking out shelters for adoptable animals because they are afraid of what they might see? We are doing a marvelous job with what we have; our animals are safe, warm, fed, watered and exercised as much as possible -- but it is not easy. -- J.O., Stevensville, Maryland

DEAR DR. FOX: Thank you for writing about what a shelter should do to enhance the adoptability of its animals. Even better, shelters should find a way to minimize disease; instead, newly adopted dogs frequently have kennel cough, or worse, and cannot show their true personalities because they are sick.

You are so right about trap-neuter-release (TNR), which turns its back on cats so that its advocates can feel good about themselves. They won't acknowledge pictures of starved, maimed, diseased, injured and dead cats who are victims of the concept. As for no-kill shelters, they often flaunt the term. Some warehouse animals, but many also ship animals they can't adopt out to another facility that euthanizes.

The other flaw of the no-kill movement is that it endorses adoptions to practically anyone who can "talk the talk" and knows how to fill out an adoption application, often with omissions and falsehoods. People surrender pets to a shelter because "he didn't know how to behave" or "he got sick," and then they ask to see other ones. Home visits are not conducted to educate pending adopters on successful transitional techniques and how to work through inevitable problems. Most public and private shelters/rescues do not choose to meaningfully screen and educate adopters because the marching orders are to get these hapless animals "adopted." Even some private rescue organizations have succumbed to handing out animals. Thus, these animals are really "sold" for fee generation, and they often pay a terrible price.

Rehabilitating and nurturing shelter animals would save more of them, but why bother if the animals are being shoveled out the door or handed over to someone who has an irresponsible attitude toward defenseless pets? In my mind, euthanasia is a better option to a life of hell. I believe there are far more adoptable pets than responsible pet owners.

Please do not use my name, as I have been in the rescue business for 15 years and have been attacked by people who don't like it when I stand up for animals and tell the truth. And thank you for you relentless efforts on behalf of animals. -- Anonymous, Rockville, Maryland

DEAR J.O. & ANONYMOUS: Thank you for sharing your experience working in the trenches of animal rescue and sheltering, and blessings to you both for doing so. I wish more people, especially active, healthy retirees, would volunteer and, more importantly, do fundraising and get old blankets, towels and other supplies to local shelters.

We are still in the season of giving, and I urge all people to consider donating to their local animal shelters that should have nonprofit 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, so donations are tax-deductible. Better to start locally rather than donating to the well-heeled national organizations, whose big money doesn't always get down sufficiently to the local communities and may actually turn off potential donors to local shelters thinking that the problems are being cared for by the larger organizations. We need both -- national appeals and grassroots activism and involvement, plus more dollars coming from the municipal coffers.

(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: Recently, you wrote in your column, "Make the wellness exam part of the needed annual blood test for heartworm prior to resuming post-winter preventive medication; this exam should evaluate kidney and liver function, blood glucose and other essential health indicators."

I thought that there was no treatment for heartworm (at least for cats), and if that's true, then there isn't any point in testing, right? More to the point, just so I'm clear, are you saying we should take our 1-year-old indoor-only cat in for yearly blood testing? Even if she seems healthy otherwise? She's supposed to go in for another rabies shot -- something else I question, again considering she's indoor-only with no possibility of escape -- but we'll get blood work done as well if you think that's wise. -- M.K., Washington, D.C.

DEAR M.K.: You raise an important issue when it comes to the annual wellness exam protocols, which vary from region to region and veterinary clinic to clinic.

The blood test for heartworm infestation is routine for dogs, and if the test is clear, they can be put back on the seasonal preventive medication. Since cats can get heartworm disease -- especially if they get outdoors or onto a porch with defective screens where infective mosquitoes can get inside -- the blood test for such cats, and preventive medication if they do not test positive, is an advised protocol.

Ideally, have the veterinarian come to your home to do the wellness exam, and check my website (DrFoxVet.com) for what most veterinarians consider to be the optimal vaccination protocol for indoor cats. Fortunately, more veterinarians are aware that until recently, too many unwarranted vaccinations have been prescribed for cats and dogs, with attendant risks to both species, as I have documented in my column and in my book "Healing Animals & the Vision of One Health."

DEAR DR. FOX: My 2-year-old female cat is sick. I took her in for her annual checkup last Friday. The vet gave her Pfizer's nasal vaccine FRVC (no distemper). No other medication. She got her last set of vaccinations by injection in November 2013.

On Nov. 26, 2014, she was throwing up and had a fever of 104.6. She got a shot for nausea and a delayed-reaction antibiotic. She started keeping food down. Two days later, she threw up three times overnight. I took her back to her vet. Her temperature was up again. She had eaten and was keeping it down, but got another nausea shot. At the vet, she also got an X-ray, blood work and a stool check. She showed no problems on the X-ray. She had no elevated white cell count, no problems with the stool and no fleas.

Could this be a late reaction to last year's vaccines? What should I do? Her vet says he can give her a shot to bring her temperature down, but I worry because she has already received the other medications. She also has three brothers due for their annual checkups and vaccines. I don't know if I should let them get the nasal vaccine.

I am worried sick about Angel. She's a rascal, but I love her. -- M.H., St. Louis

DEAR M.H.: I am sorry to hear about your trials and tribulations following what should have been a routine wellness examination and what you and your poor cat had to go through, including costly diagnostic tests to rule out a cause other than a delayed adverse vaccine reaction.

I consider this the most probable cause. The new-generation feline vaccines that are sprayed into the cat's nose to protect against panleukopenia (feline distemper), calicivirus and rhinotracheitis (feline influenza or herpesvirus-1) certainly eliminate the possibility of an injection-site cancer developing. Feline nasal vaccine manufacturer Heska Co. also notes that unlike the nasal-spray vaccines, subcutaneous vaccines have been reported to produce a significant antibody response to kidney cells that could be a factor in causing kidney disease later in life. But this does not mean that this new generation of vaccines is safe, and your veterinarian should report your cat's post-vaccination issues without delay to the manufacturer, Pfizer, and the Food and Drug Administration. The suggested injection (probably prednisone) to bring her temperature down may be effective.

I would also ask why your cat, presumably a protected indoor-only cat, who had prior vaccinations, was given this annual booster and what was the justification for giving additional vaccinations, which could have triggered an adverse effect on your cat's immune system.

(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 READERS: As promised last week when I presented my dog food recipe after having been deluged with requests, I am posting the recipe for cats. May all enjoy!

DR. MICHAEL FOX'S HOMEMADE DIET FOR CATS

1 whole chicken, cut in pieces, or 1 pound hamburger, ground lamb or turkey

1 cup chopped chicken hearts and gizzards

1/2 cup peas, chickpeas or lentils

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon fish oil

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin

1 egg

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon chopped canned clams in juice

1 teaspoon nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon calcium carbonate, calcium citrate, lactate or human-grade bone meal

Combine all above ingredients. Add enough water to cover ingredients. Simmer, stir and add more water as needed until cooked and thickened. Add an egg or 1 cup of cottage cheese. Immediately after cooking and cooling, debone the chicken parts, but do not feed your cat the cooked bones since they can splinter and cause internal injury. Add a few drops of fish oil after the stew has cooled to room temperature. Stew should be thick enough to be molded into 1/2-cup muffin-size patties. You can add a little oatmeal, bran or mashed potatoes to thicken if needed. (Note: Some cats are allergic to fish, corn, beef and dairy products.)

When the food has cooled, put the portioned food in the refrigerator, where it should be good for three days. If you have cooked a larger quantity, freeze the patties and thaw as needed. Serve one patty to your cat three times per week with regular food. This recipe can also be put into a food processor and fed raw.

For variation, substitute 1 pound lightly cooked and mixed equal parts ground or chopped pieces of calf heart, kidney and liver. It is advisable to change up the basic ingredients to provide variety and to avoid possible nutritional imbalances.

If you are feeding only this recipe to your cat, it is safe and beneficial to add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of spirulina to the food two to three times a week.

Transitioning your cat onto the new diet should be done gradually to allow for adaptation and avoid aversion and digestive problems that a sudden dietary change may cause. Mix increasing amounts of your cat's new food with decreasing amounts of the old food over a seven-day period.

A daily multivitamin and multimineral supplement is also advisable. One that supplies essential amino acids and is recommended by feline vets is called Platinum Performance Feline Wellness. Designing Health Inc. also makes excellent animal (and human) supplements under the label The Missing Link. In a pinch, crush up one human "one-a-day" complete multivitamin and put a light sprinkling (about one-fifth of the pill or less) on the cat's food at one of the daily feedings.

Since obesity is so prevalent in companion animals today, weigh your cat at weekly intervals when putting him on a new diet, and adjust the amount being fed according to any decrease or increase in weight.

Note: Different animals have slightly different nutritional needs according to age, temperament, amount of physical activity and health status.

Keep teeth clean by giving a scalded raw chicken wing tip with skin on, thin strips of scalded raw beef heart or scalded shank meat to your cat to chew every three to four days. The tougher the meat, the better! Make sure it's scalded to kill the bacteria. Avoid addictive and potentially harmful dry foods that do little to keep teeth clean.

(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.)