DEAR DR. FOX: Since about 2002, we have been rescuing both cats and dogs. This started with my cat Callie. She is 15-plus years old, and dropped from 6.2 pounds to 4.9 pounds in the last six months. She has been on Hill's Prescription y/d since she was diagnosed with thyroid issues a couple of years ago. The diet has kept the thyroid issue in check without meds. Now her blood work came back as positive for kidney disease. She has been put on the k/d food. I feel helpless as I understand that there is nothing I can do to help her. I have been feeding her the wet k/d food every two or three hours (small amounts with water added), and she does appear to be stronger.

Is there anything else I could do for her to make her more comfortable or to slow down the destruction of her kidneys? Also, I do not know the signs that the situation is in its final stages. Can you help me understand this disease? -- T.J.W., Lanham, Maryland

DEAR T.J.W.: I am sorry to hear about your cat's double whammy -- chronic kidney disease preceded by hyperthyroidism. Fortunately, it was caught early enough for a special diet to help control it. High levels of iodine and fluoride in some cat foods -- along with thyroid-harming environmental contaminants, notably flame-retardant chemicals in home and household dust and BPA in the inside lining of food cans -- put cats at risk.

Kidney issues can be associated with dental problems, so it is imperative that a thorough oral exam be given to all cats during their regular wellness examination.

For details about helping cats and dogs with chronic kidney failure, see the article "Care for Dogs and Cats With Renal Failure" on my website, DrFoxVet.net.

DEAR DR. FOX: I read a recent letter about a dog being terrified during car rides. Our dog acted similarly, to the point where one of us sat in the backseat with her to try to keep her calm. I noticed that her fright was generated when the GPS or phone made clicking sounds. We did a number of experiments and turned the sound completely off of all digital devices. Now she is relaxed and calm again in the car.

Please tell your readers to try this. It was so sad to see the desperation of our dog before we discovered this source of her problem. -- E.G., St. Louis

DEAR E.G.: I applaud your investigative initiative of sitting with the dog to see what might be triggering the adverse reactions while traveling in the car.

Sudden sounds and high-frequency noises, some inaudible to the human ear, are part of the noise pollution of this electronic age. These can be stressful to us as well as to other animals, as can electromagnetic fields, stray voltage and the flicker of various light fixtures.

Thanks for finding and offering one solution!

APPLAUSE FOR VETERINARY COLLEGE

Wisconsin Companion Animal Resources, Education and Social Services (WisCARES) is a program started by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Schools of Veterinary Medicine and Social Work for local pet owners who are homeless or precariously housed. The program's ultimate aim is to protect the human-animal bond by providing disadvantaged pet owners with free veterinary care and emergency boarding if needed and social services support, including housing resources.

(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.net.)

DEAR DR. FOX: I read your article about releasing cats to live outdoors, and it brought up some questions. You say that it's inhumane to catch and release, but isn't spaying or neutering a cat better than to leave it in the street without doing so?

I am currently in Iran working on a project, and I have brought in two cats from the street. One is approximately 2 years old, and in the last few weeks since I brought her in, she has become depressed and gained weight. I try my best to play with her a few times a day, but I cannot possibly provide the same stimulation she would have outdoors. Also, she is in heat and extremely frustrated, but I plan on having her spayed soon.

The other I found last week. She's a 2-month-old kitten who I found stuck in the wheel well of a car. She was freezing, muddy and scared, and I took her to the vet, who told me she had a disease of the eyes, which she is being treated for. I'm trying to introduce the two of them, and the big cat is extremely upset about it. I'm doing the proper introduction with food bowls on each side of the door of the kitten's "safe room," but the big cat hisses at the door and is highly agitated.

Meanwhile, food, toys, vaccines and surgeries cost me nearly $1,000, and my freedom is limited because I can't just pick up and travel. Also, I'm not getting much in return. The big cat, Pishy, never curls up in my lap, and I feel guilty if I am too tired to play. And the little kitten is too scared to want to be cute and cuddly.

So here I am, sacrificing so as not to be cruel to these cats, but I'm being cruel to myself. If I have them both spayed and vaccinated and release them, won't they be better off than they were before?

Tehran doesn't really have shelters. Cats fight over garbage scraps, and there are larger colonies in northern parts of the city where there are fewer cars, better climate and wealthier residents with better scraps. But animals are not valued as much and are often abused by people who don't know better. Many people do make it their mission to regularly feed them, allow them into their yards and watch after them. Still, I often spot the neighborhood cats with scars from fighting with other cats. Because of this, disease, starvation and, of course, cars, the overpopulation really concerns me. Almost every street has ferals. I've been thinking about starting a catch-and-release program with some local vets and the help of the government, but it's a new idea here.

There is a big yard attached to my apartment complex. I could create an outdoor home for them, but there is already a colony of cats there. My heart breaks for them, but my life and house are a mess now. Kitty litter is everywhere, there's fur all over the couches and carpets -- and I'm highly allergic! I can't breathe well, and if I touch my face, it swells up.

I'm in the middle of an "ethical dilemma," as you put it, and I'm not sure what to do. -- G.G., Tehran, Iran

DEAR G.G.: I understand fully your predicament. Some street (feral) cats, especially those who were naturally selected for generations to be independent, free-roaming hunters, often do not make cuddle cats, even when taken in at a very early age.

While I am generally opposed to trap-neuter-release of cats in the U.S. and other developed countries (unless the cats are closely monitored and in relatively isolated places), the situation is rather different in developing countries, and especially in poor villages and urban slums. There, cats and dogs are part of the community and can provide significant public health benefits -- provided they are vaccinated against rabies and their own communicable diseases, treated for parasites and are neutered and ear-notched (for identification) to limit overpopulation and suffering through attrition.

My wife, Deanna Krantz, operated an animal shelter in rural India with full veterinary services, where community-fed cats and dogs were neutered, vaccinated, wormed and given back to the owner or returned to the streets. I think this would be a wise decision for you, and your efforts to help these animals should be applauded.

DEAR DR. FOX: My son's dog, a 7-year-old Lab-shepherd-pit bull mix, was just diagnosed with Crohn's disease. Because of her age and weight (about 10 pounds more that it should be), she's been prescribed budesonide, which is compounded especially for her at the pharmacy.

I know how serious this disease is in humans, and I assume it is just as serious in dogs. How would she have developed this? The vet told my son that as long as she takes the budesonide, her ulcers will heal, but I'm as concerned about long-term steroid use in this dog as I would be in any human. -- J.O., Jackson, New Jersey

DEAR J.O.: Crohn's disease in dogs, generally referred to as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), is all too common today, as emphasized in the book that I co-authored, "Not Fit for a Dog: The Truth About Manufactured Cat & Dog Foods." There are ingredients in many pet foods that contribute to this problem.

I am not averse to relieving the symptoms with the steroid anti-inflammatory drug that was prescribed for your dog, but the next step is to wean your dog gradually off this medication and transition her onto a wholesome diet as per my home-prepared recipe posted on my website, DrFoxVet.net, along with probiotics, which can really help with this chronic malady.

(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.net.)

DEAR DR. FOX: Was my dad's cat kidnapped by aliens? I'm hoping you can explain my father's -- now my -- cat's abrupt behavior change.

My parents, veteran cat lovers, adopted a brother-sister pair about 12 years ago. The sister got out and disappeared, and the brother became a complete curmudgeon of a cat. Whenever we visited, either with or without my young kids, the cat would hiss, spit and run away, or simply hide under the bed and growl at us. If I tried to pet him, he'd lash out and try to bite me. He behaved this way to everyone except my father and mother.

Fast-forward a bit in time; about four years ago, my mother died and my father developed dementia. My father accidentally let the cat out of the house, and we thought he was gone. Then, he abruptly returned after two weeks and settled back in the house. Soon after that, he spent long periods of time alone as my dad transitioned to an apartment and then nursing home within a few months. I continued to feed him, but could not pet him or pick him up.

In the end, we had to choose either to adopt him or take him to a shelter because he couldn't stay with my dad in the nursing home. We decided to adopt him. Since we had a 4-year-old female cat and 2-year-old dog plus two youngish kids, we figured he'd spend the rest of his life under our beds or in the basement, but that would be better than death (who'd adopt such a mean cat?).

This is where the alien abduction comes in. The cat that we brought into our home is a totally different cat. He purrs, he cuddles without discrimination, he doesn't mind the dog, he plays with the other cat, he hangs out with strangers, he lets us pick him up and he purrs so loud we have to put him out of the bedroom at night.

What on earth could cause such a swing in behavior? We are the same people. But is he the same cat? My explanation is that he was kidnapped and replaced by an alien cat during those weeks of freedom. It's been two years since he moved in, and we still marvel that it is the same animal my parents had in their home. If you have any theories as to how a cat could change so drastically, I'd love to hear them. -- C.T., Webster Groves, Missouri

DEAR C.T.: What an interesting and rather sad feline saga you document!

On my website (drfoxvet.net) is the article "Cat Behavior: Cognitive Disassociation and Social Disruption," which may give you some deeper understanding of cat psychology. In essence, my interpretation of this kind of sudden personality switch is related to the individual cat's situation and degree of fear triggered by a change in the environment and social relationships. The cat seeing your dog and cat being relaxed, friendly and not fearful of you may have facilitated his "recovery." This is one reason why I advocate group housing for shelter cats.

Your letter is also an important reminder that so-called behavioral/temperament tests of cats alone in cages in shelters have serious limitations. Cats who undergo these tests and are considered unadoptable are either euthanized or set free under the dubious banner of trap-neuter-release, when, given more time to adapt and be with other friendly cats in a group might lead to their recovery -- and increase their chances of being adopted.

The Most Animal-Friendly Countries

The animal welfare charity World Animal Protection (formerly known as the World International Society for the Protection of Animals), which has offices in 14 countries, has posted an interactive "Animal Protection Index" on its website: api.worldanimalprotection.org/indicators.

The group ranks some 50 countries on its own animal protection standards, which are based on the following criteria: formal recognition of animal sentience; support for its Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare; laws against causing animal suffering; protecting animals used in farming, animals in captivity, companion animals, animals used in scientific research and welfare of wild animals.

A top grade of A was given to the U.K., Switzerland, Austria and New Zealand. But I was stunned when they gave India a rating of C (also given to Sweden, France and the Philippines), while Canada and the United States were given a lower rating of D.

Having visited and lectured in most of these countries on animal welfare issues, and also spending several years supporting efforts to improve the plight of animals in India, I see yet another major international animal protection organization wasting time and donor money on yet another questionable mission. On the surface it seems laudable, even promising, to help reduce zoonoses (animal-to-human diseases), but it papers over the terrible plight of animals in India, for which I am currently assembling documentation. Ever more laws and declarations are meaningless when corruption, disinformation and lack of enforcement are not addressed.

(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.net.)