The Animal Doctor

DEAR DR. FOX: My two 3 1/2-year-old neutered male cats, Spunky and Binky, are littermates, and they are practically physically identical. Both are tabbies and can be distinguished only by the color of their collars. This complicates their relationships with the humans in the household.

Spunky is loving. He cuddles, kneads, purrs and always head-butts -- with me, mostly. Binky is aloof, and he does none of the same socializing with any of his human family. I learned head-butting from Spunky. From Binky, I have learned not to initiate head-butting, because he hisses, violently attacks my face with claws and dashes off. He tolerates being patted on his head and body, but I have learned not to bend over him as he then strikes out. If I pat with one hand and raise the other a little to protect my face, he strikes out. I obviously quickly learned to not initiate such behaviors, and I have now copied his aloofness. In the dark or if I can't see their collars, I cannot tell them apart except by behavior. I have learned caution. I simply reach one hand toward the cat in question -- Spunky will immediately head-butt, even leaning over to do so, and Binky only sometimes allows me to pat him.

Both came to my household as 2-month-old kittens. Then Binky moved in with my daughter, husband and their three young girls when the kittens were about 9 months old. Binky became the favorite of my son-in-law, and Spunky really bonded with me. A year later, Spunky and I moved into my daughter's apartment. Spunky and Binky were immediately happy to be back together. They play roughly and happily, and they eat and sleep together. I became the only one to care for the cats. Everyone else ignored Binky, but I, the true cat mom, loved them both.

A new baby (now 15 months old) has become Binky's best friend -- though I worry about him striking out at her if she gets too close. At night, Spunky sleeps on my bed and Binky ignores me and sleeps on a chair near my bed or somewhere else in the apartment.

Is Binky jealous? Does he feel rejected? Is it fear? How should I behave to help him socialize with his human family better? Should I try to be cuddly? Will he ever head-butt me or anyone else? Is he a danger to the 15-month-old? Or maybe I should stop including head-butting in my relationship with cats? Cats and people are certainly complex! -- N.C., Hyattsville, Maryland

DEAR N.C.: First, I would say the early separation affected the socialization and human bonding of the two cats. There is an interactive process between innate temperament, early experience and later personality that can account for differences in your look-alike littermates, including one liking close human contact and the other not.

I would get a reflector collar or put a luminescent strip on one of the cat's collars so you know who is who at night, or only engage in the head-butting show of affection during daylight hours.

One safer way of initiating contact is to extend one finger toward the cat's nose to mimic the friendly nose-nose touch that cats make with each other. With shy cats, I use a long-handled brush and a feather tied to a cane that I stroke over the cat and around its face. This way, they get used to being touched and learn to trust and enjoy you, plus you won't get a clawed on the hand -- or face!

Some cats respond well with human infants because they are not afraid and seem to fully understand that the infant means no harm. But other cats become fearful, so you must keep alert and basically protect the cat from the infant, who may try to grab and hug the cat.

DEAR DR. FOX: Thank you for your helpful advice. What a pleasure to correspond with someone who understands our companion animals are not "property" or surrogate children or toys, but are complex beings who are friends with gifts and needs and wonderful and sometimes difficult histories. -- N.C.

PRAISE BEATS TREATS FOR DOG REWARD

A study published in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience found that dogs respond more intensely to verbal or physical praise than to a food treat. The study evaluated functional MRI scans of dogs being praised and compared those to brain scans when the dogs were offered a treat and found the same or greater brain activity in the reward and decision-making centers in response to praise, information that could be used to help direct service dogs into assignments they're best suited for.

(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 READERS: I grew up with health-food-conscious parents, and our daily table talk usually included some inquiry as to the quality and regularity of my bowel movements. White bread was banned from our home. Now, 70 years later, the health connections between what is eaten and stool quality in terms of beneficial bacterial content is being recognized by more and more human and animal doctors. Improving the diet and the bacterial microbiome, or "garden of the guts," via infusion of good bacteria have become key elements in the One Health approach to improving animals' health as well as our own. In many animal species, coprophagia and pica (stool- and soil-eating) may help improve animals' gut gardens, but not without some inherent risk.

DEAR DR. FOX: With all the glyphosate and other herbicide residues in the diet and all the plastic, chemicals and pesticides that our pets get, how can they have functioning microbiomes? We need to feed only GMO-free food and (eat) animals that have been raised GMO-free as well. We have done over 4,400 fecal transplants from my dogs, who are fourth-generation raw-organic fed. They were never on antibiotics, and we use no herbicides or pesticides. We have given the Micro Biome Restorative Therapy (MBRT) to aggressive dogs, and they became sweet. One dog acted as if he suddenly had been given the feel-good bonding hormone oxytocin, as he was licking and grooming his sister, with whom he was normally aggressive. I just read an article that said some gut bacteria produce this hormone.

I treat GI issues like clostridium, campylobacter, giardia, inflammatory bowel disease, acute hemorrhagic diarrhea, kidney failure, liver failure, autoimmune issues, cancer, behavioral issues, hepatic lipidosis, pancreatitis and anorexia; it helps so many problems to help the gut reboot. Our website, mashvet.com, has videos on other supportive procedures. We have started the first fecal bank for dogs and cats, and we are able to work with each animal's vet and ship microbiome from our donors next day air. For more information, contact info@mashvet.com. -- Dr. Margo Roman, Hopkinton, Massachusetts

DEAR DR. FOX: Regarding your recent column on stopping tail docking and ear cropping by placing all the blame on the American Kennel Club, I think you are making a big mistake.

In the United States, the breed standards are owned and controlled by each parent club. Only the parent club can make changes to the standard. In the United Kingdom, things are totally different: The Kennel Club owns all of the standards and may change them at its will.

Parent clubs may make changes to their standards at the most every five years. Some of the clubs in the U.S. have made cropping and docking an option rather than a requirement. -- D.E., Fenton, Missouri

DEAR D.E.: I appreciate your emphasis that it is up to the various breed clubs to change their standards concerning this important animal welfare and rights issue. But the resistance is all part of the cultish power of thoughtless manipulation and control of animals' lives, which is a pervasive problem in other arenas of animal exploitation and abuse.

Certainly, the AKC and its judges should be more proactive and facilitate a more humane and enlightened breeder constituency. It should at least begin to openly discuss changing those breed standards that involve medically unwarranted surgeries, which amount to mutilation, along with extreme physical traits of hereditary origin that can compromise dogs' quality of life.

DEAR DR. FOX: I read your suggestions regarding a matted cat whose human is concerned about dropping her off at a salon.

I am a house call cat groomer in New York. There aren't many house call cat groomers, or cat groomers in general, but most of my clients are people who don't feel comfortable leaving their pets at a salon. House call is a great choice for concerned owners.

A "perk" of house call cat grooming is that some owners learn enough during the grooming session to be able to groom their own cats! Educating owners is part of being a house call cat groomer. -- L.S., New York City

DEAR L.S.: Many cat owners will appreciate your letter and the need for in-home cat grooming services. This may be an incentive for other experienced groomers to offer house visits rather than having cats come to them, which can be very stressful for some cats, while others cannot even be put into a carrier without prior habituation.

Either way, there is no excuse for cats becoming so matted from lack of regular grooming that they must be sedated and carefully clipped at a veterinary hospital. This causes extreme stress and expenses that could be avoided by routine, effective grooming by the owners or professionals such as yourself.

(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 just read your article regarding lawn chemicals. I'm sure my neighbors hate us, because they all have lovely green lawns, whereas ours has some dandelions. One neighbor regularly tells me how inexpensive it is to treat the dandelions -- hint, hint -- but our local PBS gardening program recently pointed out how many critters are fed by the dandelion leaves and flowers, so I just smile and ignore him.

We bought this house because it has a fenced backyard for the dogs and lots of trees. We also feed the birds. This year, I have noticed that only a resident robin has been visiting my feeding area. I've been putting out apple slices and bread for her. I told my sister about it. Her retired husband works part-time at a wild bird supply store, and he told her that because so many people are poisoning their grass, there aren't enough bugs left for the birds to eat. My sister said her robins have begun eating the peanut butter cakes they put out.

When we retired, we moved from California back to Nebraska. During a three-day drive through all kinds of country, one bug hit the windshield. I remarked to my husband, when we were kids and traveled around with Dad, he'd have to stop and clear all the bugs off the radiator. In three days, we hit one bug. That's pretty scary. As a family, we've started planting milkweeds. My mom's yard is full of them. I finally got some started, and I am seeing them in a few of my neighbors' yards and at the nurseries.

I guess we've got to keep hoping. We, too, remember growing up surrounded by fields of wildflowers, birds and bugs. If we don't stop, it's going to be a pretty lonely place. -- P.S., Lincoln, Nebraska

DEAR P.S.: Many readers will appreciate your observations, and yes indeed, the dramatic decline in the insect populations in most communities, with the exception of disease-transmitting mosquitoes and ticks, is a serious issue.

Young people have no memory of our bug-, butterfly- and bird-rich seasons and plethora of reptiles and frogs and other amphibians in our nature playgrounds. We must add light pollution as a factor in the insects' demise, in addition to habitat destruction and pesticides, the complex consequences of which we are not immune from -- yet wholly responsible for.

DEAR DR. FOX: My 8-year-old beagle has "cherry eye." The vet suggests we do surgery. This would cost $2,000, which we do not have.

Do you have any suggestions of what could be done with home remedies, or at least nothing so expensive? It appears very mild to me. Our vet has given eye drops, which seem to keep it contained. Your advice would be appreciated. -- C.J., Fairfax, Virginia

DEAR C.J.: Veterinary services, especially those involving preparation for and administration of general anesthesia and doing the micro-surgery required for the safe removal of this gland in the corner of your dog's eye, are not inexpensive. You might seek a second opinion and quote from another veterinarian who does relatively minor, yet delicate, eye surgery.

I see no alternative if the gland gets larger. But if it remains relatively small, with appropriate eye drops to reduce inflammation and infection, and dry-eye does not develop with possible risk of corneal ulceration, which some eye medications may trigger, surgery could be postponed. The veterinarian should examine the eye every four to six months, and immediately if the dog starts to wipe at it or blink a lot.

(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.)