DEAR DR. FOX: We rescued our cat, Cookie, who was born outside behind a garage, at about 4 to 6 months old. She is currently 3 years old.

We had a rough start -- biting and scratching that would leave scars on us. We read articles on how to deal with feral cats, and she turned around.

Cookie is not like our previous cats -- she does not purr, she hisses at times when approached and she is not a lap cat.

We have two small crocheted blankets she sleeps on: one on the bed and one on the couch. About three times a day and every time she is alone, she jumps on the bed, bites the blanket, jumps off the bed, drags it through three rooms and takes it to where her food is. Then she meows, almost howls, for a few seconds. Sometimes she kneads the blanket.

Do you have any idea what causes this behavior? -- V.T., Brick, New Jersey

DEAR V.T.: Your cat's behavior may remind some readers of how their children needed to carry a comforter, blanket or towel everywhere they went. Some would suck or stroke a corner -- all self-comforting behaviors, which some cats will also engage in. Cats also knead and "nurse" the soft material; sometimes they'll even do the same to caregivers' arms or earlobes!

This may be one aspect of your cat's fetishlike behavior. Another is the behavior of carrying a kitten to the food source, or carrying prey from room to room. Such seemingly bizarre behaviors are the result of cats adapting to the domestic environment where their natural predatory and parental instincts are thwarted or suppressed, and where they are deprived of interaction with their own species. In some instances, these cats were weaned too early and experienced maternal deprivation.

DEAR DR. FOX: I read with interest the column regarding dogs' "love." Here is a story about our beloved Loki, the Lab-pit bull rescued from the Brooklyn Animal Care and Control shelter in New York City:

Loki was 8 years old when we adopted him. From the very beginning, he had serious health issues. However, he was a wonderful, affectionate pet who lived to be 13. Much of Loki's enthusiasm for life had to do with Joey, the female German shepherd who lived next door. The two really enjoyed each other and would "call" for each other when outside.

Tragically, Joey's owner became terminally ill with cancer. Right after he died and the house was being emptied, Joey came to our back door. I called to Loki, but when I opened the door, Joey came in. She had never done that before. She slowly walked around the house while Loki sat somewhat puzzled in the kitchen. Then Joey went up to Loki, they touched noses, and Joey went back out to the now-empty house. She had been given away to some relatives who lived far away. Loki never saw her again, but he would go over to the empty house and put his paw on the back door. He seemed to be grieving.

What amazed us is that apparently Joey knew she was going away and had come to say goodbye. It was so sad, but totally remarkable how these two dogs had communicated with each other. -- M.H., Poughkeepsie, New York

DEAR M.H.: Thank you for sharing this sad and touching story. I am glad that more people are recognizing that dogs, like many other species, share similar emotions as humans. Scientists are discovering that dogs use similar parts of their brains for cognitive processing to decipher words and language. For me, this affirms our kinship with animals and calls on us to give them the best care possible in accord with their behavioral, social and emotional needs.

(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: In at least one past column, you strongly discouraged using Frontline on dogs and Advantage on cats because of the risk of cancer. I also vaguely recall that these products came out or became popular in the late 1980s.

We started using these medications at our veterinarian's recommendation beginning in the '80s. Since then, both of our dogs were diagnosed with terminal cancer at ages 12 and 13, as were two of our three cats at age 10. The last one was recently diagnosed. We have another cat, 11, who doesn't get this treatment because she never goes outside; therefore, she is the only one not to contract cancer. The other two cats have gone outside on a 20-foot rope attached to our garage, and we check them regularly. The dogs went out on a rope to do their business and were walked on a leash.

None of our previous dogs and cats ever had these products -- and they never had cancer. Our dogs lived to 14, 16 and 17. One cat lived to 19; the other two died at young ages when we were young and naive about letting them loose outside.

Could you cite a study that documented this phenomenon? -- D.A.R., Reston, Virginia

DEAR D.A.R.: Cancers that are not caused by viruses or specifically identified carcinogens such as asbestos have complex causes. Some of those causes include genetic and epigenetic susceptibility, coupled with environmental triggers including radiation, consumption of DNA-damaging food and water contaminants, and exposure to various chemicals. Furthermore, some chemicals, like dioxins, are more toxic in minute doses over a long time period. While in the body, chemicals can break down into metabolic byproducts that can be damaging, and they can combine with other chemicals to be more harmful than when tested alone.

Since it can be extremely difficult and costly to confirm that one synthetic petrochemical or other compound is safe, it is common sense and good preventive medicine to invoke the precautionary principle, which calls for greater vigilance and never using any such products of the Age of Chemistry without accepting the potential risks, which generally outweigh the benefits.

Read more on this subject -- which your experiences certainly support -- on my website, DrFoxVet.net. You can also read about the related risks to humans and companion animals from exposure to the chemicals released unwittingly into the environment that end up inside other life forms.

DEAR DR. FOX: I never hesitate to email you when I disagree with your views regarding trap-neuter-release, so I felt it only appropriate that I do the same when I agree with you on an animal-related issue. Your column supporting the reintroduction of cougars and wolves in areas where they once thrived was "spot on" -- as the Brits say.

Obviously, as you note, such efforts need to be carefully controlled, but they are definitely doable. The cougars are making their way back east of their own accord anyway. There are definitely wilderness places where wolves and cougars could be re-established in limited numbers. There are plenty of deer (and coyotes) available to sustain the wolves and cougars, and the deer population would not be endangered by the reintroduction of such predators.

In urban and suburban areas, wolves and cougars could not coexist with humans, but in large, sparsely populated rural and forested areas, such reintroduction could work. We already coexist with a growing black bear population. I applaud your position on this issue. -- T.R.S., Olney, Maryland

DEAR T.R.S.: There does seem to be a groundswell of public support for "rewilding" of deer as well as wolf and American lion prey-rich habitats. This would benefit from encouraging natural recolonization and would help establish viable populations of these large predators.

I am currently reading Dan Flores' remarkable book "Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History," which I highly recommend for all readers who are concerned about the future of wildlife and their environments in North America. Readers will be engaged immediately by the historical, cultural and ecological insights Flores provides with scintillating wit and wisdom. He raises a significant point that effective municipal control of free-roaming dogs across the United States has reduced competition over food resources for the opportunistic, relatively omnivorous and highly adaptive coyote. The coyote has also benefited from America's decades-long extermination of wolves and lions. While some 500,000 of these incredible desert song dogs are killed annually -- including around 80,000 at taxpayers' expense by USDA Wildlife Services for the livestock industry -- they outwit their human adversaries at every turn and are in every state and ever more suburbs and urban environments. Their resilience calls for greater respect and understanding, as advocated by Flores and projectcoyote.org.

The coyote challenges us to find peaceful ways of coexistence for the good of all and to appreciate the presence of a native carnivore who provides significant ecological benefits to healthy ecosystems -- including our own backyards and communities.

(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 recently read your column about how the reader's cat's kidneys might be damaged, and I wanted to tell you about an illness my 2-year-old cat had, called tularemia, or "rabbit fever."

Like the cat described in the column, my cat ran a high fever, lost all desire to eat or drink, stopped grooming himself and would hardly move around at all. He also developed swollen glands in his neck. The first vet I took him to assumed it was an infection, maybe from a bite (since our cat is an outdoor cat) and prescribed antibiotics and administered fluids in the office. My cat didn't get any better; he actually got worse. It wasn't until a couple days later that a second vet examined him and asked if my cat kills and eats rabbits -- the answer was an absolute yes. The vet said she had seen only one other case of tularemia, but it requires a special antibiotic, which she administered by injection three days in a row and then had us give in liquid form after that for a week.

Over the course of three days, our cat's temperature went from 107 to 104 to normal, and his appetite returned (and became voracious). Over a period of about 10 days, he made a full recovery!

I just wanted to tell you about this, in case it would help anyone else; it was almost a miracle that the second vet we saw even recognized the illness for what it was and knew how to treat it. -- T.B.B., St. Louis

DEAR T.B.B.: This disease is more prevalent in some states than others, and veterinarians are on the alert in areas of greater prevalence, especially since this is a disease that people can also contract. With climate change, it is likely to become more prevalent. In your case, it is a warning to not let cats roam free and kill wildlife.

DEAR DR. FOX: I have an 11-year-old schnauzer, Beau, who has survived two episodes of pancreatitis. I am a widow, and he is my baby and companion.

For the last seven years, I have had him on Natural Choice venison food. Once in a while, I cook for him fish (tilapia) with quinoa and green beans. He likes both foods. For snacks, I give three little pieces of banana and three little pieces of apples. For years, I have given him a capsule of omega-3 oil, as recommended by the vet.

For about two years, I have noticed some masses on his body: two about the size of a small orange, and the other about the size of a lemon. I take him to the vet every year for his annual checkup, and the vet told me the masses are not malignant and that they are typical of schnauzers. I have noticed, though, that he cannot climb onto my bed as he used to, so I have to carry him to my bed; he gets out of bed with no problem. Also, when he climbs the stairs, he is not as fast as he used to be. I am concerned that the masses are impeding his movement.

Please let me know what I can do about these masses. I love Beau with all my heart, and I want him to live for many more years. -- P.P., Fairfax, Virginia

DEAR P.P.: These are probably fatty tumors called lipomas, which are common in older dogs. They grow and grow, but they do not spread to the internal organs. Once they become large enough to interfere with the dog's freedom of movement, it is time to consider surgery under a general anesthetic if the dog is otherwise healthy. Discuss this with your veterinarian, who may refer you to a soft-tissue veterinary surgical specialist. This is the step we took with one of our older dogs; she had a new lease on life after successful removal of a large lipoma in her groin.

You dog may have arthritis. There are supplements like Cosequin and Nordic Naturals fish oil for dogs that can help, along with regular massage as per my book, "The Healing Touch for Dogs."

(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.)