The Animal Doctor

DEAR DR. FOX: Here on the East Coast, we have been suffering through excessively high temps and stifling humidity for the last two weeks or so. Due to these weather conditions, my two 5-year-old Havanese, Birdie and Bogey, are offered much shorter, more frequent walks to compensate for the prolonged walks that aren’t currently possible. (The fact that this breed is said to originate from hot, humid Cuba, yet does not tolerate these climatic conditions, borders on the nonsensical.)

The issue I am having is related to the behavior that Bogey has been exhibiting since the onset of these extreme weather conditions: namely, a compulsive need to lick his abdomen. I am wondering if this behavior can be attributable to heat stress.

I have examined the area closely and see no evidence of a rash, fleas or bug bites. There is no loss of hair, no redness. Thinking that this licking may be heat-related stress, I have placed a cold, damp cloth on his abdomen and held Bogey in my arms, inverted, in an effort to comfort him. Regardless, he resumes licking once he is put back on the floor. I have also bathed him a couple times, using a gentle shampoo that has anti-itching properties, which seems to be beneficial but has not remedied the compulsion.

The other odd behavior that he has recently been exhibiting is exaggerated panting -- not during a walk, but hours after he has concluded a gentle walk and has been at rest in an air-conditioned house. The onset of this heavy panting is preceded by a long period of deep sleep. He wakes up in a heavy pant. These dogs live in what I would describe as a stress-free environment.

As for possible allergies, their diet has not changed. I am mindful of the harmful effects caused by lawn pesticides, and am vigilant to minimize their exposure. Neither dog is overweight. Their weight does not fluctuate. Bowls of water are always available. The dogs are free to roam the house at all times to find the most comfortable spot to rest.

Lastly, several months ago, Bogey had a medical emergency that required surgery. When his blood was tested during pre-op procedures, neither pre-diabetes nor diabetes were present. The lab work showed that he was in excellent health. -- T.R., Arlington, Virginia

DEAR T.R.: Dogs will develop compulsive disorders and behaviors when they are in chronic discomfort. Since possible allergies and skin inflammation seem out of the picture, I would have your veterinarian check your dog’s thyroid and adrenal function. He could, for instance, be developing abnormal thyroid activity, Cushing’s disease or another health problem that makes him pant because he feels hot, or because he feels some discomfort that makes him anxious, leading him to pant and lick his tummy. It may also have something to do with post-surgical complications following the medical emergency, which your veterinarian can determine.

Environmental triggers can also be involved in affecting his behavior, such as the sound of a window air conditioner starting up or the sound of you leaving the house, triggering separation anxiety. A cooling pad for him on the floor and a light dose of alprazolam or trazodone prescribed by the attending veterinarian may be the most expedient first step. Keep me posted!

CONFIRMING THE ORIGIN OF THE DOMESTIC CAT

My assertion over 40 years ago in my book “Understanding Your Cat” -- that all our house cats, with the obvious exception of recent wildcat hybrids, are descendants of the North African desert cat, Felis lybica -- has been recently confirmed and refined.

An international team of scientists recently published their analysis of DNA from cats that lived between 8000 B.C. and the 20th century in the Near East, Africa and Europe in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution (2017). Their findings indicate that the first descendants of the now renamed Felis silvestris lybica, a regional subspecies of wildcat, came from two distinct wildcat populations. The first evolved in the Middle East and spread to Europe as early as 4400 B.C. A separate lineage of the domestic cat came out of Egypt, spreading to the Middle East and Europe from the fifth century on. Sedentary agrarian communities welcomed them as natural rodent controllers and crop/harvest protectors.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 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: We purchased Seresto collars for our wirehaired pointing griffons, who were approximately 7 and 8 years old at the initial exposure. We found the collars to be effective against fleas and ticks. They wore the initial collars for the full, recommended eight months.

We purchased a second set of collars, and within the first four to six months of that second set, we noticed that our male dog had lost weight and was reluctant to eat hard kibble or hard treats. We also noticed that he had become hoarse and had started to drool on a regular basis. We took him to our vet and the exam and bloodwork were normal. We returned him to the same vet 10 days later, when the vet identified a golf ball-sized mass under his jaw.

We removed the collars from both dogs at this time. Biopsy confirmed a squamous cell cancer that had developed in an area that was not amenable to surgical intervention. We were told that this type of cancer is not typically found in lymph nodes in the neck. Our beautiful boy died eight weeks later.

Our female started to have a noticeable change in her appetite, was sleeping all the time, and was increasingly weak, which we initially thought was related to the loss of her brother. But we took her to be evaluated as well. Our same vet felt there was something significant at play; we had an ultrasound performed and were floored to learn that she had abdominal lymphoma. She passed away four weeks later.

We lost two previously healthy dogs within five months of each other. We called the breeder and could find no known history of cancer, and also reached out to the owners of a littermate of our female. They have not used the Seresto collar and their dog is fine.

We believe that the Seresto collar has caused the death of our beloved griffs. Our vet does not agree, but does feel that both dogs were exposed to something that caused their death.

We are devastated by the loss of our dogs, and felt angry when our vet totally denied that there could be any connection between the use of the collars and the cancer diagnoses. He stated that there was significant safety testing performed and that the collars were totally safe. We don’t agree. -- D.S., Ravena, New York

DEAR D.S.: I regret what happened to your beloved dogs. Skeptics will say there is no proof, that it’s all mere coincidence and most dogs do fine. I vehemently disagree. These are highly toxic chemicals (some also used on the produce we eat), so the precautionary principle should be applied.

Do the benefits outweigh the risks? People either fear fleas more than they love their dogs or else they believe the manufacturers of these products -- and the governments around the world that regulate them -- that say they are safe. There are safer alternatives, as posted on my website under “Preventing Fleas.”

Your veterinarian is professionally bound to report this possible adverse reaction in your dogs to both the government and manufacturers. He should also share appropriate websites with colleagues concerning animal health and poisoning issues with collars and similar anti-flea and -tick products that are put on animals’ skin or are slow-release from a collar or medallion.

DEAR DR. FOX: My little poodle, age 15 years, has warts and seems to get more and more as time goes on. Is this a sign of an illness, or what else could cause them? She has a heart murmur and sneezes a lot. Is this a symptom of her heart condition? -- T.G., Phoenix

DEAR T.G.: Warts are not uncommon in dogs young and old. They are caused by a papilloma virus, similar to those causing warts in humans, but are not contagious to us. Their presence can indicate a weakened immune system, but they tend to disappear eventually without treatment.

They do not turn cancerous and are best left alone, unless they start to cause the dog discomfort -- as on an eyelid, or when one or more becomes itchy from secondary infection. Some veterinarians remove them for aesthetic reasons in older dogs, often under general anesthesia, but I do not concur with such treatment considering the costs and risks.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 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: My 11-year-old snowshoe Siamese is a real love-bug, except when she suddenly reverts to a feral animal, stalking and leaping on prey: me!

It used to be that she just did this when we were roughhousing. My vet said to distract her when she starts this behavior. This worked sometimes, but then she recently started her stalking when I tip her out of my lap to stand up. Now, it’s like nothing at all sets her off. Should I keep pheromone spray handy?

I’m getting along in years, and am afraid she’ll upset my balance and I’ll fall during one of these unpredictable “attacks.” -- J.A., Leesburg, Virginia

DEAR J.A.: You are wise to be mindful of the potential risk of tripping over your cat and having a bad fall that could put you in the hospital. One friend tried to avoid stepping on her cat, fell sideways, broke her hip and soon died from an embolism.

A cat pheromone spray, in my opinion, will not deter your cat from engaging in the stalking game you two have established. Your veterinarian is right in that you must find a way to distract your cat.

One option is to train her to chase a laser spotlight, which pet stores sell as cat toys. Alternatively, try a wand or cane with a bunch of feathers on the end of a string. Use a spray bottle of water to inhibit your cat from stalking you when you stand up and are walking around the house. The stalking and hide-and-seek games cats love to play should be restricted to the time and place that is best and safest for you -- or, stop such games from now on, and just use the laser and wand toys instead.

DEAR DR. FOX: When my brother died suddenly and unexpectedly, I could not take his beloved 14-year-old cat, Miss Miss, home with me due to my extreme allergies. I was forced to place the cat in a boarding facility.

She was clearly depressed, even though she had my brother’s pillowcase, her own belongings, catnip and a three-tiered enclosure. I visited Miss Miss daily. After four or five days, it occurred to me that my brother’s home almost always had a radio tuned to a special station. The moment that I placed a radio with “her” station playing near her enclosure, Miss Miss visibly relaxed, stretched and started eating.

No one could ever take the place of my brother (both for Miss Miss and me), but having her regular audio environment helped her a great deal.

Miss Miss was adopted into a loving home by a dear friend and is happily ensconced as “Queen of Everything,” just as she was with my brother. I also wrote a note of thanks to the radio programmers for their music and voices, which helped soothe this animal’s nerves. -- R.B., St. Louis, Missouri

DEAR R.B.: Thank you for being such a mindful caregiver for your deceased brother’s cat. I hope animal behaviorists and others interested in animal psychology, well-being and quality of life issues will remember your story, affirming that familiar sounds can be comforting for other animals as well as us. Some kinds of music -- generally classical, and instruments such as the harp and flute -- can have profound effects on animals. This is an area where more research would give us further insights into the minds of animals. For more information, I highly recommend these two special edition publications: Time magazine’s “The Animal Mind” and National Geographic’s “Inside Animal Minds,” both available on magazine stands.

JERKY TREATS FROM CHINA CAN KILL YOUR DOG

Many dogs in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia have become ill after eating jerky treats manufactured in China, and have even died from an acute kidney disease called Fanconi syndrome. Some who did recover will suffer chronic kidney disease, with all its complications and costs.

Chicken, duck, beef and vegetable treats from China have been implicated, but the actual poison not yet identified. My theory is a change in protein structure following food irradiation.

My advice: Read the label on dog treats before purchasing. If it says “Made in China,” or “Distributed by (an American company)” -- and not “Made by” -- do not purchase it.

If you are concerned, contact your veterinarian and also one of the following organizations.

-- Pet Poison Helpline: 855-764-7661, or petpoisonhelpline.com

-- ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control: 888-426-4435, or aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control

-- In Europe: Veterinary Poisons Information Service: vpisglobal.com

NOTE FROM DR. FOX

As summer comes to a close across the U.S., I urge all people whose dogs and cats have had adverse reactions to anti-flea and -tick products to have their veterinarians make sure that reports have been sent to the manufacturers and government regulators.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 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.)