DEAR DR. FOX: You asked if others have cats with creative play habits.

Our black and brown tabby has always played fetch. She often initiates the game by bringing my husband and me one of her mouse toys, which we call her “babies.” She has several in a small basket, and when she wants to play, she drops one near our feet and yowls -- in her youth, she merely chirped -- to let us know it’s time to play. Her favorite fetching activity is for us to throw it down the stairs. I used to call her “acro-cat” because she twisted and turned in the air as she chased her babies!

At almost 19, she is no longer acro-cat, but she still initiates play and chases her babies a few times down the stairs before lying down to rest. When she was younger, I think her record was a dozen trips up and down the stairs before stopping to rest!

Thanks for letting me sing the praises of Medora Grace. She’s been a wonderful gift to us. -- R.W., Fargo, North Dakota

DEAR R.W.: Thanks for sharing the game your cat has taught you to play.

Over the years, I have found that when people let go of all expectations about what their animals might enjoy doing, and simply try one game or activity after another, the animals will tell them what sparks their interest. They may even invent their own games.

This can take on a ritualistic nature, as with our part-Australian red heeler dog, Kota, rescued from the local shelter. She flatly refuses to play ball or retrieve anything, but waits for her chewy treat to be thrown for her so she can make a big deal about repeatedly pouncing on it before she eventually chomps down.

As part of their personality, animals will sometimes develop unique games or playful ways of interacting. Kota does a rather disconcerting snap at your face when she is in a playful mood. A rescued dog from an earlier time in our lives, Lizzie, would desperately run around to find a toy whenever we had a visitor.

Years ago, my Siamese cat, Igor, who was a great retriever, elaborated his own ambush game with me at night. He would arch his back in a threatening way as he approached me, then I would bend down and he would leap on my back and go for a ride around the apartment! He would always touch my nose in bed to wake me up just before the alarm went off, and if I refused to get up, would knock off whatever was on my bedroom dresser to get my attention.

DEAR DR. FOX: My precious 10-year-old papillon dog died suddenly last Friday.

I took her to the 24-hour vet at 4 a.m. because she was in distress. They told me she had a heart murmur, and she died minutes later. The evening before was completely normal: She ate her dinner, was playful and went to bed as usual, but woke up later, unable to settle down.

As I looked back over the last couple of weeks, I remember a time when my alpha dog was lagging behind during our walk. I didn’t think anything about it at the time. Also, I had noticed a slight cough a few times, and thought I should mention it to the vet on her next visit. Then a couple of days before she died, I saw her panting when there was no reason.

I wish I had known these things were an indication she had a heart issue. Apparently a heart murmur can occur at any time. Her death was such a shock, both to me and to her vet. I was assured that nothing could have been done to help her, but I wish I would have been more prepared for her death. She will be in my heart forever!

Please let other pet owners know to be aware of the subtle changes to watch for. -- J.M.A., Ballwin, Missouri

DEAR J.M.A.: You have my deepest sympathy over this sudden and unexpected loss of your beloved canine companion.

Your veterinarian was as surprised as you, and this is the challenge dealing with animals who cannot speak to us; their symptoms may not be evident prior to an acute, sudden-onset instance of heart failure. No one is to blame, least of all you.

PET FOOD AND TREAT ISSUES

-- The J.M. Smucker Company announced a limited, voluntary recall of specific lots of two varieties of Milo’s Kitchen dog treats, distributed nationally, because the products potentially contain elevated levels of beef thyroid hormone. Dogs consuming high levels of beef thyroid hormone may exhibit symptoms such as increased thirst and urination, weight loss, increased heart rate and restlessness.

-- Consumers in Minnesota, California and Florida are suing Champion Pet Food (Acana and Orijen) for false advertising, violations of “feed law” and numerous other charges. The lawsuit includes results of heavy-metal testing and data that this dry dog food contains BPA: a chemical typically not associated with dry/kibble pet foods. (More info at truthaboutpetfood.com.)

-- After news broke that nine Australian police dogs became ill with a rare disease -- megaesophagus, possibly triggered by urea/carbamide in the food -- consumers began reporting pets were suffering the same illness, linked to the same dog food: Advance Dermocare manufactured by Mars Petcare AU. The Australian pet food has been recalled.

(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: I have followed your column in the local newspaper for years. Your response to J.G. of Palm Beach on Feb. 17 prompted me to write, as your answer did not go far enough to defend pit bulls.

I spend 25 to 30 hours a week as a dog adoption counselor and dog walker. I assist with dog-meets and playgroups, and also work with an outside trainer to help the long-term residents get adopted.

I also have a pit-mix as my second dog, and I cannot say enough about the beauty of these dogs. People need to understand that “pit bull” is not a breed, but a mixture of Staffordshire terriers and something else.

My shelter receives all the cruelty/abuse cases in the county and also receives nearly daily surrenders and stray pit-mixes. The vast majority of these dogs are sweet, loving dogs that are highly adoptable. Many have been treated poorly and neglected, and come in undernourished and with unaddressed medical issues. While we are unable to do home checks, we offer follow-up and other continued support for all adopters.

I cannot tell you how many of these dogs have been adopted by people with children and other dogs, and go on to be beloved family pets. I am often appalled at how these dogs are unfairly treated by the media -- they are just dogs, and are among the most resilient and people-pleasing.

J.G. said pit bulls “frequently kill their owners for little or no reason.” I would like to know where they get their information.

While I agree with everything you said in your reply, I do not understand why you didn’t go further to promote what wonderful pets these mixes can be, and often are. -- C.L., Tinton Falls, Connecticut

DEAR C.L.: Some readers will appreciate your letter. Others will not. Perhaps there is some similarity between certain irresponsible people owning any kind of dog powerful enough to kill a human being, and owning a lethal weapon. But why single out just pit bulls, I ask?

To reduce the incidence of dog bites nationwide, regardless of breed, calls for better supervision -- especially of children -- around dogs, according to a recent review of reported dog bites in the U.S.

Thirty-four percent of children with dog bites were ages 6 to 12; 30 percent were ages 2 or younger, who had more severe injuries than older youths, reported researchers in the journal Injury Prevention. The findings, based on data analysis for 7,900 patients ages 17 and younger, collected for the National Trauma Data Bank between 2007 and 2014, also showed that bites were more likely among girls, but boys had more severe injuries.

An article published in the Journal of Wilderness and Environmental Medicine reported some 272 people were killed by dogs over a seven-year period from 2008-15, according to an analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

My own wonderful, gentle family dog, part Australian heeler and part boxer, was rescued from an animal shelter in a state where she would have been killed because she looks like a pit bull and regulations prohibit their adoption. Animal shelters and rescue organizations need to stop unfounded breed discrimination and summarily executing good dogs, and should instead use temperament tests and prospective owner/home evaluations.

DEAR DR. FOX: My friend has a very good-natured, but big, Labrador retriever. He got her when she was a puppy, but failed to properly train her. She is now 6 years old.

The problem is, whenever you try and pet her, she goes bananas. She jumps on you, playfully opens her large mouth to grab your hand, jerks her head and runs around the room. She is hyperactive and can be so annoying to those who wish to interact with her.

Is this something that can be reversed so that I, and others, can enjoy her companionship? -- V.M.N., Medford, Oregon

DEAR V.M.N.: Some people think it cute to let their puppies (and toddlers) run riot with no boundaries or self-discipline. Young human and canine delinquents are comparable in this regard, both enjoying being the center of attention, respecting no boundaries and always insisting on their own way.

Some freedom during early development is essential to allow self-expression, especially during interactive games and outdoor activities. But just as children go to school, so should our canine companions, to avoid delinquency and to facilitate the development of social behavior and self-control. It is never too late to begin educating a canine delinquent, essentially one raised to act like a perpetual puppy. It’s time to grow up and go to obedience school.

Clearly our dogs are telling us there is a serious problem -- not primarily with them, since it is not in any good dog’s nature to bite the hand that feeds it -- but in our relationships with and treatment of them. They are perhaps one of our best indicators of dystopia!

(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.)

Outdoors reporter Dennis Anderson made an appeal in the March 9 (Minneapolis) Star-Tribune to the Minnesota legislature to limit the scourge of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in the state’s deer herd -- ideally by getting rid of deer and elk farms, or at least making them secure with double fencing and regular inspections. His appeal should not fall on deaf ears in Minnesota, or in other CWD-afflicted states.

CWD is caused by diseased prions, which are single proteins that cannot be destroyed by typical “kill strategies” like extreme heat or ultraviolet light. A variant of the prions that cause CWD in deer, moose and elk across many states caused mad cow disease in the U.K., decimating the beef industry and resulting in brain disease in humans and some companion animals. Plants can bind and transport infectious prions.

In April 2017, Canada’s Bureau of Microbial Hazards posted an advisory entitled, “Potential Human Health Risks from Chronic Wasting Disease.” The reason: CWD has been transmitted in the laboratory to cynomolgus macaque monkeys. Both infected brain and muscle tissues were found to transmit disease. The probability of transmission to cattle, sheep, goats and humans consuming infected meats -- and crops, from corn to cabbages, contaminated by infected deer feces and urine -- is considerable. Concerted action is called for at this time to prevent such a potentially catastrophic eventuality.

The leading wildlife biologists cited by Todd Wilkinson in his Dec. 11, 2017, Mountain Journal article on the topic are unanimous in recognizing the role of predators in controlling CWD. Predators’ systematic extermination over the past two centuries, especially by the livestock industry, has facilitated the spread of this disease across the U.S. and Canada. In the article, Kevin Van Tighem, a hunter and former superintendent in Banff National Park in Alberta’s Canadian Rockies, opines: “I don’t know of a single credible biologist who would argue that wolves, along with other predators and scavengers, aren’t important tools in devising sound strategies for dealing with CWD.” Van Tighem says it can be rationally argued that wolves provide the best line of defense, since they are confronting infected animals.

So those states blessed with viable wolf and cougar populations need to recognize the role of these predators in ecosystem management. They should protect such large carnivores from human predation, and maintain maximal numbers to optimize deer and elk herd health -- rather than removing the wolf from federal protection as an endangered species to allow trophy hunting, trapping and snaring.

DEAR DR. FOX: I was wondering if you have any info on how to deal with or treat our large Chihuahua that had a seizure for the first time last Sunday.

He is about 3 years old, a little on the heavy side. Our veterinarian asked us to record any seizures, time and length, but did not prescribe any medication. The dog seemed to have no side effects, and he seems pretty much his normal self.

Any suggestions or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. -- K.K., Collins, Missouri

DEAR K.K.: You have a good veterinarian, not jumping the gun on anti-seizure medication, which can have harmful long-term side effects.

There are many reasons why dogs suddenly start having seizures. In some instances, it is an isolated event. Over-excitement, intestinal parasites, adverse reaction to vaccination or anti-flea medication are all known causes, but many instances are idiopathic, meaning “of unknown origin.”

In a Chihuahua, I would suspect a possible cranial abnormality, even low-grade hydrocephalus, as another possible cause for which there is no easy remedy. Many holistic veterinarians are concerned about synthetic chemical food additives and various ingredients that may trigger seizures, and join me in advocating an organic, whole-food diet that specifically avoids wheat and chemical dyes and preservatives. Try my dog food recipe, posted on my website (drfoxvet.net).

STATES CONSIDER CREATING ANIMAL-ABUSE REGISTRIES

Abuse of animals can be a sign a perpetrator will go on to harm humans, and that’s one reason New York and a number of other states are looking at laws that would create animal-abuse registries. The databases would be used to prevent those with an animal-abuse conviction from adopting or purchasing animals in the future. (WIBW-TV, Topeka, Kansas/Associated Press, Feb. 26)

(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.)