DEAR READERS: After I posted warnings in this column about some pet foods being contaminated with Monsanto’s herbicide glyphosate (via the widely used Roundup), the company was quick to demand that I post a retraction. Not only will Monsanto not get a retraction, it now appears that the company may be starting to pay for producing and distributing glyphosate, which the World Health Organization has designated a probable carcinogen.

This August, a San Francisco jury awarded groundskeeper Dewayne Johnson -- who had used Roundup for years at his job, and developed what his doctors consider fatal non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma -- the sum of $250 million in punitive damages and $39 million in compensatory damages.

“The jury found Monsanto acted with malice and oppression because they knew what they were doing was wrong, and doing it with reckless disregard for human life,” said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of Johnson’s attorneys, according to the Associated Press. This is the first of hundreds of cancer-patient cases against Monsanto, and could be a bellwether of what lies ahead for the company. Monsanto still claims this product is safe.

For decades, some government regulators and legislators have colluded to shield such companies from the mounting scientific evidence of the harmful public health and environmental consequences of pesticides. Company lawyers and paid scientists have sought to discredit studies that put their products in a bad light. One example: former Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt’s March 2017 denial of a petition by environmental groups to halt the use of chlorpyrifos on food crops.

Dow Chemical’s chlorpyrifos is a highly toxic organophosphate, a class of insecticides once approved to kill fleas on pets, but that also poisoned dogs and cats. Some 5 million pounds of chlorpyrifos are used annually in the U.S. on soybean, fruit and nut crops. It is implicated in causing neurological, cognitive and other health problems, especially in children -- not to mention its impact on biodiversity, as it eliminates nontarget beneficial insects and insectivorous birds and bats. Manatees, dolphins and other warm-blooded marine animals can’t break down organophosphates due to genetic mutations that occurred long ago, making them especially vulnerable.

Thankfully, Pruitt’s decision has now been overruled in a Seattle-based appeals court. Judge Jed Rakoff has directed the EPA to ban chlorpyrifos within 60 days, saying the agency failed to counteract “scientific evidence that its residue on food causes neurodevelopmental damage to children.”

DEAR DR. FOX: I have two cats and a dog. One of my cats lives to eat and is overweight. He knows when I am fixing food for them even when I am quiet as a mouse. There he comes, tail in the air and ready to eat. I swear he is psychic. He will come from another room where he was sleeping and I made no noise in the kitchen. I do feed on schedule generally, but even when I am off schedule, there he comes. What is your opinion? -- A.L., Fort Myers, Florida

DEAR A.L.: Cats have excellent hearing, and your cat may hear you from another room opening a can of cat food or opening the fridge door. They also have a sense of time/daily routines, and anyone who keeps animals should try to stick to a set routine. This can help you spot when an animal is feeling “off” when there is suddenly no interest in the regular meal or play session (ideally early evening for cats).

But the possible clincher for “psychic” behavior, or remote sensing, in your case, is when you are putting food out off-schedule. I am impressed by similar behavior from one of our cats, who also lives to eat. He can be seemingly asleep on his bed, but appears when I am fixing extra food for the new cat we have taken in. I may have been absolutely quiet, but there he comes regardless. Also, it seems more than mere coincidence when this cat, Pinto Bean, comes and flops over to be groomed when I am in another room, very quietly grooming our dog Kota.

I must add that the new cat has been challenged and bullied by Pinto Bean, who is 19 pounds heavier. When this happens, Kota steps in and makes the peace. The emotional intelligence and empathy of nonhuman species have been scientifically documented as non-anthropomorphic aspects of consciousness. For many instances of pets’ remote feeling and sensing, see my essay about “The Empathosphere” on my website.

CLASS-ACTION LAWSUITS AGAINST PET FOOD MANUFACTURERS

Rachael Ray Nutrish Pet Food is facing a $5 million class-action lawsuit for deceptive advertising. Solid Gold Pet Food is facing a class-action lawsuit regarding contamination of “heavy metals, chemicals, and/or toxins.”

For details about both, visit truthaboutpetfood.com.

(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: This is embarrassing, but I have to ask. When I play with our 10-month-old cat, Shadow, and he is on his back, his penis sometimes comes out. He seems quite excited, even though he has been neutered. When this happens, I stop playing with him so he can settle down.

What is your opinion? -- B.L., Fort Myers, Florida

DEAR B.L.: Young cats, dogs and other animals sometimes have erections when they are playing. I interpret this as an aspect of general excitement, and neutering does not eliminate this reaction, as you have discovered.

When young cats get too aroused when play-wrestling on their backs, it is advisable to back off and let them settle down. Otherwise they may bite or scratch more vigorously, resulting in injury to yourself or to another cat. Intense play with any young carnivore could trigger predatory biting and clawing. Cats playing together learn to control their claws and jaws, but people putting on a protective glove to play-wrestle with their cats are asking for trouble, because then the cat is likely to bite and scratch harder.

Learning to play with a young cat takes understanding. When the cat is engaging in play-wrestling and is getting too aroused, change the game -- have the cat chase after a laser light or feathers on the end of a string tied to a cane. One game many cats enjoy is when you put the end of the cane and the lure under a towel or small rug for the cat to pounce on and “kill.” But best of all is to have two socialized cats who learn how to play with each other and care for each other, especially when left alone all day.

DEAR DR. FOX: We were “rescued” by two adorable dogs in December 2016.

We were told they were mother and daughter (Maltese “Mamma” and Maltese/Shih-Tzu “Babi”), about 6 and 4 years old at the time. The rescue also told us they were feral dogs and had been at the shelter over two years because they had to be re-socialized to people. Once available, everyone just wanted Babi, but the rescue said they had to be adopted together. Babi is tiny, about 5 pounds, and unbelievably cute.

My question pertains to Babi. She will not look at us eye to eye. (Mamma is fine in this regard.) Other than that, they have been great. Is there anything we can do? Attached is their picture after grooming. -- T.C., Boynton Beach, Floida

DEAR T.C.: Thanks for the photo; the two little dogs are indeed adorable. Good for you adopting both of them! Use equal parts hydrogen peroxide and warm water to clean the brown pigment in the fur on their faces once a week, and give them pet foods and treats that contain no artificial dyes. Also get the dogs used to nightly tooth-cleaning, since small breeds are prone to dental problems.

When it comes to shyness, time is the great healer, along with patience. Let the shy Babi see you playing with and grooming her mother, and get Babi used to being groomed and massaged (as per my book “The Healing Touch for Dogs”). Some dogs do not like to be stared at because a direct stare can be threatening. A gentle voice helps, as well as a gentle touch and engaging in eye contact when offering a treat (such as freeze-dried organic chicken or beef) or holding up a squeaky toy for the dog to catch or chase.

BUY A BOOK, HELP AN ANIMAL

Australian activist Christine Townend’s most recent book, “A Life for Animals,” is a gripping tale about a journey to India that changed Townend’s life forever. One hundred percent of the proceeds of this book are donated directly to the charity Working for Animals, which helps fund three animal shelters in India, as well as supporting other causes for the benefit of animals across our planet.

Until now, the book has been difficult to buy in bookshops or online. The book is now available on Amazon for download in Kindle, and as of August, will also be available from Booktopia. When you buy this book, you will not only enjoy an inspiring story, you will also financially help many animals in need in India.

For more harrowing and inspiring in-field accounts of treating and protecting wild elephants, deer, village dogs, monkeys and other creatures great and small, you can also see “India’s Animals: Helping the Sacred and the Suffering” by Deanna L. Krantz and myself.

(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: People talk about the “unconditional love” their dogs give them. I think this is how parents should love their children. Maybe how dogs love is better than what most people are able to give. What are your thoughts about this? -- K.L.S., Arlington, Virginia

DEAR K.L.S.: Your question is really quite profound. My love of animals is based upon what they have taught and given me in countless ways since early childhood, including a career dedicated to their well-being and recognition of their rights.

In my opinion, “unconditional love” is a simplistic figment of sentiment. Before any dog or other creature will accept our affection, she/he must first trust us. Hence, the vital importance of proper puppy socialization.

Greeting, grooming and playing are affection-affirming behaviors that humans interpret as expressing love. But it is self-evident that such mutual enjoyment is an emotional, empathic engagement of two or more consciousnesses: a communion of bodies, minds and spirits. Affectionate and caregiving interactions, in particular, cause reciprocal elevations in the love/bonding hormone oxytocin and other pleasure-center and immune system-benefiting neurochemicals in puppies and people alike.

Those people who seek to be loved seem to especially enjoy smaller dog breeds with the genetics of perpetual puppies, constantly displaying caregiving (licking) and care-seeking (yapping) behaviors. Overindulgence and not shaping the pup’s behavior to complement a healthy human-animal bond -- and reinforcing the wrong behaviors and solicitations, in particular -- contribute to the obesity epidemic and other health and behavioral problems in dogs today. Separation anxiety in attachment-seeking breeds and individuals is a sad reality for hundreds of thousands of left-alone-all-day, but “loved,” dogs around the industrial world.

The twisted, often obsessive love of control can lead to the acceptance and practice of cruel training methods. The misplaced love of people who buy “exotic pets” (species who neither belong nor thrive in captivity), and of cat owners who let their cats roam free because they believe it is wrong to deprive them of their natural instincts, raise serious ethical and animal welfare concerns.

The love that normal dogs give us is indeed highly conditional -- on how we treat them, and on their history. I believe they have a greater ability to forgive (but not forget) various forms of mistreatment and cruelty than we humans and other primates. I agree with the Australian aborigines’ contention that “dingo (dog) makes us human.“ But I would be remiss not to mention that dogs have long consumed the bloody carnage of human warfare, and in some poor parts of the world today, wild dogs still roam in hungry packs and occasionally attack and kill people.

Dogs reflect the good and the bad sides of human nature. As Chief Dan George opined, “One thing to remember is to talk to the animals. If you do, they will talk back to you. But if you don’t talk to the animals, they won’t talk back to you, then you won’t understand; and when you don’t understand, you will fear; and when you fear, you will destroy the animals. And if you destroy the animals, you will destroy yourself.”

It is through such understanding and communion that transcendental love for other beings is experienced and expressed in our reverential respect for life and compassionate and protective care.

AVMA EXPLAINS IMPORTANCE OF MICROCHIPPING PETS

Time and again, microchips have helped reunite families with pets that have gone missing for months, sometimes years.

Microchips are invaluable identification tools, but they’re not magic; they require registration and updating by pet owners so that, if pets do become lost, they can be returned to the proper address. View AVMA’s FAQs on microchips at avma.org.

PET DNA TESTS MAY BE INACCURATE, EXPERTS SAY

Nearly a dozen companies market genetic tests for pets, and although it can be fun to discover a pet’s ancestry, the market is not regulated. Results suggesting a predisposition to certain diseases may be inaccurate and prompt unnecessary, drastic action, according to veterinarian Lisa Moses and genomics scientist Elinor Karlsson. Studying data from the tests, particularly canine DNA tests, could expand knowledge of animal and human diseases, but reporting and validation standards must first be developed, say Moses and Karlsson. (Science, July 25)

(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.)