DEAR READERS: While much of the public discussions about the climate crisis have focused on the future of humanity, there is rarely a mention of the plight of animals, and the biodiversity intertwined with our own well-being.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund is mounting a lawsuit designed to compel federal action against climate change: Animal Legal Defense Fund v. United States of America.

In New Jersey, the average temperature has already risen 2 degrees Celsius -- viewed as a critical threshold of climate change. As a result, blue-green algal blooms, potentially deadly to people and animals (particularly dogs), are plaguing the state. Similar blooms are happening in lakes throughout the country, and are linked to warming temperatures. Florida’s red tides have killed hundreds of manatees. On the West Coast, an exponentially high number of dead marine animals have been washing ashore, including gray whales and sea lions. Many are also dying from starvation.

For decades, the federal government has aided and incentivized greenhouse gas-producing industries like animal agriculture, logging and fossil fuel extraction. In addition to direct subsidies, the federal and state governments have exempted these industries from environmental protection laws regulating greenhouse gas emissions, water use and air quality.

This lawsuit, rooted in our Constitutional right to liberty, “would confirm that preserving wilderness should be the baseline for environmental protection,” said ALDF Executive Director Stephen Wells. For more details, visit aldf.org/about-us/contact-us. Or mail a letter to: Animal Legal Defense Fund, 525 East Cotati Avenue, Cotati, CA 94931.

DEAR DR. FOX: I rescued my kitten from the freeway two years ago. According to my vet, she was only 4 weeks old at the time. She is the strangest cat I have ever had.

She eats everything in sight, except for food -- no people food, and not much canned cat food. She has eaten holes in my underwear, nightgown, socks, sweatshirts, bedspread, toilet paper, regular paper and cardboard. She has never seemed to have problems defecating, although it is dry. I have bought some feline vitamins; the directions say to give two, but I only give her one, and she gobbles it right up.

She follows me everywhere, so I know she loves me, but she is not an affectionate cat. When I try to pick her up, she growls and hisses. If I am lucky, I can pet her for about two minutes.

Most people would give up on her, but I care about her very much. Can you help me figure this out? My vet has never heard of a cat eating “things.” -- J.J., Central Point, Oregon

DEAR J.J.: Good for you for rescuing this little soul.

Her early food/nutrition deprivation could have triggered this compulsion to chew and swallow various materials, a condition called pica. She finds comfort in this activity, along with feeling full; the drive to experience satiety can have an addictive element.

It is important to keep all materials that could lead to intestinal blockage well out of her reach, as well as potentially toxic plastics. An abdominal radiograph or sonogram may reveal material accumulated in her stomach, which could call for surgical removal since it could disrupt normal food intake and digestion. Cats with large accumulations of fur balls in the stomach (often a result of excessive grooming) may also engage in pica and be malnourished as a consequence. Chronic gastric and intestinal irritation can lead to pica, possibly in an attempt to relieve the abdominal discomfort.

I would transition her onto my home-prepared cat food (see recipe at drfoxonehealth.com) and feed her 6-8 heaped teaspoons daily. If she refuses this food (cats can be finicky), give her a good-quality canned cat food, along with freeze-dried cat foods from The Honest Kitchen and Stella and Chewy’s. Most cats do best on several small meals daily; think of mouse-sized portions. Weigh her initially, and then every three to four weeks. Over time, you can increase or decrease the amount of each serving to maintain her optimal weight.

(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 DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR READERS: As a member of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, I have been a longtime advocate of integrative medicine and a holistic approach to animal health, including the use of nutraceuticals and various botanicals. But I am concerned about reports that access to websites on these subjects as they relate to human health is now being blocked by Google, which has just contracted with the Mayo Clinic to “improve diagnoses, treatment and outcomes by mining the medical records of people ...” (Star Tribune, Editorials, Sept. 16).

Several years ago, when I gave a lecture at the University of Minnesota in Rochester -- the hometown of the Mayo Clinic -- I was told by the graduate student organizer that the university bookstore and the main bookstore downtown had both been instructed by “the powers that be” not to stock my controversial books on industrial agriculture and related environmental and consumer health concerns. Now, it would seem, there is further censorship that is proceeding at an unprecedented pace to further vested interests in conventional medicine, rather than advance the first medicine of prevention, and also the use of alternative treatments to various pharmaceutical products that are often costly and have harmful side effects.

For details, see naturalnews.com and healthnutnews.com. The latter reports that popular websites like Mercola and GreenMedInfo have lost significant visibility over the year studied (Mercola -84.02%, GreenMedInfo -81.14%), while the Mayo Clinic showed a 59.98% increase in visibility.

DEAR DR. FOX: My 3 1/2-year-old spayed female Boston terrier constantly licks and scratches. She has been on Apoquel for the last three years, which does not help.

Is there anything that can help her? I have tried different brands of dog food, but there’s been no improvement. Would holistic treatment help?

I also think she has psychological issues, and that may be part of her problem. It also seems that she does not sleep a lot, even during the night, as she is constantly moving and licking. -- B.K., Barnegat, New Jersey

DEAR B.K.: I would taper off the Apoquel, which is being widely prescribed for dogs, often with no benefit and sometimes with harmful consequences of suppressing the immune system.

Considering the breed, your dog could need surgery for an upper-respiratory obstruction related to having a pushed-in face, which can interfere with sleep and limit physical activity. Such dogs often need their nasal orifices enlarged. Difficulty breathing can cause restlessness and anxiety, can lead to secondary infections such as pneumonia, and also puts extra work on the heart. With reduced physical activity, obesity is another complication.

I am sending you my home-prepared dog food recipe, which will help rule out any possible food allergy. In addition, I would give her 1,000 IUs of vitamin D3 with each meal (three small meals a day). This supplement helps in some cases of atopic dermatitis in dogs for whom Apoquel has been prescribed.

Remember to weigh your dog before starting on a new diet, and then weigh her every three to four weeks to help maintain optimal weight.

BACKYARD CHICKENS? PLEASE THINK TWICE

Keeping your own chickens may be popular these days, but it is far from harmless. More than 1,000 cases of salmonellosis from backyard poultry had been reported in 49 states this year as of Aug. 23, resulting in two deaths and 175 hospitalizations, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A CDC survey of patients found 49% of those infected had snuggled chicks, 46% allowed the birds in their house and 10% allowed them in their bedroom. (CNN, Sept. 14)

My advice is to resist being drawn into this trendy hobby, and keep children away from such backyard operations. If you do eat eggs, do your best to find those from free-range, uncaged hens fed organically certified food. If you saw how commercial layers are housed, you would never eat another egg.

(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 DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR READERS: African swine fever is a contagious viral disease, usually fatal to pigs, for which there is no treatment or vaccine. It has been found in pigs in at least 36 countries since June 2018, including Vietnam, Laos, China and Hong Kong, and has now been reported in the Philippines.

The only way to control its spread is through depopulation. It does not infect people.

Since African swine fever was first reported in China in August of last year, that country has lost or culled millions of animals. China may lose up to 50 percent of its pigs (around 200 million animals) before the disease is contained. Already, 100 million pigs have died from this disease, and many more have been killed to prevent its further spread. Many pigs have been buried alive in deep pits in regions where humane means of killing infected and exposed animals were either not available, or too inconvenient.

The European and American pork industries are on alert, and import restrictions and quarantine measures are in place. Bacon and pork dog treats from China, as well as pet foods, could be from infected pigs, which could put the U.S. pork industry at risk.

This is a predictable tragedy for these poor creatures confined to factory-like buildings around the world, and in poor communities where free-ranging and wild pigs contract and spread this disease across borders. Animal husbandry practices with high concentrations of animals create ideal conditions for such plagues. I see this as nature’s own “bioweapon” against monocultures. It is a hard lesson for humanity to begin to farm more ecologically and humanely, and to find alternatives to pork and other animal products in their diets. Millions of acres of good, arable land at home and abroad are used -- and wildlife habitat, including the Amazon rainforest, destroyed -- to raise corn and soybeans for pig and other factory-farmed animal feed.

As for the U.S. pork industry, which uses thousands of tons of antibiotics: According to the Environmental Working Group, 71% of pork chops carried antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The same was true for 79% of ground turkey.

Public health, consumer risks, environmental impacts and animal suffering involved in satisfying the demand for meat must be addressed by civil society leaders and advocates. Rising consumption of meat is a major contributor to the climate crisis we now all face.

A BOOK THAT INSPIRES AND INFORMS

“It’s the Little Things: The Pocket Pigs’ Guide to Living Your Best Life.” Photographs by Richard Austin; published by Workman Publishing, 2019.

Winston Churchill once said, “Dogs look up to you, cats look down on you. Give me a pig! He looks you in the eye and treats you as an equal.”

This beautifully illustrated book with photos of happy pocket piglets from a farm in Devon, England, offers words of inspiration to help us through these challenging times, and also provides insights about pigs’ intelligence and social behavior.

Pigs who can play are healthier and grow faster than those raised in factory pens. I especially like this book’s statement -- under the heading, “It’s OK to Feel Things Deeply” -- that pigs “cry real tears when they are sad or grieving.” And when separated from their families, they become depressed and refuse to eat.

This book is a fine gift for people of all ages -- a superior alternative to buying a pork chop, or a pig as a pet! Many who are raised to be in-house companions become too big to manage; many suffer boredom, become destructive and are prone to obesity and related maladies.

DEAR DR. FOX: I have a 3-year-old female cat named Bijoux. She weighs 16 pounds -- very overweight, yes, I know. She is constantly hungry. I have been feeding her Meow Mix Tender Centers.

My vet did a blood test on her, and her triglycerides came back with a number of 1,044. I was told that this was serious and could lead to many complications.

I am extremely worried about her. What can I do to help my cat? -- L.M., West Palm Beach, Florida

DEAR L.M.: This is a very common problem with cats on dry kibble -- they can become food addicts, refuse to eat other kinds of cat food and wind up with various health complications. These include metabolic syndrome, obesity, diabetes, arthritis, fatty liver disease, high blood pressure and heart problems.

The kind of manufactured food you are giving her is in the “junk food” category. You should transition her to a canned cat food such as Halo, Wellness or Friskies, grain-free -- or, ideally, my home-prepared diet or the Honest Kitchen’s freeze-dried cat food.

Try different varieties of moist, grain- and soy-free cat foods. Feed her a heaped teaspoon only, on a regular schedule, six to eight times a day. Weigh her every three to four weeks, and if she is not losing weight, make it a level teaspoon.

Most cats do best having several small meals daily on a clean plate, well-washed to remove any odor of old food. Avoid all dry and semi-moist cat foods.

Let me know how you progress. For more information, visit feline-nutrition.org.

(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 DrFoxOneHealth.com.)