DEAR READERS: My memory of seeing cattle handlers restrain young bulls for branding and castration was triggered when I saw the footage of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. He nonchalantly kept one hand in his pocket while his knee and body weight were on the neck and throat of the handcuffed and prone George Floyd, with other officers alongside. As a veterinarian with a doctoral degree in ethology (animal behavior), I have a trained eye for interpreting the behavior of humans and other animals, and I was immediately struck by the similarity of the two situations. A man was treated like some beast, without any compassion or respect -- only power and control, which proved fatal.

Racism and speciesism are coins of the same inhumane currency, as are hate crimes and crimes of indifference and neglect. Jewish author Isaac Bashevis Singer, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978, made the comparison in several of his stories, including “The Penitent” and “The Letter Writer.” In the former, the protagonist says, “When it comes to animals, every man is a Nazi.”

This endemic virus of inhumanity, cruelty and injustice makes the COVID-19 pandemic pale in comparison. There is no vaccine to make us humane and responsible citizens and planetary stewards -- only the examples of good parents, teachers and leaders. As I have urged in my book “The Boundless Circle: Caring for Creatures and Creation,” respect for all life is a boundless ethic, and is the essential cornerstone of any viable society. The essence of democracy in spirit and politics is egalitarianism: equal and fair consideration and justice for all sentient beings.

DEAR DR. FOX: We began feeding a stray female cat years ago. She has had several litters, and the local SPCA took in many of them. I have tried to catch her with a Havahart trap without success.

Is there anything available that could be put in a cat’s food to sterilize them? I believe I saw a news program about a town in New York where they had a deer population problem, and they put something in baited food that sterilized them. -- J.O., Staatsburg, New York

DEAR J.O.: Here is a recent posting that answers your question. The Alliance for Contraception in Cats and Dogs (acc-d.org) is a nonprofit whose mission is to advance nonsurgical sterilants and contraceptives for cats and dogs and to promote their global accessibility. I took the following information from their website on May 29:

“In light of the need to provide healthcare workers with protective gear, conserve resources and to maintain social distancing, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an order to limit both human and veterinary ‘non-essential’ or ‘elective’ surgeries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Surgical sterilization (spay/neuter surgeries) are being defined by some organizations/local or state governments as non-essential. Animal welfare organizations and veterinarians are concerned about how this policy will impact their work. Several influential entities in veterinary medicine have advised animal shelters, spay/neuter clinics and veterinarians to comply with this order by deferring sterilization surgeries for dogs and cats and continuing to manage adoptions. Organizations and professionals are understandably worried that pregnancies will result in unwanted litters that will further stress shelter intake and the community when shelter resources will be low and community need high, especially during high seasonal reproduction for cats.”

The organization then provides the following statement from veterinarian Julie Levy:

”COVID-19 brought a sudden need to evacuate animal shelters across the country, and communities responded by taking thousands of pets into their homes. There wasn’t even time to spay and neuter before they were placed. I support ACC&D’s recommendation that the field deploy megestrol acetate as a stop-gap contraceptive for female cats to prevent heat cycling and pregnancy until surgery comes back online.” -- Dr. Julie Levy, DVM, Ph.D.

A local veterinarian or the SPCA should be able to help you get the hormone to put in the cat’s food to stop her from having even more kittens.

(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 DR. FOX: Thank you for correcting some of the misinformation about feral cats out there. I would like to see more information about the diseases that cats pass along to people, especially toxoplasmosis and rabies.

For those people who don’t care about our dwindling numbers of songbirds and other native wildlife, maybe the threat to pregnant women and children will force new laws to be written that carry stiff fines for allowing your cat to roam outside and for feeding feral cats.

I think the book “Cat Wars” by Peter Marra and Chris Santella should be required reading for the irresponsible people feeding feral cat populations. -- P.O.G., Lake Worth Beach, Florida

DEAR P.O.G.: Thanks for your comments. Yes, indeed, this indoor-outdoor and free-roaming cat issue needs the full attention of all municipalities to protect public health.

Public health authorities in most states, and at the federal level, need to step up to the plate and involve the veterinary profession. More and more diseases are coming from animals -- as with the coronavirus pandemic, the containment of which has been pathetic, along with preparedness.

Here are just some of the diseases and infections cats can pass on to people: chlamydiosis, leptospirosis, MRSA, tuberculosis, plague, Salmonellosis, cat flea typhus, sporotrichosis, cat scratch fever, ringworm, Malassezia dermatitis, Chaga’s disease, Giardiasis, mange and rabies. (Ref: The Merck Veterinary Manual, 2010)

The fact that cats can be infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus by infected humans, and (in laboratory tests) pass this disease to other cats, is surely a wake-up call for the need to keep cats indoors. Fifteen of 102 cats in Wuhan, China, tested positive for the coronavirus, with three cats getting the infection from their owners. Of the others, six were stray cats and six were from pet hospitals, according to a report by Q. Zhang et al. in BioReview.

DEAR DR. FOX: A while ago, my cat started chewing, and possibly eating, our carpet. She had also been drooling for several months. We took her to the vet for her annual teeth cleaning, and they removed two teeth. She stopped chewing for a while, but soon returned to it.

We took her back to the vet, and ultimately they removed four more teeth. (I expected one or two, since we were told that they were questionable after the first surgery.) We received three days of anti-inflammatory medication, and she didn’t chew until two days after taking that. Then it started up again, along with the drooling.

She is 10 and doesn’t have many teeth left, plus I can’t imagine it is her teeth at this point. Is there anything else I should be looking at? I’m at a loss. -- K.F., North Palm Beach, Florida

DEAR K.F.: Dental problems are so common in cats. Many cases relate back to poor nutrition, and to foods high in cereal byproduct glutens. These cling to the teeth and gumline, altering the acidity and bacterial population in the oral cavity. Then inflammation and infection set in, sometimes followed by periodontal disease and other complications, which can be costly to correct -- and are sometimes fatal. For details, check my website (drfoxonehealth.com) for the article “Feline Stomatitis Complex.”

Preventive measures should start early in life. That includes getting kittens and puppies used to having their teeth brushed at the end of the day, and being weaned onto a wholesome and healthful diet -- not just dry kibble with high cereal/starch and gluten content.

Your poor cat presumably had dental radiographs taken to assess the degree of bone erosion in the tooth sockets; more extractions may be needed to reduce infection and inflammation.

Her chewing on carpet material is a common response to discomfort (excessive self-grooming can also serve this purpose). It is called pica, and it may give a temporary feeing of relief. But there can be complications, such as intestinal blockage of swallowed material.

My concern is possible secondary kidney damage from the dental disease, which could be making your cat experience nausea and engage in pica. Is she losing weight? Did the veterinarian evaluate kidney function and take your cat’s blood pressure? A follow-up appointment seems appropriate.

I would give your cat easy-to-eat canned cat food, or my home-prepared diet (posted on my website). Include one sardine a day for the anti-inflammatory benefits of fish oil, plus 500 IUs of vitamin D3 -- break the capsule and put the contents in her food.

(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: Authorities in the United Kingdom -- like those in the United States and most other countries -- have not managed this pandemic following the four pillars of disease control, say two U.K. veterinarians. Those pillars are biosecurity, biocontainment, surveillance and resilience, and they must be applied concurrently. (See D. Sibley and J. Brownlie’s “Vets would not manage COVID-19 this way,” Vet Record, April 2020.)

I would add a fifth pillar: bioremediation, meaning the restoration of natural, disease-limiting biodiversity in ecosystems, and also in our farming and food-production industries. Without massive applications of vaccinations, antibiotics and other drugs to animals in factory farms -- which epidemiologically mirror our crowded cities, slums and refugee camps -- these facilities would not be productive and would succumb to disease. The African swine fever virus (affecting only pigs up to now), for which there is no vaccine, has swept across Asia into some European countries, and the U.S. is on the alert. The only control measure authorities have taken is the mass slaughter of millions of infected pigs.

The Trump administration’s press conferences downplaying high human mortalities in susceptible communities, and promising accelerated development of vaccines and various drug trials, are seen by some critics as bordering on criminal negligence while pandering to the pharmaceutical and vaccine industries. This is the antithesis of preventive medicine and effective pandemic preparedness and control protocols -- essentially generating profits for a few at the expense of many.

It is up to us all to practice due diligence and follow the guidelines of the CDC and recognized health experts, especially with regard to the airborne spread of this virus in confined and crowded places. Facial masks are imperative. Since some people can pass this virus in their feces, extra precautions are called for in locations such as nursing homes, food preparation areas, swimming pools, public restrooms and laundry facilities.

It is also advisable not to pet other people’s dogs when walking outdoors, and to avoid allowing one’s own dogs to make contact with others, because they may carry the virus from infected owners. Such dog-to-human transmission has not yet been reported, but the precautionary principle should be applied.

DEAR DR. FOX: Animals were never exiled from Paradise, just humans. Ergo, all of them will return there when they die. (WE, on the other hand ...) And I remember that the Creator took delight in making animals, so I must help keep them safe. The Creator loves them! They’re never “ours” to do with as we please. -- S.M., Plymouth, Indiana

DEAR S.M.: I know many people will appreciate your words and share your sentiment, while others consider other animals inferior and made for human use. These two “cultures” have long been in conflict from age to age. When we see clearly what we have done to planet Earth and the plight of all of God’s earthly creation, it is surely time to make amends for such “original sin.” I like the words of philosopher Meister Eckhart: “Every creature is a word of God.”

For atheists and agnostics, there can be no denying that other animals possess intelligence -- in some cases, far more advanced than ours -- and that many species show evidence of empathy. So there is no reason other than brute ignorance and indifference for humans not to treat other life forms with respect and consideration.

INHUMANE FISHING PRACTICES REVISITED

Because walleye and other species of fish are dwindling in numbers in some of Minnesota’s lakes, the state’s Department of Natural Resources is stipulating that walleyes can only be caught and released (ditto certain other species). Some people who fish contend that the DNR “overestimates the mortality rates of walleyes caught and released” (Star Tribune, March 18). Regardless of mortality rates from the stress, injuries and secondary infections from being caught on a hook and struggling to escape while being reeled in -- a process that can last for several hours with large fish -- we should all consider the fact that scientists have documented that fish feel pain and have a range of emotions, from fear to caregiving.

Knowing these facts, even if the fish survive being caught and released, those who fish should consider if it is worth making fish suffer physically and emotionally simply for their own “sporting” enjoyment. We need more empathy in many segments of society. What better evidence of such deficiency than keeping live fish on a line strung through their mouths and gills, trailing behind a boat? This practice should be outlawed on humane grounds, and quick kill after catching mandated. For details about fish intelligence, sentience and efforts to improve their welfare and protection, visit fishfeel.org.

RESOURCES FOR COVID-19 PATIENTS WITH PETS

The American Veterinary Medical Association is offering help for people infected with the coronavirus who have companion animals in their homes, and also offering additional information to help us all with our animals during this crisis. Visit avma.org for more information.

PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR WASHINGTON STUDY

Researchers at the University of Washington and Washington State University are collaborating on a study measuring pets’ susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2, and are seeking local participants. Pet owners in the area who have been diagnosed with a novel coronavirus infection within the last two weeks can sign up online, and researchers will go to their homes to test dogs, cats, ferrets and hamsters at no cost. (KIRO-TV, Seattle, May 11)

(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.)