The Animal Doctor

DEAR READERS: When big fish eat little fish contaminated with pollutants, these chemicals accumulate in their bodies. This is called the food chain effect, and it occurs in farmed animals that aren't fed organically certified foods.

Even organic foods can be contaminated by chemical pollutants in the rain, air and dust, but at least the contamination will be minimized due to the soil remediation required before organic certification. The prohibitions on using anabolic steroid hormones and other pharmaceuticals to boost livestock productivity are another benefit.

This is why, from a holistic health and environmental perspective, we should all eat lower on the food chain, primarily consuming a plant-based diet. Consuming plants eliminates the risk of zoonotic (animal-to-human) diseases, provided the crops we eat are not contaminated with harmful bacteria such as E. coli from animal manure.

Human babies who are breastfed will benefit from their mothers eating lower on the food chain. A 1981 study concluded: "Nursing infants of vegetarian women whose diets are low on the food chain are exposed to less chemical pollution" (from "Pollutants in breast milk of vegetarians," J. Hergenrather et al, New England Journal of Medicine, March 1981).

The issue was studied further in a 2020 synthesis, whose abstract states, "On the basis of the current evidence, vegetarian and vegan mothers are capable of producing nutritionally valuable milk for their infants," adding that some mothers may require "appropriate supplementation" to fill any gaps (from "Vegan or vegetarian diet and breast milk composition: A systematic review," K. Karcz and B. Krolak-Olejnik, Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 2020).

Being vegan improves our health, and has also been shown to improve the health of dogs and cats when given properly formulated diets free of animal products. (For details, see the next item in this column!)

Veganism reduces the biodiversity loss and climate change associated with the animal farming and seafood industries and prevents the suffering of billions of animals destined for human consumption. With humans now numbering over 8 billion, we cannot live like carnivores -- or even omnivores -- without exacerbating the harms we have caused to planetary life and to ourselves.

In forthcoming columns, I will continue to address the global problems associated with the consumption of beef.

VEGAN PET FOODS: STRONG MARKETS, HEALTH BENEFITS

From a Sept. 11 post on PetFoodProcessing.net: "According to data from Future Market Insights (FMI), the vegan dog food market is currently worth $13.58 billion and has an estimated continued annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7% for the next 10 years ... In contrast, the traditional, animal protein-based dog food sector has an estimated CAGR of 4.3% through 2033, according to FMI."

For the health benefits of vegan diets for dogs, see my post: drfoxonehealth.com/post/health-benefits-of-vegan-dog-food.

For the benefits for cats, see the study "Vegan versus meat-based cat food: Guardian-reported health outcomes in 1,369 cats, after controlling for feline demographic factors" (A. Knight et al, PLOS ONE, Sept. 13, 2023).

DEAR DR. FOX: This article examines and dispels the notion of “littermate syndrome” -- the myth that littermate pups should not be raised together because they get too attached and can have behavioral problems later in life. Link: thefarmersdog.com/digest/littermate-syndrome-in-dogs.

I haven’t observed this “syndrome” in dogs, nor in young wild coyotes or foxes, and have never heard about it in wolves. It’s a myth that needs to be put to rest once and for all. What is your opinion? -- M.B., Boulder, Colorado

DEAR M.B.: I agree with you. Adopting two pups -- or kittens -- from the same litter is a best-practice initiative that all animal shelters, adoption centers and rescue organizations should embrace. Dogs and cats are social animals, and far too many are left alone all day with no contact with their own kind -- and too little with their owners, who are away from home for hours on end.

I was very disheartened by a woman who was fostering a litter of kittens (my wife and I had rescued the pregnant mother cat) -- she insisted on adopting out the 12 kittens separately so they would "make better pets and bond with their owners." One kitten per owner/family. It took me a while to convince her otherwise!

I wonder about all the lonely, highly intelligent, social parrots in captivity, going nuts living alone and pulling out their feathers. But some have learned how to communicate with other parrots when "introduced" via videochat, and enjoy doing so for hours!

(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: I would like to know if your homemade food recipe for cats would need any changes if urinary crystals are a problem for the animal.

My cat is refusing all commercially produced prescription cat foods, but I tried your recipe and he absolutely loves it. We have already seen changes for the better in his litter box. Should we make any changes to the recipe to address his urinary problems?

I have been feeding my dogs your recipe for many years, and they are healthy, shiny, lean and muscular. They are happy, and they love their food. -- P.V., West Palm Beach, Florida

DEAR P.V.: I am glad to hear your dogs are thriving on my home-prepared recipe, as posted at drfoxonehealth.com under “Dogs.” My feline recipe (under “Cats”) has given new life to many cats previously subsisting on dry kibble. Some cats are very finicky (and become addicted to their kibble!) so a gradual transition to the homemade food, or to a moist canned or rehydrated freeze-dried cat food (like The Honest Kitchen’s), is needed.

It is good that your cat is readily accepting my home-prepared cat food, especially since most special prescription diets for urinary crystals are very unpalatable for cats. There should be no concern as long as there is plenty of moisture in the food, and your cat is drinking water. If your cat does not readily rehydrate, you can make drinking water more appealing by boiling up a few pieces of chicken into a stew and storing it in the refrigerator, or by buying salt-free or low-salt chicken bouillon. Add a teaspoon of either to the cat’s water, which should be fresh every day.

Many cats do not like plain tap water, probably because of the chlorination and fluoride in our drinking water, which could contribute to thyroid and other health problems in humans and felines alike. (For details, see this post: drfoxonehealth.com/post/pure-water-for-cats-and-dogs-and-all.) We use a Zero water filter in our home and I can smell and taste the difference from what comes out of the faucet here in the Minneapolis area!

B. CANIS SPREADING FROM DOG TO DOG IN U.K.

Until recently, Brucella canis was seen in the U.K. only in imported animals. But now, says U.K. Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss, the bacterial disease appears to be spreading from dog to dog through breeding with infected imported dogs. Though it rarely happens, B. canis can infect people, and the government is considering implementing a screening protocol. Regardless of mandates, Middlemiss recommends voluntary testing before importing and/or breeding animals. (Full story: The Telegraph, Sept. 18)

FELINE INFECTIOUS PERITONITIS EPIDEMIC IN CYPRUS

Veterinarians in Cyprus have repurposed leftover stocks of the COVID-19 antiviral drug molnupiravir to treat cats with feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a disease caused by a different coronavirus that recently surged on the island, killing hundreds (potentially thousands) of cats. Veterinary scientists are sequencing FIP virus strains to see whether any specific variant caused the massive outbreak. (Full story: The Atlantic, Sept. 18)

BUMBLEBEES LEARN BY WATCHING

Bumblebees were taught by researchers to open a puzzle box containing a sugar solution -- and bumblebees that observed that experiment subsequently used the same method to open the box 98% of the time, even after they discovered an alternative method. Bumblebees that observed bees trained to use both methods also learned both, but colonies eventually developed a preference for a single method. Researchers say the findings, published in PLOS Biology, suggest that social learning has a significant influence on bumblebee behavior. (Full story: BBC, March 7)

(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: What you think of trophy hunting? I would appreciate your informed opinion. -- DR. A.J.T.J., Dehradun, India

DEAR DR. A.J.T.J.: I think trophy hunting is for psychopaths. It is an ego-driven obsession for the empathy-deficient. Killing for pleasure/recreation is the antithesis of subsistence hunting -- killing to live.

The economic justifications often given for trophy hunting -- providing income for local guides and outfitters to kill old animals who are going to die anyway, rather than animals in their prime -- are rather fatuous. But the bioethics of killing invasive species is on more solid ground, I feel.

So-called “canned hunt” operations, where trophy hunters pay to kill captive-raised wildlife (often under the banner of species preservation), should be closed down. Biodiversity must be restored, creating viable natural habitats for all. In this process, selective culling may be bioethically valid in the process of rewilding.

In India, efforts to protect wildlife and iconic species such as the Asian elephant are meeting opposition by other vested interests. Climate change, invasive plants and a huge uptick in tourism are contributing to a major drive to de-list protected areas and cull elephants.

For details, see these news reports:

-- article-14.com/post/india-s-wildlife-protection-in-hands-of-those-with-interests-in-its-destruction

-- livemint.com/Opinion/dFql2X72U2SgEBPQXdKKiL/An-elephant-scientist-who-missed-the-jumbo-on-the-track

I reported in an earlier column that this year, the Indian government banned environmental education and climate change discussion in schools. Meanwhile, here in the U.S., most government agencies have natural resource departments that do not put their primary focus on habitat and wildlife protection, biodiversity restoration and control of invasive species. Instead, priority is given to the industries of hunting, trapping, fishing, timber, cattle ranching, agriculture and mining -- not to mention recreational tourism, with the construction and maintenance of roads, trails, camp sites and lodges. All this, even though restoration of wildlife habitats is an essential element of reducing the negative impacts of climate change.

So, India is just further down the same road as the U.S. in putting human interests before those of other species. The ultimate fragmentation of wildlife habitat, increased human encroachment and population expansion, compounded by livestock and agricultural intrusion, are aggravating climate change and facilitating the emergence of pandemic diseases.

It is ironic that white-tailed deer -- whose Minnesota population is managed by the state for hunters who lobby for the virtual extermination of “competing” wolves -- is now a concerning potential source of new variants of COVID-19. Veterinarian Andrew Bowman and colleagues at Ohio State University have found that wild deer have become reservoirs for SARS-CoV-2. Also, “the evidence is growing that humans can get it from deer, which isn’t radically surprising,” said Bowman. Researchers say that the virus mutates faster in deer than in humans, and that variants that were no longer common in people were found in deer.

I should add that humans can transmit SARS-CoV-2 to domestic cats, which can then become infected and transmit the virus to other cats, whether through direct contact or contact with feces or contaminated surfaces. Infected cats shed the virus and can infect others for roughly eight hours. This is just another reason to keep all cats indoors. (Full story: Earth.com, May 31)

DEAR DR. FOX: Your recent column on animal reincarnation was interesting, as I’d never heard anyone else speak on this issue. I have a story of my own to share.

After our very old Lab, Hagen, died, we buried him in our dog graveyard at the edge of the woods. Each night for a couple of weeks afterward, we saw a young deer standing directly on Hagen's grave. The deer would stand there and look at us.

Then one night, we heard an animal noise out back. My husband looked outside and told me, "Come see this!" There was "Hagen-Deer" coming across the yard, looking at us and “speaking” to us. He came right up, stopping just a few feet away. We talked softly to him, and then noises nearby alerted us to a herd of about 16 deer right at the edge of the woods. We said our goodbyes, then he joined the herd and moved off.

We didn’t see him again. But we were positive it was him. -- M.R., Trenton, New Jersey

DEAR M.R.: I have an open mind when it comes to reincarnation -- the transmigration of the soul from one life to the next. But there is evidence of after-death manifestations, especially in animals who were closely bonded with their human companions, as per this post on my website: drfoxonehealth.com/tags/spiritual-issues.

In this instance, with the young deer already existing as an ensouled being when your dog passed, it is tempting to think that part of your dog’s spirit touched this deer with whom you enjoyed a most unexpected communion. On the other hand, the deer might have sensed your good intentions and love for your deceased dog, coming to you in trust for a memorable moment of interspecies communication.

Our love of nature and of our fellow creatures is interwoven on many levels, including the biological affinities between plants and animals. These are mutually enhancing symbioses, as exemplified by the beneficial bacteria in our guts, without which we could not live. Our treating nature simply as a resource, and objectifying animals as commodities, truly represent a “fall from grace.”

(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.)