DEAR READERS: This is another excerpt from my work-in-progress book, “PAN: People, Animals and Nature -- Restoring Our Sacred Connections.”

We have been at war -- with our own kind, with other species and with starvation and disease -- since the beginning of our presence and multiplication on planet Earth. The ultimate war is within ourselves, as we are fearful of breaking out of the chrysalis of selfishness and anthropocentrism.

The first step toward peace is to break out and emerge as a fully mature imago: an empathic, intelligent and beautiful life-form. Such a compassionate life-form is mindful of the life within and the lives around, preventing famine, pestilence and pandemics, and dedicated to planetary CPR: the conservation, protection and restoration of clean air and water, endangered plant and animal species and biodiversity. This calls for several actions, including a swift reduction in the consumption of produce from factory-farmed animals. The land used to feed these billions of animals is taken from the last of the wild, spurring species extinctions and climate change.

Through Nature, and what some call the Creator or God, we learn about wholeness, interdependence and mutual symbiosis; how different beings help each other, like the bees that pollinate flowers and the mushrooms that feed trees. A deep understanding of, and respect for, these laws of nature form the ethical basis of a truly humane and self-sufficient society, culture and world community. Otherwise, the world will be neither just, with respect to other living beings, nor viable in the long term.

Any creature that has the power and stupidity to harm other beings and destroy its environment will bring injustice and violence upon its own kind and ultimately destroy itself.

INSIDE THE WORLD OF WILDLIFE-KILLING CONTESTS

Millions of dollars have been doled out in wildlife-killing competitions across the United States, in which hundreds of animals -- gray and red foxes, coyotes, bobcats, raccoons and other wildlife -- are shot for prizes and “entertainment.”

These carnivores play a major role in public health by keeping rodent populations under control. Small rodents in Texas can carry several diseases transmissible to humans, including hantavirus, leptospirosis, salmonellosis, murine typhus, plague, Lyme disease and rat-bite fever. It is therefore in the public interest to prohibit these killing contests, as well as the currently licensed shooting and trapping of small carnivores across the U.S.

Find out how you can help stop this depraved “sport,” which I regard as psychopathic, by going to projectcoyote.org. And see the Rolling Stone article by Britta Lokting that brought me to my knees here: rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/wildlife-predator-killing-contests-1235128129.

DEAR DR. FOX: I just read your column about fruits and vegetables for dogs and cats in my local paper. I was alarmed and astonished to discover you failed to warn your readers about the extreme dangers posed to dogs from eating grapes. Your column could have been an opportunity to underscore the risks of grapes to dogs, and your omission implied a general endorsement of all fruits.

You owe it to your readers to publish a clarification. -- E.L.S., Santa Rosa, California

DEAR E.L.S.: My intention was to highlight what dogs enjoy and can benefit from, rather than add on warnings about what fruits and vegetables to avoid. But to clarify, the following should never be given to dogs: raisins, grapes, currants, garlic, onions, macadamia nuts, rhubarb, potatoes that have turned green, unripe tomatoes, avocados and, of course, chocolate.

Likewise, do not allow any sweets with xylitol or other artificial sweeteners. Cannabis products, especially those high in THC, must be kept out of animals’ reach.

(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: Along with people and their companion animals, farmed animals also suffer during extreme weather events. In the national media coverage of the recent catastrophic storms and floods that decimated communities from Florida to Tennessee and the Carolinas, there has been virtually no news about the plight of the millions of poultry, pigs and dairy cows incarcerated and helpless on CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations) in these areas.

When the power goes out in these facilities, animals suffocate and die from hyperthermia and lack of air. Or if confinement buildings collapse, the animals are crushed, injured and often killed. They can also drown in flood waters that burst manure-containment lagoons, contaminating freshwater ecosystems with fecal bacteria, antibiotic residues and other drugs fed to these animals.

Few, if any, CAFO owners have contingency plans for such disasters, but they do receive significant taxpayer subsidies. According to the Environmental Working Group, payments from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to support livestock operators peaked at $11 billion in 2020, while the USDA has allocated a mere $124 million since 2001 to support plant-based proteins and other meal alternatives. (For details, see ewg.org/news-insights/news/2023/08/usda-livestock-subsidies-top-59-billion.)

Consumers who care are increasing the demand for plant-based proteins. Conservationists, environmentalists and all right-minded public health experts -- those not influenced by the powerful livestock and poultry industries -- are advocating the same beneficial dietary change.

VEGETATION IS TAKING OVER IN ANTARCTICA

Climate-change deniers should note this research finding: Per an article on Nature.com, a key region of Antarctica is "getting greener with alarming speed," which will in turn "spur rapid change of Antarctic ecosystems." Researchers looked at satellite imagery of one of the continent’s fastest-warming regions: the Antarctic Peninsula, which juts north toward South America. They found that the area covered by plants was nearly 14 times larger in 2021 than it had been in 1986. “It’s the beginning of dramatic transformation,” said study co-author Olly Bartlett. (Full story: Nature, Oct. 4)

DEAR DR. FOX: I enjoy reading your columns, but I wonder about your authority, since you also write about human health and environmental issues. There is so much disinformation that I wonder who to believe. -- H.P.S., Trenton, New Jersey

DEAR H.P.S.: I agree that there is much disinformation and denial being spread concerning the climate crisis and public health issues. Since you have asked about my "authority," some of my credentials are below. Plus, for many of the articles I reference in my column, I provide peer-reviewed reference citations to give assurance that the information is from a reliable source.

I am a veterinarian, but I also have a Ph.D. in medicine and a doctor of science degree in ethology/animal behavior from the University of London. I am a member of the British Veterinary Association, an Honor Roll Member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, a long-term member of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association and a founding member of an international nonprofit for animal ethology. I have authored over 40 books, including the upcoming “One Health: Veterinary, Ethical and Environmental Perspectives.”

It is an erroneous assumption that veterinarians only treat animals and can have no opinion about human health and disease prevention. Veterinarians receive the same core-discipline education in veterinary college as do medical students in medical schools. Many veterinarians play a key role in public health and zoonotic diseases (those that spread from animal to human, and vice versa).

Besides, humans are animals, too!

(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: Researchers estimate that more than 2,000 different species of animals are killed and eaten by free-roaming domestic cats around the world, posing a serious risk to biodiversity. Cats have been documented eating wildlife on every continent, even Antarctica.

The study's abstract states:

“Free-ranging cats (Felis catus) are globally distributed invasive carnivores that markedly impact biodiversity. Here, to evaluate the potential threat of cats, we develop a comprehensive global assessment of species consumed by cats. We identify 2,084 species eaten by cats, of which 347 (16.65%) are of conservation concern. Islands contain threefold more species of conservation concern eaten by cats than continents do. Birds, reptiles, and mammals constitute (about) 90% of species consumed, with insects and amphibians being less frequent. Approximately 9% of known birds, 6% of known mammals, and 4% of known reptile species are identified in cat diets. ... Our results demonstrate that cats are extreme generalist predators, which is critical for understanding their impact on ecological systems and developing management solutions.”

For the full study, see "A global synthesis and assessment of free-ranging domestic cat diet" by Christopher Lepczyk et al., published in Nature Communications in 2023.

DEAR DR. FOX: My husband and I keep our cat indoors for her safety and to protect the birds. Our question is, how often should we feed her? We used to have dogs we fed twice a day, and my husband thinks that is fine for our cat, too.

When we feed her, she gobbles up her food (moist-canned) and often throws up right after. I think it is because she is so hungry and then eats too fast. What is your opinion? -- R.M., St. Louis, Missouri

DEAR R.M.: You are probably correct: Cats who eat too quickly often throw up afterwards.

This can also be complicated by fur in the stomach, which accumulates when cats groom themselves and swallow their fur. Just this morning, my cat started to eat, then stopped and vomited a long furball. (She is a rescue with anxiety issues, and tends to groom excessively and pull out her fur when I am out of the house too long.) Grooming cats daily can help prevent this fur-in-the-stomach issue, which can become a serious obstruction.

Cats do best being fed several small meals a day, about 1 tablespoon per serving. Think mouse-sized portions, which is the biologically appropriate amount for a domestic cat. My cat gets small servings of food at 8 a.m., 4 p.m. and 10 p.m., plus snacks of dry kibble mid-morning and mid-afternoon. She knows the time, and comes like clockwork to be fed.

Keeping to a regular feeding schedule is important for all animals, since not wanting to eat is often the first sign of a health problem.

CROSSBREED DOGS NO HEALTHIER THAN PUREBREDS

A new study by the U.K.'s Royal Veterinary College debunks the common belief that designer crossbreed dogs are healthier than their parental purebreds.

Researchers examined health data from three popular crossbreeds -- the cockapoo (cocker spaniel/poodle), Labradoodle (Labrador/poodle) and Cavapoo (Cavalier King Charles spaniel/poodle) -- and their respective parent breeds, calculating the risks for each of the 57 most common disorders found in dogs. In 86.6% of the disorder comparisons, the risks did not differ between the crossbreeds and their parent breeds.

In the remaining 13.4% of comparisons, risks were roughly split: higher for crossbreeds for about half of the remaining disorders, higher for purebreds for the rest. Notably, all three crossbreeds had a higher chance of ear infections than their non-poodle parent breeds.

Would-be purchasers of these kinds of dogs should take note and find a breeder who will give some guarantee of health. Do not simply assume that crossbreeds are healthier than purebreds.

(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.)