DEAR DR. FOX: Our precious male cat, Patches, was the pet of the week in our newspaper. My husband was recovering from heart surgery at the time, and he spotted our new pet. Patches was about 18 months old when we adopted him -- a puffball of white and gray patchy fur.

We noticed three things about him: First of all, he didn't make sounds. Second, he was terrified of anything that looked like a broom or dust mop. Third, his paws hurt him if you touched them.

Those clues told me that he had had a less-than-happy past and that his declawing procedure had been a botched job. His paws were tender his whole life. The other things, like making sounds, appeared after we talked to him and soothed him. I think he conquered his fear of the household equipment.

I always felt sorry that he had been declawed. In fact, I think they cut off half of his front paws. It is an atrocity that this remains common practice. -- E. and M.H., Estero, Fla.

DEAR E. and M.H.: I appreciate hearing about your adopted cat Patches, and I trust that your husband made a full recovery from his heart surgery ordeal.

Cats can be excellent heart therapists, helping slow down the human heart rate and blood pressure. Many cat owners tell me how relaxing the cats' contented purring can be, and more doctors are recognizing the therapeutic value and healing powers of companion animals.

Studies have shown that people with an animal in their homes enjoy a faster recovery after major surgery and have fewer relapses. Having a companion animal can help ward off depression and thoughts of suicide. Children benefit from having fewer allergies when exposed to animals in the home from an early age.

I believe that you are correct that Patches had a trauma-filled life before his adoption. Never purring or making other vocalizations can be a sign of post-traumatic stress disorder in cats, which Patches confirmed by starting to speak when he felt secure in his new environment.

As for his tragic paw mutilations, I find it abhorrent that cats continue to be declawed by veterinarians, even when purportedly less painful, more advanced surgical techniques are used. I document many of the harmful consequences on my website, DrFoxVet.com. Laypersons will also do this claw-removal using physical restraint and wire cutters, which I regard as felony animal cruelty.

DEAR DR. FOX: Do most pet owners really care about what is happening to animals around the world?

There is so much animal abuse and suffering, and I believe that anyone who has an animal as a pet has a duty to help all animals. Same for those who eat them. They should not be supporting factory farms and fast food outlets that serve meat from abused animals.

I am a vegetarian, I support animal rights and I foster cats for adoption. Some of my friends and relatives think I am nuts, but at least my boyfriend supports me. Is there any real hope for change? I have supported some of the big animal welfare and conservation organizations, but I stopped after they sent me expensive publications soliciting more donations and I learned about how much goes to salaries and travel expenses rather than to programs to help animals.

What organizations would you support, and how can individuals like me make a difference? -- R.E., Falls Church, Va.

DEAR R.E.: If more people felt as you do and acted accordingly, I might hold more hope for a viable future for our own kind.

The physical, mental, social and economic well-being of future generations is dependent upon how well we treat the environment and fellow creatures. These connections are being recognized by various authorities under the banner "One Health." I discuss this in my books "Healing Animals and the Vision of One Health," and "Animals and Nature First."

We can all make a difference by changing our dietary habits and reducing meat consumption. Try supporting local farmers and organic agriculture, your local humane society, local Audubon Society chapter and clean water and conservation initiatives. You can also recycle, encourage humane and environmental education in grade schools, don't use pesticides and donate to organizations like the Animal Welfare Institute, Sea Shepherd, Earth Island Institute, Greenpeace International, Environmental Working Group, Union of Concerned Scientists and Natural Resources Defense Council -- just to name a few!

A few readers, including those who believe that climate change is a fabrication of extremists, have complained about this column, insisting that I should stick to pet health issues and not get "political." But the politics of extinction and human and animal health cannot be ignored. I see it as my professional duty to do what I can to help heal our relationships with other animals and the natural world for the good of all.

CHICKEN DOG TREATS MADE IN CHINA LINKED TO 900 COMPLAINTS

Since November, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has received 900 complaints of illnesses and deaths of pets who ate chicken jerky treats made in China. Extensive FDA testing since 2007 hasn't identified a toxic agent in the treats, and reports from FDA visits to manufacturing plants in China haven't been released. I urge all concerned to visit my websites, DrFoxVet.com or facebook.com/drfoxvet, to consider my theory that treatment of this product in China by irradiation may be the issue that the FDA must address. I unequivocally advise against purchasing these imported treats -- from several brands -- and safely dispose of any you may have in your home. Visit the FDA's website, fda.gov, for more information.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Universal Uclick, 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.com.)

DEAR DR. FOX: Our 13-year-old neutered male cat (Oggie) goes after our 13-year-old spayed female cat (Ella) in a sexual manner -- mounting her, pawing down her back and biting on her neck. He does this several times a day.

This seems very unusual since they both have been fixed. We thought Oggie would at least do this less as he got older, but he does not seem to be slowing down.

Ella tolerates it for a while, but it usually ends with her turning on him, voicing her annoyance and then chasing after him. It is a whole ordeal the two of them go through, but it also annoys my husband a great deal. -- M.R., Arlington, Va.

DEAR M.R.: As I describe in my book "Understanding Your Cat" (available now as an e-book), during normal play behavior, many cats will incorporate some sexual activities, even when neutered.

The back of the neck "love bite" is often the only component of male sexual behavior that one may see during cat play. This bite asserts dominance and triggers passive submission. When you seize the scruff of a cat's neck, you trigger that same passive, immobilizing reaction. This may have a calming effect, much like a mother carrying a kitten with her teeth.

During sex play, once the love bite triggers immobility, the physical contact the top cat feels can lead to the next behavioral sequence of mounting, back arching and pelvic undulations. If injurious fighting erupts, you should intervene with a loud clap or a squirt of water from a spray bottle.

From your description, it seems like a regular, non-injurious play ritual best left alone.

DEAR DR. FOX: My cats refuse to eat canned food. They merely lick off the gravy and leave the balance. (They eat Friskies.) I've had the vet check their teeth, check for worms and perform a complete physical exam. They all passed with flying colors. We live on a horse farm. The cats bring dead birds, moles and squirrels home to lay at the doorstep -- intact, no parts eaten.

I've heard that cat food manufacturers add ears, ground-up hooves, tails and hair of other animals to their cat food formulas. Is this true? -- W.N.M., Lewisville, N.C.

DEAR W.N.M.: I encourage you to try your cats on different varieties of canned cat food. Our two cats like only two varieties (chicken/herring and salmon/turkey) of Organix cat food. They dislike beef, lamb and lobster.

Cats don't always drink sufficient amounts of water, so consuming moist canned or home-prepared cat food is important. Alternatively, soak some dry food and flavor their water with a little milk or salt-free chicken bouillon or chicken stock.

The instinctual but needless killing of wildlife by cats -- which they bring home as gifts -- should be prevented by keeping the cats indoors. They may enjoy outdoor walks on a leash or time in an enclosure in your yard. Your cats' hunting may be curtailed by having them wear a bell on a breakaway collar, though some cats learn to tuck in their chins to silence the bell! You can also buys a CatBib, which deters cats from killing.

Pet foods that contain "meat and poultry byproducts" include some processed skin, tendons, bone and other body parts, and these add up to an inferior quality of protein. Until fairly recently, feathers from processed poultry were also included. The remains of road-killed and euthanized animals can also end up in some pet foods and livestock feed.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Universal Uclick, 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.com.)

DEAR READERS: I am happy to let you know that I have a new website for my writings and archives of this column, DrFoxVet.com. Be sure to visit and "like" my Facebook page at Facebook.com/drfoxvet, where you can join our growing community of pet parents to share news, information and products to improve the health and well-being of our animal companions.

DEAR DR. FOX: My "grandbaby," a 12-year-old female German shepherd/husky-mix, has been diagnosed with renal/kidney failure.

She was losing weight, her fur was clumping in mats and she was generally being cranky for at least six months before my daughter took her to the vet last month. I just found out from another family member that Kachina has about three weeks to live because her kidneys are giving out.

I had been living with my daughter and all the grandbabies until several months ago. We parted on unfriendly terms. Kachina was crated most of the time -- except when I was there or my daughter was home -- sometimes with very little or no water. She was let out several times a day and night to do her business. But there were times when I was not there, and my daughter would come home late from work and then go out very late at night. The poor dog was crated for hours and hours.

The dog did not like dry food only. Dinner was usually dry and canned; for breakfast, I would try to fix it up by adding chicken broth, yogurt or small amounts of canned food. My daughter would angrily tell me, "You're spoiling her. If she won't eat, let her go hungry." For years, this dog has never had a bath, a car ride or a walk; she never even had her nails clipped.

I am convinced that going without water, being crated for such long periods of time and being forced to eat dry food that wasn't good for her all led to this sad diagnosis.

My heart is breaking. My daughter seems jealous and is constantly berating me for being kind and loving to Kachina. My daughter sprays her with a water bottle when annoyed.

Is there anything that can be done to help make my precious grandbaby more comfortable and maybe slow down or halt this disease? I'll do all I can. I hope there will some way that I can visit her. -- P.B., Fairfax, Va.

DEAR P.B.: I wonder, as you do, how a caring person such as yourself could have a daughter who mistreats a poor old dog as yours does. If the dog were a human child, you would call the state child protection services. But, regrettably, animal protection laws are inadequate and poorly enforced.

There is a man in Minnesota (where I live) who neglected several horses he owned or was boarding for other owners. Not until the horses were close to death from starvation were the local animal protection authorities able to seize them and put the poor animals into protective custody. After a trial on misdemeanor charges for this repeat offender -- who should have been prosecuted for felony animal cruelty -- the judge allowed this man to keep the horses. Animal protection laws are trumped generally by business interests.

In the case of your poor Kachina, is it possible for you to make peace with your daughter and convince her that the dog should be living with you? If that is not feasible and she refuses to provide the dog with appropriate veterinary care, I would call the police and animal control and file a complaint, or at least threaten her with this if you think it might lead to her giving you the dog.

I am sure that Kachina's saga is not unique, and in many instances there is no family member like you to intervene. So many dogs spend long and painful hours in crates or cages while their owners are out at work, then out again enjoying life with no regard for their neglected dogs who are simply kept to relieve the owners' loneliness.

DEAR DR. FOX: Here is our "empathosphere" sensitivity animal story about our collie, Taylor:

When I was hurt from being bucked by a horse, our collie ran to the house and barked relentlessly until my husband came out and found me disoriented and lying on the ground.

Two years later, he would not leave my husband's side. Wherever my husband went, Taylor wanted to be right next to him. He was constantly under my husband's feet.

About eight months later, my husband found out he had cancer. We feel Taylor could sense this and that might explain his clingy behavior. -- S.A., Moscow Mills, Mo.

DEAR S.A.: I very much appreciate your added support for the existence of what I call the "empathosphere," a term now gaining more recognition on the Internet. I first documented this extraordinary aspect of animal awareness in my book, "The Boundless Circle: Caring for Creatures and Creation" (Quest Books). Skeptics who cannot take the leap from the realm of rational materialism to this metaphysical dimension of emotion and awareness are missing out on the wonder and mystery of conscious life and what some call the power of universal love. Collies are a highly empathic, protective breed, so it is not surprising that Taylor recognized your need for help. Dogs have been shown to be able to identify certain forms of cancer in humans by the change in scent, which your husband may have had while the cancer was becoming established.

There is no need to conjure mystical or magical interpretations of your dog's sensitivity and behavior. But there is a need for our own species to recognize that we are not the only intelligent life in this universe -- other animals are our equals, if not our superiors, in many ways!

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Universal Uclick, 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.com.)