DEAR DR. FOX: I am a retired high school biology teacher, and I do student career counseling now. I am a longtime reader of your column, and if you think it appropriate, please share what motivated you to take the career path you have taken to help animals. -- Y.S., Washington, D.C.

DEAR Y.S.: I think many readers will already guess my reasons, but I'm happy to answer. It may help young people find a path for their lives if they are inspired by passion, directed by reason and enriched by their education and life experiences. I started "seeing practice" in my early teens, helping out at a veterinary hospital and later doing farm work. Young people can also gain experience as animal shelter and wildlife rehabilitation volunteers.

My childhood curiosity, love of nature and animals and concern for the harms and suffering caused by my own kind became my lifetime's avocation. I always questioned consensus values and attitudes, as well as the conventions of what I was told were of a "civilized" society, but that I saw as barbaric when it came to accepted cruel treatments of animals. These include wild animals trapped for their fur, purebred dogs kept in small cages by puppy mill breeders and the billions of animals raised for human consumption on factory farms.

I am heartened by the fact that humane and environmental education courses are available, and animal rights and environmental ethics have become mainstream in college curriculums. Infusing the next generation with the sensitivities of reason and compassion will help restore civilization!

DEAR DR. FOX: I am at a veterinary college after graduating from a small college during which time my mother sent me your columns. They motivated me to become a vet!

One of my professors said he thinks you are against the profession, and I told him he's wrong. What do you have to say to that? -- Vet Student, Fort Myers, Fla.

DEAR VET STUDENT: During the 1970s through the early '90s, I was frustrated by what I interpreted as inertia by my colleagues when I appealed to them to assert their professional authority in the sectors of laboratory and farmed animal care and welfare. In hindsight, I realize that reason and ethics alone cannot bring change when money and vested interests rule and the sound advice of concerned veterinarians is ignored. Until recently, I was lambasted by some veterinarians for my concerns over many manufactured cat and dog foods -- some of which they were selling -- and giving animals too many vaccinations. These and other concerns are documented in my book, "Healing Animals and the Vision of One Health." This is free for vet students with a student membership with the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association.

Today I see the veterinary profession as being essential to the advancement and functional integrity of every community and nation, playing an increasingly important role from the One Health perspective. As I see it, a world without animals is unthinkable, and a world without veterinarians is dysfunctional. Good luck in your career!

ONLINE PET SALES TO BE REGULATED

There's not much good news for commercially exploited animals in these times, but one ray of hope comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal Welfare Act enforcement division that has closed an inspection loophole for Internet-based dog breeders. A reported 80 percent of breeders investigated who sell via the Internet were not being inspected to ensure the animals' health and humane treatment. I have long urged prospective puppy purchasers to never take this route when considering getting a purebred or "designer" pup, even if it comes with American Kennel Club papers. Never buy a dog sight unseen, and try to see the parents, too! Traditional brick and mortar pet stores will continue to be exempt from federal licensing and inspection, which is regrettable. For details, visit http://goo.gl/dgcPXd.

(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: When my three littermate kittens turned adult back in 1998, one developed a urinary tract infection -- I believe from one of the controlling littermates not allowing him to use the litter box.

I read your column about using a squirt gun around that time, and I tried it on the aggressive cat. It worked for a while, but then he got used to it and put up with getting soaked. Nobody got hurt, and he finally quit doing it.

Years later, the third littermate would come to the kitchen and get under my feet all the time. I would put him back in the living room, sometimes forcefully, but he would keep coming back in the kitchen. He would not mind me; he had a mind all his own. Once he made up his mind to do something, he wouldn't quit unless I got mad. Finally, I tried showing him the broom. This was scary to him, and he finally quit coming in. I got this idea from my father who I saw once grab the canoe paddle to discipline my brother! -- D.L., Maryland Heights, Md.

DEAR D.L.: Your observations on training your cat may be helpful to other people who are learning the ropes with their felines when it comes to inhibiting unwanted behaviors. Pain from slapping is unacceptable, and acute discomfort with a spray of water can become habituated to, as you found out with your cat. But hold on! The cat getting "under (your) feet" may be showing affection or really hungry, so keep your cool.

In many instances, as when your cats are playing too rough, a loud yell followed by a handclap, or tossing a towel over them, will break up a spat. You are distracting them by triggering the startle response. I do not intervene until one of our cats gives a distress scream or is cornered and assuming a defensive posture. A degree of rough play is acceptable; the odd scratch is all part of being a cat. Separating your cats while you are away from the house may increase the tension, so I would have let them stay together with escape and refuge hideaway boxes and tubes and a few extra litter boxes.

DEAR DR. FOX: I have a housing issue regarding my daughter's cat who has lived with us off and on for most of her 6 years, so I feel like I'm part owner. My daughter is moving across the country and can't take her cat. She has asked us to keep her, which would be a nonissue except that we go to Florida several months a year, and this cat is a horrible traveler. We also have our own cat who travels extremely well. I have considered trying to find someone to come in and feed her, but this seems cruel for such a long time. I also considered finding a temporary home. A shelter or total rehoming has been considered, but I don't want to do either.

Ultimately, I realize this is my daughter's cat and responsibility, but under the circumstances, I know without a doubt the cat will be without a home. I'm sure she'd be put in a shelter -- to me, that will be synonymous with death. By my standards, when you take on the responsibility of a pet, it is for its lifetime. If nothing else, I need support in that belief. Thanks for listening. -- C.E.W., East Stroudsburg, Pa.

Dear C.E.W. Shame on your daughter! Why is she not abiding by your standards?

In caring for her cat, you are enabling her irresponsibility, and she will never grow up. Delay your trip to Florida so the cats can bond and you can train your daughter's cat to enjoy eating and sleeping in an open cat crate.

It is not clear from your letter if you are driving or flying to Florida. Either way, have the cat microchipped and get her a breakaway collar with your address on it. If you are flying, arrange to take the cat on the plane with you, or at least taken by courier at the check-in desk, rather than going through the regular baggage chutes. Have rabies and health certificates on hand. If you are driving, use a larger dog crate and keep the litter box on the floor. A harness and leash on the cat may be a good safety precaution.

(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: I have two Cornish rex brothers who are 10 years old. After I returned from a 10-day vacation, I noticed that both cats started urinating on chairs, counters and tables, as well as using the litter box. I used my regular cat sitter while I was gone.

They don't have any physical problems. I tried different litters and use the Feliway pheromone dispensers. They are on antidepressants, and we're trying Royal Canin Calm food. I clean the boxes daily. I've brought litter boxes into the areas they are soiling -- they use them and then go to another part of the house and spray. There are three open boxes and one covered. The boys are very close and fight only now and then. They are extremely affectionate cats, and I love them dearly. Any suggestions would be appreciated. -- G.W., St. Louis

DEAR G.W.: I sympathize with your difficulties. Whatever made your cats feel insecure and needing to spray-mark around the house -- possibly the perfume or deodorant your cat sitter was wearing -- they have developed the equivalent of a habit fixation, continuing to house-soil after your return.

There is a remote chance that there is an outdoor cat prowling, spraying and yowling that set off your cats while you were away.

You need to confine the cats to one room to help break the cycle. Spend as much time as possible in there with them for two to three weeks. Get them back onto their regular cat food, off the antidepressant and offer a little dried catnip every other day. Clean all soiled areas with a liquid enzymatic cleaner like Nature's Miracle. Do not put litter boxes out except in the place they were before the problem started. When you let the cats out after their deconditioning isolation, be very calm and go about your normal daily routine.

NATION'S LARGEST PET INSURER REVEALS TOP 10 OBESITY CONDITIONS

"Giving pets table scraps and treats may seem like a harmless reward for your cuddly canine or friendly feline, but it can lead to health problems down the road, including arthritis, diabetes and liver disease. Just like their human counterparts, excessive weight increases the risk of additional health problems and shortens the life expectancy of pets," according to the Veterinary Pet Insurance Co.

Obesity-related claims are steadily increasing; policyholders file more than $34 million in claims for conditions and diseases that can be caused or exacerbated by excess weight. The company recently sorted its database of more than 485,000 insured pets to determine the top 10 dog and cat health conditions associated with obesity.

In rank order for dogs, "the most common obesity-related conditions were arthritis, bladder/urinary tract disease, undiagnosed limp, low thyroid hormone, liver disease, torn knee ligaments, diseased disc in the spine, diabetes, heart failure and chronic kidney disease".

For cats: "Bladder/urinary tract disease, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, asthma, liver disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, undiagnosed limp, heart failure and gall bladder disorder".

The VPI data confirm the dietary link to a number of cat and dog health problems detailed in my book "Not Fit for a Dog: The Truth About Manufactured Cat & Dog Foods," which I co-wrote with two other veterinarians. But the VPI report begins by blaming the feeding of table scraps and treats, plus lack of exercise, rather than taking a broader view of how commercial pet food diets, along with co-factors such as neutering, lack of social stimulation in live-alone animals and exposure to endocrine disrupting and "obesogenic" environmental contaminants contribute to this obesity epidemic. Manufactured pet foods are in large part the issue -- too many carbs and omega-3 deficiency/imbalance -- not simply too many table scraps and treats. But going light on critical analysis of manufactured pet foods is not surprising because of the VPI's close association with the pet food industry, its website stating:

"Scottsdale Insurance Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Nationwide Insurance, the country's sixth largest insurance company, owns approximately 66 percent of VPI's stock. The Iams pet food company owns about 9 percent of our stock and the remaining 25 percent is owned by nearly 1,000 individuals, most of whom are veterinarians. Nationwide and Iams support VPI with strong financial backing and business expertise, and our veterinary owners keep us grounded in the profession."

(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.)