DEAR DR. FOX: Our 4- or 5-year-old female orange and white spayed cat, Emma, developed something on her right cheek that I noticed last July. It first appeared to be about the size and color of a small garbanzo bean. I scratched at it -- there was no indication of blood, but it was whitish and firm, and the small scratched area seemed to kind of crumble off. At the time, my older Persian/Himalayan was failing due to polycystic kidney disease and his care was the priority. He eventually passed away.

Not long after, the growth on Emma's face was gone, but in the place where the growth had been, there was a sort of disc resembling the base of an acorn. There was no blood and no sign of anything under the surface, just a space where it looked like the growth had popped off. I had no idea if it just fell off or was scratched off.

Now there is a growth in the same place again. It is about a half-inch in diameter and growing straight out. The top is flat, it's the color of garbanzo bean and the texture is dry and firm. Again, there's no indication of blood, though Emma is not interested in me messing with it.

About three months ago, I took her to a vet for a flea-related issue and asked the vet if she could identify the growth. She said she had never seen anything like it and didn't know what it was. I have since sought more information on what this might be. It doesn't match the description of a botfly. I have Googled fungus growths, but can't come up with much else other than ringworm, and it's not that.

Is there anything you think it could be? I do not have the resources to go from vet to vet, nor do I want to put her through biopsies and such. I kind of thought a fungus, as it seems to resemble the ones seen on trees and such. Any thoughts? -- C.H., Toms River, N.J.

DEAR C.H.: Without personally examining your cat, which is one limitation of my long-distance diagnostic and treatment suggestions, my first thought is that your poor cat may have an upper tooth abscess. These will sometimes erode through the thin facial bone and appear as a swelling that may become fibrous and hard, or soften, burst and then scab over.

I suggest a visit to a veterinarian specializing in dentistry or one able to do an X-ray of the maxilla/facial area and check out my provisional diagnosis. Treatment is surgical removal of the tooth and cleaning out the fistula caused by the abscess.

DEAR DR. FOX: My 4-year-old border collie has a broken canine tooth in his lower jaw. He came to me this way two years ago. The tooth is broken vertically, with the tooth pulp exposed to the back of his mouth. The vet who examined him right after I got him indicated that removal of the tooth would be a very big deal, with great risk to his jaw. She said that he might live his whole life without it being a problem. During his most recent exam, my vet (a different one) said that while he is currently just fine and doesn't seem to be bothered by the broken tooth at this point, chances are quite high that sometime down the road, it will become an issue.

I don't know where to go from here. The whole "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" notion makes good sense to me. However, adopting a wait-and-see position with this and potentially having an older dog with a jaw infection doesn't feel like a good way to go either.

Is there such a thing as capping or crowning this kind of tooth in a dog? Are there other possible remedies for this that don't involve such invasive surgery? -- L.T.

DEAR L.T.: A broken canine tooth is a big deal when it comes to possible infection, tracking bacteria through the soft tissue into the jaw, subsequent bone infection and the possibility of tooth pain and associated difficulty eating.

You must have your veterinarian check around for a veterinary dental specialist who would be the best choice to remove this tooth under general anesthesia with careful resection to avoid damage to the jaw. The veterinary dental specialist may offer to perform a root canal and cap the tooth or remove the tooth and put in an implant. While the latter is controversial and likely to only be of aesthetic value to you and not benefit your dog, advanced dental procedures, once the exclusive domain of human dental surgeons, are now one of the good, though costly, services now available for companion animals.

(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: We recently brought into our home a pair of goldfish. They seem to be happy together in a large aquarium with rocks and weeds, and we've added an aerator and filter to help keep the water clean and clear. Our two children enjoy watching and feeding them and the fish do seem to know when they are there.

How intelligent are goldfish, and do fish have feelings? -- K.L.C., Washington, D.C.

DEAR K.L.C.: I have written before about the fact that goldfish and most other fish species do not thrive when living alone with no contact with their own kind. I am glad you have two!

Have your children ring a little bell or flash a light before feeding time and condition the fish to be fed in one corner of the tank. They should soon learn with the food-is-coming signal to go to the feeding corner, where you might secure against the inside of the tank a small floating wooden or rubber ring into which a few pinches of dry fish food is placed.

For details about fish having feelings and why we all need to be more concerned and involved with the fate of these species in the wild, go to fishfeel.org.

Most of us take seafood for granted and have no awareness about the intelligence, sentience and complex social lives of fish or of the critical state of their marine and freshwater environments. All who eat seafood and feed it to their cats and dogs should become more aware and involved from the perspectives of food safety, animal suffering and natural resource depletion and pollution.

"DECODING YOUR DOG"

This is the appropriate title for a book I highly recommend for dog caregivers, trainers and all veterinary students entering the companion animal field. Chapters cover most, but not all, areas of normal and abnormal canine behavior and how to prevent and treat various problems from separation anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders to old-dog dementia and cognitive impairment.

Contributions come from veterinarians who are members of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists.

You can buy "Decoding Your Dog: The Ultimate Experts Explain Common Dog Behaviors and Reveal How to Prevent or Change Unwanted Ones" by The American College of Veterinary Behaviorists on Amazon.com.

U.S. GOVERNEMNT DEVELOPS NEW CAT LITTER

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture have found a way to a way to make cat litter that is almost fully degradable.

The department's Agricultural Research Service found that using spent corn, called dried distiller's grain (DDG), may prove to be more environmentally friendly than popular but nonbiodegradable clay-based litters that mostly end up in landfills. DDG is what is left over after ethanol production. In this case, the DDG was treated with one or more solvents to extract any remaining potentially useful natural compounds. USDA has called these x-DDGs.

ARS researcher Steven Vaughn and his colleagues found a kitty litter formulation composed of x-DDGs and three other compounds: glycerol, to prevent the litter from forming dust particles when poured or pawed; guar gum, to help the litter clump easily when wet; and a very small amount of copper sulfate, for odor control.

The mix resulted in a highly absorbent compound that clumps and provides significant odor control, researchers found.

(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 concerns about the special needs of white and/or blue-eyed dogs.

I have a 40-pound dog who is part miniature Australian shepherd, part blue heeler. He is mostly white with some small dalmatian-type spots and a few larger spots of black, brown or merle. Half his face is black, and both eyes are blue. He is 3 years old.

I have two concerns. One, with blue eyes: Is he more likely to get cataracts? I have found UV goggles for dogs -- if I can get him to leave them on, is this the best way to go for him? Or are there supplements he needs?

Also, although he has a black nose, there is a spot on top of his nose about the size of a quarter that is basically flesh-colored with only very fine, short, colorless hair on it. Does this need to be covered by sunscreen when he goes out? What kind would be safe for a dog? -- A.P.

DEAR A.P.: I appreciate your canine vigilance. Eye issues are mainly a problem with albino animals, so I would not be concerned about your dog's blue eyes being more susceptible to UV damage. Many sled dogs have one or two eyes that are blue and do not, to my knowledge, have a greater incidence of eye problems. But protective goggles would be a good idea for working dogs, like search and rescue dogs, and for dogs who like to ride in the car with a window down.

I am concerned about the loss of pigment on the nose, especially if it is increasing in diameter. Some dogs do develop solar photosensitivity and benefit from sunscreen when outdoors. But this could signal canine lupus, an autoimmune disease that your veterinarian should evaluate.

DEAR DR. FOX: I appreciate your column, especially since I live in Florida and have dogs and a garden. Various harmful bugs, from fleas to aphids, can infest my pets and harm my plants -- not to mention the termites that want to eat my home!

You often write about ways to avoid using harmful pesticides, and I took note of the nicotine chemical in the new Sentra flea collars from Bayer that I nearly bought.

What do you advise to control fleas and other pests for us folks living in states with no winter and with bugs year-round? -- J.M., Fort Myers, Fla.

DEAR J.M.: First, keep up with the heartworm preventive medication for your dogs and have annual blood tests done because of possible heartworm drug resistance developing.

Second, consider replacing wooden frames and flooring with cement and tiles rather than hiring chemical fumigators to temporarily repel termites. Avoid insecticides and herbicides in your garden, which can actually make your plants more susceptible to disease. Ingredients in some of these products have been linked to cancer, also.

I am in shock to learn from Friends of the Earth and other organizations that companies like The Home Depot and Lowe's are selling garden plants and seeds pretreated with neonicotinoids to kill insects and are also stocking this chemical for sale on their shelves. The big concern is that this class of insecticide is most probably the trigger factor in the disease called Colony Collapse, now afflicting bees across many continents. If this decimation of bees, wild and domestic, is not arrested, the consequences to agriculture and to our food security, which is deeply dependent upon a healthy bee population to pollinate various crops, will indeed be catastrophic. Selling these chemicals to protect decorative garden plants and to protect pets from fleas is evidence of the irresponsibility of transnational corporations that operate within the laws of government regulations that their lobbyists helped put in place.

A NEW YEAR'S WISH FOR 2014

I believe that we have reached the point in the history of the human race that all religions must extend the golden rule to treat all living beings as we would have them treat us -- and also the forests, oceans, grasslands and all the ecosystems that sustain our living world and help maintain a healthy environment. The same must be said for all other human inventions -- religion being but one, and cultures, customs, economies, industries and technologies being others, the failures of which we are witnessing today. This is in part because the golden rule was human-centered, limited to exclusive rather than enlightened human self-interest. The compass of compassion can help direct us toward a more empathic and viable future, which most people embrace in their love for their animal companions, for wildlife and the natural world. Many find that through such love or biophilia, they experience the realm of the sacred. When all of life is sanctified, as Albert Schweitzer advised in his simple philosophy of reverence for all life, peace on Earth may have a chance.

(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.)