DEAR DR. FOX: Thank you so much for sharing the letter about Inky, the friendly cat who was abandoned. I am the director of and humane investigator for the Danville Area Humane Society in Danville, Va. We are very much opposed to trap-neuter-release, and are facing outrage from the pro-TNR folks. As soon as I send this email to you, I will write our response to a recent letter to the editor in our local paper proclaiming that we "kill" cats just to make money. We have an endless supply of pictures that tell one thing -- the streets are not safe for cats.

In Virginia, we actually had to fight a legislative battle two years ago when TNR proponents wanted to trap, neuter and release cats onto private property without the owners' permission. In addition, proponents said that the cats would not need to be fed, watered, monitored for health issues, etc. Yet they wanted me charged with cruelty for euthanizing shelter animals!

With people who are mistreating animals, we can seize the animals and take the owners to court. Now, many people who believe the only measure of progress is in having no euthanasia in a shelter hail the "no-kill" operators as heroes and we are the scum who do nothing but kill, kill, kill. We are on call all day, every day, and we leave at a moment's notice to rescue animals from trees, sewers, the middle of the road and so on.

Again, thank you for running the experience of Inky, and thank you for your response. -- P.D., Danville, Va.

DEAR P.D.: I appreciate readers' feedback on the issues concerning the health, wellbeing and rights of companion and farmed animals.

There is less fiduciary corruption in the fundraising activities of the larger national animal and environmental protection organizations than there is a lack of vision and accountability for their actions and interventions, which is supported by a sentimentally motivated, but misguided, public. They may hold feel-good conferences and consultations with "experts," but the reality of having to exercise humane stewardship, which on occasion includes the killing of animals to help reduce animal suffering and restore ecological integrity, cannot be ignored.

Playing on public sentiment to raise money to "protect" feral cats, including dumping these animals instead of euthanizing the unadopted and unadoptable and putting local animal shelters that must euthanize in the spotlight of public condemnation, is wholly unethical and self-serving.

As a culture, we hold such an abhorrence of death that we bankrupt the health care system by preventing death in the elderly and already dying. When it comes to euthanasia, we do a better job in most animal shelters now that decompression chambers, curare-like injections that paralyze and suffocate, and carbon monoxide from gasoline engines have been outlawed. In fact, we kill these animals in a more humane way than we do our own kind: In Ohio recently, a death-row inmate's suffering was protracted by the use of inappropriate drugs.

I take my hat off to all who work in animal shelters across the U.S. who take the animal "garbage" of a disposable society, and must kill more than they can ever hope to adopt. This killing is a reality. It can be reduced, but not subverted or lambasted by those who seek to capitalize on this companion animal population crisis in many of our communities. The much-lauded TNR method of "helping" unhomed cats, which may work in a few locations where there is no threat to wildlife, is neither a panacea nor an appropriate response to the companion animal population and homelessness crisis that we face as a society today, from the dogs in the streets of Detroit to the cats in New Orleans.

I advise my readers to support your local animal shelter: Adopt one or two animals rather than purchasing one from a big commercial kitten and puppy mill breeder or online outlet; volunteer; and get on the board!

CAT SAVES WOMAN HAVING A STROKE

According to reporter Sarah Okeson of Springfield, Mo., Erna Pratt credits her 13-year old cat, Trigger, with saving her life. The cat woke Pratt's daughter when Pratt, 75, was immobilized due to a stroke. Trigger was in the kitchen when Pratt's stroke began and, at the command of her owner, went to another room and meowed loudly to wake Pratt's daughter, who called 911. The cat "literally saved my life," said Pratt, who recovered and is back at home with her family.

(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 am a huge fan of your work and advice. I have had a heck of a year since March: I've lost five cats. I lost three cats within three months of each other and two to kidney failure.

Now, another cat is diagnosed with severe kidney failure (9.9 creatine levels). We've gotten a grim prognosis from the vet. I am giving him fluids every other day, but he is losing weight and not eating much. I have many questions.

Why this is happening? And how? And what can I do? These cats are not old. They are 11 to 13 years old.

Sadly, by the time you see them heavily drinking water, it is too late. This has been my experience. They say that by this point, 70 percent of kidney function is gone. Is it the water, the litter, the food? Should I have been giving them raw food?

I rescue, trap, spay and neuter strays. I see the crap food they get from volunteers. I coddle, make their food and give them herbs and nutrients. I am frustrated and need to talk to a professional natural doctor of veterinary medicine.

My regular vet has no answers, just a diagnosis and blood work results. A statistic says it is the No. 1 reason for cat illness and death. I am an herbalist. I try to do things right, but I must be doing things wrong.

I know my cat with kidney failure now will die, and I will agonize over his decline and weight loss and ultimately have to put him to sleep when all hope is gone, just like the others.

UPDATE: Blue passed away a week before Christmas -- he was not eating and was suffering. Noted herbalist Juliette de Bairacli Levy suggested giving cats sea kelp, coconut oil, a raw diet and lots of sun and "wildness" in their life, along with limited vaccines, chemicals, flea treatments, etc.

I put nettle and cleavers in my cats' food, which are supportive kidney herbs. I am on hyperalert now for any cat that I see drinking water, because when I see this, that is usually the next one to go.

What should I be doing now? I am overwhelmed with the finality of this kidney disease. Is there any research being done? Thank you so much. -- J.M., Washington, D.C.

DEAR J.M.: I'm sorry for your losses. My short article on caring for cats with kidney disease and renal failure (on DrFoxVet.com) may help.

Dandelion root tea and subcutaneous fluids may help -- give them to your cat by dropper -- they act as a cheap form of dialysis. Blood potassium and phosphate levels must be monitored, as well as blood pressure. Vitamin D supplements may also help. Cats with a poor appetite can be helped with highly palatable meaty varieties of Gerber's baby foods.

Good luck. There are many theories as to possible causes: some related to the noncarnivore dietary formulations, high in cereals and poor-quality protein, still being widely marketed, and other to a possible vaccination-linked autoimmune disease.

HOPE FOR CATS WITH CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE

Veterinarian Jessica Quimby and colleagues at Colorado State University's James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital are analyzing the effects of stem cell treatment on chronic kidney disease in cats. Half of cats older than age 10 develop chronic kidney disease, and there is no cure for the progressive condition. Prior studies by the group found some improvements in renal function among cats who received intravenous stem cells collected from the fat of donor cats. The current study will evaluate the effect of stem cells injected near the target organ. For more information, visit PhysOrg.com.

(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 sent my original email to you on Nov. 7, 2013, and I want to share the benefits of your good advice about changing my dog's diet.

My female Lab mix has been on Authority Grain-Free Dry Dog Food for 10 to 11 weeks. In this time, she has not had a single bout of diarrhea or loose stool, and her anal glands have not leaked constantly like they were doing. She was at the groomer's one time in this time period, and the groomer said her anal glands were pretty full and emptied them. I went back and checked all the ingredients in the dry dog foods I tried before -- Science Diet Adult, Purina One Smart Blend, Authority and Science Diet ID -- and the one common ingredient found in all those foods was CORN.

Additionally, all of those foods had some form of soy (meal, flakes or oil) except Authority. Therefore, I'm thinking she has sensitivity to corn. Feeding her the grain-free food has resolved the problem. She had few symptoms of an allergy: She never vomited and she did not have dark stools or other symptoms, except the repetitive bouts of diarrhea and stinky breath. Could the corn have been "fermenting" in her gut, causing all these problems, including the stinky breath?

I'm writing this so you can let others know that their dogs may very well have this sort of sensitivity to dry dog foods with corn and that trying a grain-free food might help.

Would you please give your thoughts on this matter and whether you think this may have been causing the regular, repetitive bouts of diarrhea and stinky breath for my girl? Thank you for a great column and your assistance and continual advice. -- T.D., St. Louis

DEAR T.D.: Corn and soybean farmers get huge subsidies that benefit the livestock feed industry as well as the human food and beverage industries. These are cheap ingredients that the pet food industry has used for decades. At first, according to informed opinion I drew from letters received from dog owners, these ingredients were not a significant problem for most dogs.

But, as I have documented in my writings about GMOs -- genetically modified corn and soy -- these are also widely used by the human food industry. The more that GMO corn and soy were being grown and used in pet foods, the more digestive, skin and other health problems were reported to me by concerned pet owners. The proverbial penny dropped when many of their animals recovered to full health when corn and soy were removed from their diets.

The companies selling GMO seeds deny that there are any health or environmental concerns and falsely claim that this is the most efficient way to produce affordable food and feed a hungry world. Their denial is palpable. They have spent millions of dollars to defeat civil society initiatives in California and Washington state to label all products that contain GMO ingredients.

Many readers will appreciate your success with changing your dog's diet and see the GMO issue as a red flag for their own health as well as for their animal companions.

Some imported rice is GMO, as are products from canola, sugar beet, cotton and alfalfa. Soon, if this biotech industry has its way, wheat may become GMO. Informed consumers must stop this insanity in the marketplace.

PET FOOD SAFETY CONCERNS

According to reporter Kim Campbell Thornton, writing in the Philadelphia Inquirer, there were 33 pet food recalls in 2013. The Food and Drug Administration received more than 2,500 consumer complaints regarding pet food and livestock feed from 2008 to 2012. Contamination with pathogens such as salmonella, physical contaminants including plastic and glass and issues with improper levels of nutrient supplements were among the top pet food problems in 2013.

In order to rectify these problems, the FDA is proposing that pet food manufacturers be required to lay out food safety plans, including record-keeping provisions and protocols for responding to outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, as well as having to instigate effective controls for probable hazards and establish and maintain standards of cleanliness. Inspectors would have more power to act before contaminated products reach store shelves and to restrict imports from suppliers who don't meet the new standards.

These proposals, long overdue in my estimation, are likely to see considerable opposition from the industry. The question remains: Who is paying our government to prevent such improved regulatory oversight of a now-multinational industry that is a subsidiary of agribusiness?

Fortunately, there are several good brands of cat and dog food available, some of which, on the grounds of safety and quality, I have endorsed on DrFoxVet.com. Consumers can find specific recall information on the site as well.

(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.)