DEAR DR. FOX: Hello. How do I get information about pet insurance? We have a dog who is almost 4 years old. We would like to get another, but would like to have some sort of way to offset the cost of vet bills for a new puppy.

Do you have any recommendations? -- C.B.

DEAR C.B.: I have no recommendations since I feel it best to set up a savings account for each animal in the household -- for instance, you can set aside the $10 to $20 a week you might spend at the local coffeehouse if you switch to brewing at home. Discuss your concerns with your veterinarian, who may help you identify the exclusions and conditions, some of which may mandate overvaccination and questionable annual tests.

It would be good to have a reserve fund of at least $2,000 for each cat and dog in case of some health emergency so that you are not cut short and have to pay interest on your credit card. Some veterinary hospitals will arrange for fees to be paid by installment, but having some funds at hand can save a lot of uncertainty and anguish.

DEAR DR. FOX: We recently adopted an adorable old cocker spaniel, whose estimated age is around 8 or 9. The veterinarian has tried various ear ointments to clear up her smelly and uncomfortable external otitis. Do you have any suggestions we may try? -- L.B., Arlington, Va.

DEAR L.B.: Good for you for taking in an old dog and for helping make her life more comfortable for whatever time she has left.

As you know, chronic ear problems are the bane of this breed. There may be an underlying food allergy, but most often the issue is one of poor aeration of the external ear canal with the development of bacterial and yeast infection and inflammation. The inflammation may be reduced by giving her a teaspoon daily of good-quality fish oil in her food, which has powerful anti-inflammatory properties. Cocker spaniels may need additional vitamin A supplementation when they have an oily, smelly coat, which Nordic Naturals cod liver oil for dogs contains. This skin condition is often associated with hypothyroidism. Up to a tablespoon daily of coconut oil may also help her coat and improve her brain function as well!

Get her used to having her ears tied up with a ribbon for part of the day so they can get a good airing. Flushing and irrigating her ear canal with equal parts warm water and apple cider vinegar every day for seven to 10 days is the first step to healing. Be sure to do it outdoors since she will shake her head, and have someone hold her as you administer it. Use a large syringe. Never poke around with a Q-tip. After this treatment, dry her ear well with a soft cotton pad or cloth, and keep her ears tied up over her head afterwards since thorough dryness is advisable. If her infected ear is generally more dry than moist, work a few drops of olive oil into the ear canal after drying it following the flushing.

The ear treatment for this condition of external chronic otitis, called Zymox, can be very effective. Also, try PetzLife's Bath-Eaze (petzlife.com), a soothing and refreshing spray shampoo and conditioner you can mist her coat with, then gently rub into her fur -- no bath required. Old dogs tend to get stinky, and this kind of product can certainly make them and those around them feel better, especially when a full shampoo is too stressful.

(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 want to thank the many readers of this syndicated column, which I have been writing every week for almost 40 years, for their many letters. These have provided a forum for addressing companion animal health and welfare problems as well as giving me words of encouragement and affirmation of the benefits of advice offered. As I emphasize in my book "Healing Animals & the Vision of One Health," our health and well-being are connected to the health and well-being of animals, wild and domestic, to how well they are treated and to the environment we all share.

We need to strive to close the gap between this vision and the reality of animal suffering, disease, neglect and abuse. Companion animals need to be liberated from the afflictions of genetic disorders and lack of proper understanding and good nutrition, all essential elements of preventive health care.

Significant advances in public and animal health cannot continue to be divorced from the harmful pesticides used in food production and from the antibiotics and other drugs used to make factory-farmed animals productive. Putting these animals' meat and genetically modified produce on our tables and in manufactured pet foods is a profitable enterprise at the expense of consumers and the environment.

DEAR DR. FOX: Ten months ago, my wife adopted a tiny 8-week-old kitten whom everyone had given up on, even the vet. He weighed only 10 ounces, had a wet face and was just plain miserable. But through vitamins, fortified food and love, Jack has surpassed his bad start in life.

Through my research online, we have determined that Jack is a Maine coon, as he possesses all the behavioral and physical characteristics of the breed. He's big -- 26 inches in length (excluding his tail) and about 16 pounds. When he's gentle, he's very sweet; however, he loves to bite, and with his size and strength, he can draw blood. He's extremely smart and will only nibble me, as he knows I don't tolerate it, but he still bites my wife. He also can become arrogant and defiant, sitting upright on his haunches and spreading his paws. His vet says that he could put him on Prozac, but we'd hate to resort to that.

Jack is getting bigger every day and is not expected to be fully grown for three to five years. Do we have a monster here, and what can we do? -- T. & L.R., Manasquan, N.J.

DEAR T. & L.R.: Please do not accept the Prozac or other psychotropic drug treatment for your cat's particular condition. I think of all the poor children on these various drugs for behavioral, emotional and cognitive or attentiveness "disorders" in this insane society that manufactures new diseases by creating new names -- all very profitable indeed. No, I am not wholly opposed to the appropriate use of such pharmaceutical products in humans and other animals, but the now wholesale prescribing does need to be questioned.

First, do not get in to situations with your big cat where these potentially injurious love-bites and play-bites may be evoked. You should be able to tell from his body language when this is about to occur. Stop petting or grooming just before it happens. Try remotivating and redirecting his attention with a fluffy lure on a fishing pole or putting him up against a scratch post or high upon a cat condo ledge.

Visit feline-nutrition.org and learn how a raw food diet could improve your cat's health and temperament. Consider adopting another big, easygoing cat so he has company and will learn to play gently with his own kind. Part of the problem could be overattachment to you and your wife because he is lacking in the full stimulation and social enrichment that contact with his own kind can provide.

As I say in my book "Supercat: How to Raise the Perfect Feline Companion," two cats living together are generally healthier and happier than one living alone. Check my website, DrFoxVet.com, for the essential steps to follow when introducing a second cat. Good luck!

SAY NO TO EASTER PETS

Many pet stores sell baby animals for children to enjoy as part of the Christian Easter celebration. For many families, this ancient, pre-Christian celebration of the return of spring and the renewal of life can end in tragedy. Baby chicks and ducklings often die from hypothermia and can infect entire families with sometimes-fatal salmonella and other bacterial infections. Young rabbits need special care, housing, nutrition and understanding and should never be bought on impulse.

If you are an Easter celebrant, consider adopting a dog or cat from your local shelter, or plant a tree to engage your children in the spirit of the occasion rather than yet another consumptive act of purchasing an Easter chick, duckling or bunny, unless it is a small chocolate facsimile. Also, think of the eggs you may buy to decorate and be sure they came from un-caged hens.

(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: My 2-year-old cat, Purrlie, who, along with her brother was orphaned at five days old and raised by a foster mom, decides every once in a while to stand up in the cat box and pee over the edge in a spraying position.

Lately, she has been doing this more often, and I'm worried about the area around the box becoming permanently "perfumed." I can't figure out what might be triggering this behavior. How clean I keep the box seems to have no impact. There doesn't seem to be an obvious motivating factor. She does not regularly go out, but was outside a little in good weather last summer. I never saw her spray on those outings. -- M.T., Lexington Park, Md.

DEAR M.T.: Spraying, a deliberate territorial marking behavior, is unusual in neutered cats. They do, however, quite often start to spray as a territorial marker when upset by the presence of a prowling cat around the house or having met or scented one while outdoors. But she may actually be having difficulty in urinating or be in pain, indicative of bladder inflammation or cystitis and possibly urinary calculi. Corn in the diet can be a contributing factor. A veterinary checkup may be useful to rule out a physical or medical cause. Older cats sometimes miss the box because they are in pain from arthritis and cannot assume the normal posture to evacuate.

In the interim, get a second, larger tray with high sides to help contain her sprayed urine. Feliway is an effective cat pheromone product (available in spray or plug-in dispenser) that may have a calming effect on your cat's psyche when used in the area you have the litter box. A couple of drops of essential oil of lavender on the edge of the box may also help.

DEAR DR. FOX: Your recent column about weighing a dog on the bathroom scale will only work if you can lift the dog. The 2-year-old chocolate Lab is most likely way too heavy for 99 percent of people to lift. Most people would find it impossible once a dog weighs 25 to 30 pounds or more. Do you think your regular vet would let you weigh the dog for free? Since an office visit could cost $50 or more, most people will wait until their dog's next visit. Also, most dogs are never enthusiastic about a vet visit. Given the probable cost and the dog's lack of enthusiasm, most of us would decide not to make a monthly weigh-in visit. -- C.R.M., Washington, D.C.

DEAR C.R.M.: I appreciate your point of correction! Yes, indeed -- dogs over 40 pounds would be a challenge for many people to lift and stay still on the scales. However, I cannot imagine any veterinarian or animal clinic staff not allowing a regular client to stop by for a free weigh-in. But I would advise telephoning first to set the day and time, because just dropping by anytime could be problematic when they are very busy or have an emergency. Any "regular vet" who doesn't let a client weigh his animals at no charge and any that does demand a fee, I would happily tar and feather and deliver to the Better Business Bureau.

As for putting any dog on a diet, that should begin only after a veterinary appointment and appropriate evaluation and guidance.

HEADS UP FOR UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA'S COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE

Staff at the University of Minnesota's College of Veterinary Medicine have started VETouch -- Veterinary Treatment Outreach for Urban Community Health -- in response to the current economic crisis affecting many pet owners who have been surrendering their animals to animal shelters because they could no longer afford their care. Free clinics are held monthly at a city church, where veterinary students provide vaccinations, routine care, referrals for more advanced treatment and pet food. I hope that other veterinary colleges have similar outreach services for those in need in their communities, and are collaborating with local animal shelters and protection organizations.

DOG BRAINS ARE SIMILAR TO HUMAN BRAINS

Neural responses to certain social stimuli are similar in dogs and humans, according to research conducted involving dogs in Hungary. The animals, who were trained to remain still during MRI, were exposed to sounds associated with emotion, such as crying, laughing and playful barking. The dogs' brain scans were compared to MRI brain scans of people exposed to the same sounds.

"It establishes a foundation of a new branch of comparative neuroscience, because until now, it was not possible to measure the brain activities of a non-primate and the primate brain in a single experiment," said researcher Dr. Attila Andics.

(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.)