DEAR DR. FOX: My shorthair calico cat will be 11 years old this spring. I adopted her from a man in a van in the Petco parking lot who had trapped her and several other barn kittens. Immediately after adopting her, I took her to my vet. We believe that she was less than 6 weeks old.

She is a petite cat, although she is a vigorous eater. She is a lap cat, always wanting to be near or on me. I love this cat dearly, but she has an annoying habit: She jumps on dressers and tables and knocks things to the floor. This usually occurs while my husband and I are trying to sleep, but she also does this at night while I am watching TV.

She naps and eats all day and then gets crazy at night. She tries to attack me, and she also bites, occasionally breaking the skin. She is an indoor/outdoor cat, but she does not stray far from the house. When I put her out when she is acting crazy, she stays by the front door or jumps on the back deck to let me know she wants in again.

My husband is threatening to take her to the animal shelter. Because of her antics, I have been sleeping in a downstairs bedroom, and she has been sleeping on the bed with me. But just the other night, she woke up and went upstairs and knocked over something on my dresser. I thought she was doing this to get my attention, but I was asleep downstairs.

I am at my wits' end. I spoke to my vet, who gave me some treats that are supposed to calm her, but she doesn't like soft treats. The vet says there was nothing else she could prescribe, and that this is the nature of calico cats. Is this true? Do you have any suggestions? -- S.L., Alexandria, Va.

DEAR S.L.: I sympathize with your situation. You are not alone when it comes to the kind of stress a cat can bring into the home and into relationships.

That your cat is an indoor/outdoor cat is, I believe, part of the problem. This can affect her biorhythms, making her more active in the early morning and evening. Indoor-only cats generally synchronize their normally crepuscular (dusk to dawn) natural activity cycle to those of their human companions. They expect to be fed after you get up and before bedtime (with two to three snacks during the day) and enjoy interactive games early in the evening, especially with another cat. This is one of the reasons why I advise people to have two cats rather than one, and also to never let them become indoor/outdoor animals, as you have inadvertently done with yours.

Your cat is possibly too old to accept a new cat in her environment, but I urge you to engage with her during her evening crazies with various interactive games such as chasing a laser light or a lure on the end of a string tied to a cane. Her playful attacks on you are not a signal for you to put her outdoors, but to learn how to playfully interact with her. To live with cats, you must "become" a cat.

DEAR DR. FOX: I have a 7-year-old black-and-tan miniature pinscher who, within the past six weeks, has turned mainly brown. The fur has also gone from short and smooth to more of a fuzzy texture. He has also lost about 4 pounds since November, even though he is eating the same amount of food.

Our vet ran a blood test, and everything came back normal, even his thyroid levels. Do you have any idea what could have caused this? -- E.H., Chaptico, Md.

DEAR E.H.: Some animals have genes that change the amount of pigment in their fur, which is linked to changes in ambient temperature or amount of daily sunlight. Some dogs develop a seasonal alopecia (hair loss) that may be due to lack of sunlight while living indoors during winter months. This may be what is going on with your dog.

Almost all living beings are light-sensitive. One of the regulatory hormones, also found in plants, is melatonin. Since your veterinarian has ruled out possible thyroid disease (and hopefully Cushing's disease of the adrenal glands), my intuition leads me to suggest giving your dog 2 milligrams of melatonin late in the evening. Also, get him outdoors as often and as long as you can during daylight hours. Let me know if his coat color returns to its former shades.

DEAR DR. FOX: What is your opinion of NexGard, the new oral medication for killing fleas and ticks? Do you consider it safer for the dog than Frontline Plus? -- S.B., Washington, D.C.

DEAR S.B.: This new oral product, approved by the Food and Drug Administration and produced by the manufacturers of Frontline Plus, supposedly kills fleas and ticks for up to 30 days after the drug -- afoxolaner -- has been given. The company states, "NexGard is for use in dogs only. The most frequently reported adverse reactions include vomiting, dry/flaky skin, diarrhea, lethargy, and lack of appetite. The safe use of NexGard in pregnant, breeding or lactating dogs has not been evaluated. Use with caution in dogs with a history of seizures."

I would not use this on my dogs. Check my website, DrFoxVet.com, for safe methods of flea and tick control.

(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 appreciated your advice about animals in our newspaper for many years. Now I seek your insights.

My 15-year old cat, Greyboy, passed away from chronic kidney disease, and it has shattered my life. I know that with time, my grief will pass. Sure, I've lost some relatives and buried my parents, but I never expected to grieve so much with the passing of Greyboy.

How do you account for that? My close friends give me words of sympathy, but they do not understand. -- V.C., Arlington, Va.

DEAR V.C.: You have my deepest sympathy and understanding. I have received many letters over the years from readers grieving the loss of their animal companions. Worst of all is the uncertainty of not knowing the animals' fate, as when cats slip outdoors and never come home. Many, like you, are surprised by the intensity of their grief, often far more emotionally devastating than the death of one of their own relatives.

In my opinion, such intense grief is an indicator of our capacity to deeply love other beings whose souls have touched ours more profoundly than most other people. I see no reason to question the intensity of your grief, which few of even your most supportive friends may fully comprehend. Simply mourn the loss of the blessing your beloved cat bestowed upon you, carry that memory with you as you get back to your familiar routines, recover your appetite for food and life -- and perhaps consider adopting a rescued animal from your community in the future.

DEAR DR FOX: Our 8-year-old, spayed, 20-pound female tabby has urinary tract infections every month or so.

We feed her wet food during the day and a small amount of dry food at night. Our vet has her on ClinDrops, which work after a week. The vet says that she has sludge in the bladder and a very small opening to let the urine through. He has suggested keeping her on a low dosage of ClinDrops forever.

Any suggestions would certainly help. Thank you. -- W.C., St. Louis

DEAR W.C.: I would advise transitioning your cat to a raw food diet (visit feline-nutrition.org for details) or a canned cat food that has no corn or other cereals.

A natural meat diet keeps the urine acidified and can help prevent and cure UTIs. Corn, still widely included in cat foods, is, I believe, a major contributing factor, and soy may be an issue. Giving your cat good-quality probiotics in her food and a few drops of fish oil, which has potent anti-inflammatory properties, may also be of benefit.

DEAR DR. FOX: In a recent column, a reader had tried everything to stop her pup from severe scratching. My Yorkie had a similar issue many years ago, and the issue turned out to be mites left by the deer that traipse through my yard. The mites were visible only under a microscope, but a topical spray of Frontline got rid of them. The mites also migrated to me and my husband, which the vet techs said happens. It was pretty bad. I hope you can pass this along. Thank you. -- E.U., Annapolis, Md.

DEAR E.U.: Many thanks for your warning about mites from deer. Also, indoor house mites are a common cause of skin allergies in dogs. One dog even got mites from infested dog food. This is why a thorough veterinary examination is needed when a dog or cat develops some skin issue that could be caused by a number of factors. Local veterinarians know best what the most prevalent local pet issues are and can often make a cost- and time-saving rapid diagnose of the most probable cause.

(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: Thank you for your column -- we all enjoy it and have found many helpful suggestions from it! A recent column was about introducing potentially hostile cats and dogs into a shared household. I would like to add another suggestion:

We went through this procedure when our son's girlfriend was forced to give up her lovely husky, Crash. Rather than see him go into a shelter, we took him in. At the time, we had a fairly bossy, mature female cat, Liza, who made it a habit to chase neighbor dogs out of our yard. We eased the getting-acquainted process by establishing a dog-free zone in our upstairs; we fed Liza in the upstairs landing and didn't allow Crash to ever go upstairs. Liza had the run of the two bedrooms and could come down and visit the rest of the house whenever she liked, but didn't have to look over her shoulder when eating or sleeping. In time, the two animals shared couch space and became, if not best friends, at least cordial.

Same house, several years later, different cat and dog: The upstairs is now off-limits to Jeanie. Mellow can eat in peace and then join us in the main part of the house. They behave like siblings, sometimes vying for attention, sometimes sleeping together.

It seems to me that this would work even in smaller spaces: Supply a gated-off room for the cat, or perhaps a kitchen counter -- any space where the cat's food is undisturbed by dogs. -- J.S., Washington, D.C.

DEAR J.S.: Your advice will be helpful for many people having or wanting to keep cats and dogs under the same roof. Cats also like to get away from each other at times, and enjoy having their own cubbyholes and hide-away lairs. With a little forethought, it is surprising how we can enrich our animal companions' living spaces and create these kinds of zones and out-of-bounds areas, as you have discovered.

DEAR DR. FOX: In your answer to the owner of the 8- or 9-year-old cocker spaniel with ear issues, there are a couple of important, yet simple, things for this person to do:

First, either have a groomer or her vet remove the excess hair from inside the ear canal -- with tweezers or by hand -- so the canal itself is open and visible, which makes it much easier to keep it clean and dry.

Second, have the groomer use clippers to remove the excess hair from the underside as well as the outside of the ear flap. Cockers have far more fur on their ears than is necessary, and clipping that off will do away with the heaviness of the flap and allow airflow, which will also help keep them dry. Just make sure that a professional does this, since trying to cut the fur away from the ears with scissors can result in cutting the skin of the ear flap.

As a certified vet tech and former groomer myself, I've seen cockers with the issues this person spoke of, and the above two steps can go a long way with helping to clear up those issues. -- D.R., Martinsburg, Mo.

DEAR D.R.: Your concern is duly noted. Many letters that I receive must be abbreviated to fit the column and allow for more questions and answers. In the case of this dog, veterinary care had already been started, but the ear problem was persisting.

Plucking out the fur inside the external ear canals of dogs having this issue -- such as cocker spaniels and poodles -- to stop moistness and infection is one of the basics of canine preventive health care.

Dog caregivers should know about this and about other preventive routines, such as dental care, the first time they take their dog or puppy to the veterinarian for a full health checkup.

CAT HARNESS CONCERNS

I want to alert all cat caregivers that their pets may be at grave risk when, as I often advocate, they are trained to enjoy slow strolls outdoors wearing a harness attached to a leash.

Begin the training indoors, with an additional leash and snug-fitting neck collar so they become accustomed to the tensions around their bodies. This is because, unlike dogs, cats may suddenly spook outdoors and get out of their harnesses in seconds and run off in terror. Many people have lost their cats -- some temporarily, some forever -- after such tragic events. This recently happened to my wife, Deanna Krantz, and me with our beloved cat, Mr. Mark Twain, whom she rescued from the Minnesota winter a few years ago. We socialized this traumatized, feral soul to the point that we could kiss his tummy. After he squirmed out of his harness and ran away, it took us 12 nights and days of constant vigil before we could get him close enough for me to get ahold of him and bring him indoors after he had a panic attack outdoors.

Cats like Twain, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, are especially prone to panic attacks, and he will never again wear a harness and collar.

(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.)