DEAR DR. FOX: When we decided to get a cat 10 years ago, I thought getting a couple of littermates would work well. They got along during the first couple of years, often sleeping together and grooming each other. As they matured, though, they seemed to grow more competitive for our attention. They seem to tolerate each other for the most part, but they often growl and hiss when one enters the territory of the other when one of us is around.

It seems like our tabby considers me to be her property to be defended when I'm in one part of the house, and our longhair considers me hers in another part of the house. They stiffen when I try to pet one if the other is around. If only one is on my bed, they welcome affection. If both are on my bed, they are very stiff, and they don't move. They show some of this behavior with my son, whom they both consider the most wonderful human, but they are both very attached to me, too.

The funny thing is, they don't seem to be jealous of each other when I have them outside on a leash. I wonder if they would have been better off as single pets. Their behavior is interesting and often annoying, like having a couple of your kids dislike and fight with each other.

I enjoy reading you column and my girls' diets are better because of it. -- D.B., Fargo, North Dakota

DEAR D.B.: Your cats' behavior will be familiar with many cat caregivers who have two or more cats. This kind of behavior is typically "cattish" in that they assert social dominance via the places in the home -- a lap, particular chair or windowsill -- that they prefer to occupy. This behavior keeps them apart and prevents conflict: "This place is mine. Keep away, and I will respect your place."

To avoid conflicts, as when one cat is on your lap or sitting beside you, invite the other over to be groomed on the floor, and get down to do this. Groom both of the cats at the same time. You may then set up a neutral territory or conflict-free zone on the floor in the middle of your living room. Our two cats will often engage in mutual grooming, which is a prelude to play-fighting and chasing. This often ends with one being rougher than the other and they part for a while, going to their favorite personal places to lie down.

DEAR DR. FOX: I have a 3-year-old standard schnauzer. She is absolutely wonderful now, but was a real handful from 10 weeks until about 2 1/2 years. We are getting along well now -- except for the sneeze thing.

Ever since I have had her, if I sneeze, she attacks me, tries to knock me down, growls and barks at me. I have tried everything -- telling her it is OK, etc. Barking back at her helped the most.

Do you have any idea why she does this? Maybe the noise it makes? The other thing she does is stare at me a lot. It makes me wonder if she knows something bad about me, like I have cancer or something. She is the smartest dog I have ever had, but the staring is beginning to make me a little nervous.

We are very close; we do everything together, and I love her so much and believe she feels the same about me. Thank you for your answers to these questions. -- B.B., Washington, D.C.

DEAR B.B.: Your best solution is called "flooding" or "total immersion": Set up a tape recorder and fake some sneezes for as long as you can, then play the tape back for your dog at a safe distance away from you for a few days every three or four hours. This should desensitize her very quickly.

Alternatively, when you are just about to sneeze, squeeze a squeaky toy for her, and throw it to her. This is called "redirecting behavior," and it is a recognized conditioning technique for a variety of canine behavioral problems.

Her staring at you may not indicate that you may have cancer. Here, you may wish to look at your own anxiety state, and reconsider her stare as simply wanting your attention, perhaps to play, be groomed or taken outside for a walk or to relieve herself.

(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: After reading your latest column about fleas and ticks, I wanted to mention that I had a lot of success preventing ticks for my cats (whom I walk on a leash) using hydrosols, which are water-distilled oils and, therefore, safe for cats (since oils are toxic for them). These sprays would also work for dogs, and I believe the oils from which they're made are not toxic for dogs. Bay laurel and lavender are both available in hydrosol spray from originalswissaromatics.com. Rose geranium and eucalyptus are hugely effective and available from rivendellaromatics.com.

The other thing that I did to prevent fleas and ticks was to purchase garlic flower essence tincture and put a few drops in their water and take it under my own tongue because it is purported to prevent ticks. -- B.N., Potomac, Maryland

DEAR B.N.: The search for and application of safer and effective anti-flea and tick products is ongoing, and your contribution is appreciated. For other products and practices, check my website on this topic at DrFoxVet.com. I am unaware of garlic flower essence being a good tick repellent and would like to see in-field test data to confirm.

DEAR DR. FOX: We have a 15-year-old tuxedo cat, Tim, who is quite creative with his multicolored ribbon on a plastic wand. For the past five years, he has been using his mouth, teeth and feet to make a variety of different designs in the shape of flowers and other objects for us to notice and praise him over. Is this unusual behavior for a cat? -- B.P., Fort Myers, Florida

DEAR B.P.: I am always glad to hear about the amazing things cats do. You should take photos of these cat creations -- or maybe we should call them "paw sculptures"? -- and let me see and post them on my website.

Such creative activities give us insights into animals' consciousness, dexterity and imaginative abilities. While some dogs will learn to identify spoken words and pictures of specific objects and retrieve them from an assortment of others, cats will spontaneously sort certain toys and place them in particular orders or patterns. One friend sent me photos of one of her foster-homed cats placing certain toys on separate steps on her stairs, which he did in a pattern on a regular basis. This may indicate cats' ability to essentially put things in order, if not count, and find an outlet for creative activity in the generally unstimulating domestic environment. 

But what you praise your cat for doing, he may not perceive in the same way as flowers and other objects or designs. He may simply derive great pleasure from manipulating these materials, just as our Mr. Mark Twain, a formerly feral cat, will spend intense minutes hooking a spiral of pipe cleaning wire from one claw to another, then hiding it and pulling it out from behind a leg of furniture or from under a rug where he has pushed it.

NESTLE PURINA SETTLES JERKY LAWSUIT FOR $6.5 MILLION

Julie Scheidegger reports in DVM360 Magazine: "Nestle Purina PetCare Co. and its Waggin' Train brand have agreed to a $6.5 million settlement in a lawsuit brought by pet owners in Illinois in 2012. The company makes jerky pet treats -- some manufactured in China -- that have been implicated in a nearly decadelong U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigation into jerky-related illness.

"Nestle Purina is not admitting that the treats made pets sick, however. Bill Salzman, director of corporate communications for the company, says, 'There is no indication the treats negatively impacted the health of dogs; this resolution allows everyone involved to move forward.' If the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois approves the agreement, it will resolve the disputed claims related to Waggin' Train jerky products and establish procedures for monetary relief and compensation.

"If the deal is approved, settlement class members will be able to claim 100 percent of reasonable economic damages incurred after their pets consumed the implicated jerky treats. Those with a documented injury, a deceased pet, food-purchase claims or health-screening claims will be compensated upon verification. Without documentation, claims are capped at $300."

For more details, visit dvm360.com. For some of the long history concerning these and other treats causing sickness and death in dogs and a few cats, visit DrFoxVet.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: A stray kitty adopted me a couple months ago and has since been tamed enough that I have found a vet to neuter him and do some much-needed dental work. My fear is that the poor boy will be so traumatized by this ordeal that he will no longer consider my home his own and strike out on his own. He currently is still an outside cat as I already have four indoor-only cats in a tiny two-bedroom house. Due to the remoteness of where I live, the vet I will take him to is about an hour away. Do you have any recommendations on how to make his first vet visit a success? -- K.B., Snowflake, Arizona

DEAR K.B.: Cats, as you know, are exceptionally sensitive to the stress of being put in a crate and going to the veterinarian. There is no way to avoid such stress when performing neutering surgery and teeth cleaning under a general anesthetic. But first I would advise a blood test for feline AIDS and leukemia because if the cat is infected, you could be putting him at risk. Also, the cat should be scanned for an identifying microchip under his skin.

The bond of trust that you have with this cat will probably be broken because he will be suffering from the equivalent of post-traumatic stress disorder when it is all over. If you plan to bring him in to live with you, check my article on my website, DrFoxVet.com, on the steps to take when introducing a new cat.

Ideally, to avoid additional stress, have the cat given whatever vaccinations are called for at a later date by a home-visiting veterinarian. This is because I do not advise vaccinating cats that are already severely stressed, although the rabies vaccine may have to be given when he goes in to the vet's. It is a good idea to separate giving the rabies vaccination by three to four weeks from the three "core" vaccines of feline parvovirus, panleukopenia, calici virus and herpes virus. These vaccines can often give lifelong immunity. Injecting the vaccines under the skin at the end of the cat's tail is a new protocol veterinarians are following to reduce harmful complications if a fibrosarcoma were to develop at the site of injection.

Dog owners should note that similar long-term immunity has been shown for the "core" canine vaccines -- canine distemper virus, parvovirus and adenovirus -- and it is advisable to separate the rabies vaccination from these others to avoid "carpet bombing" the immune system.

TAKING YOUR DOG TO WORK

Many people experienced the fun of bringing their canine friends to work in June on "Dog Friday," when employers across the country opened their doors to workers' dogs. Companies such as Google, Procter & Gamble and Amazon allow dogs every day, and there are reports that workers are happier, healthier and more productive as a result.

Human Resource departments need to have canine resource specialists and move forward to "canidize" the work place! In my estimation, this would be good for most dogs, too, rather than being alone at home during the working hours, which is borderline cruelty that too many cross when they keep their dogs in crates all day.

(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.)

EXOTIC PET HAZARDS: BEARDED DRAGON LIZARDS PUT SOME IN HOSPITAL

I am not an alarmist about people capturing, breeding and selling wild animals as pets and putting people who purchase them at risk from injury, disease and even death. My primary concern is about the plight of these animals being caught up in the international commerce of the exotic pet trade, which ignores the rights of all creatures to live wild and free regardless of the pittance in-field collectors receive and captive breeders may reap. As always, my advice to never purchase a non-domesticated animal is affirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which reports that over the past two years, 132 people contracted a rare form of salmonella bacterial infection, a little less than half of them requiring hospitalization. The source of infection was traced to their Australian bearded dragon lizards.

If you have one or more of these or other wild species held captive in your home, don't go out and dump them in the wild like many idiots have -- in Florida, escaped pythons, monkeys, parakeets and other formerly "exotic" pets are now multiplying in the wild and competing with indigenous species, many already endangered by other human activities. Just keep what animals you may have as healthy and in as enriched, natural-imitating environments as you can -- seek advice from local zoo experts -- and wash your hands well after handling.