DEAR DR. FOX: Recently, you wrote in your column, "Make the wellness exam part of the needed annual blood test for heartworm prior to resuming post-winter preventive medication; this exam should evaluate kidney and liver function, blood glucose and other essential health indicators."

I thought that there was no treatment for heartworm (at least for cats), and if that's true, then there isn't any point in testing, right? More to the point, just so I'm clear, are you saying we should take our 1-year-old indoor-only cat in for yearly blood testing? Even if she seems healthy otherwise? She's supposed to go in for another rabies shot -- something else I question, again considering she's indoor-only with no possibility of escape -- but we'll get blood work done as well if you think that's wise. -- M.K., Washington, D.C.

DEAR M.K.: You raise an important issue when it comes to the annual wellness exam protocols, which vary from region to region and veterinary clinic to clinic.

The blood test for heartworm infestation is routine for dogs, and if the test is clear, they can be put back on the seasonal preventive medication. Since cats can get heartworm disease -- especially if they get outdoors or onto a porch with defective screens where infective mosquitoes can get inside -- the blood test for such cats, and preventive medication if they do not test positive, is an advised protocol.

Ideally, have the veterinarian come to your home to do the wellness exam, and check my website (DrFoxVet.com) for what most veterinarians consider to be the optimal vaccination protocol for indoor cats. Fortunately, more veterinarians are aware that until recently, too many unwarranted vaccinations have been prescribed for cats and dogs, with attendant risks to both species, as I have documented in my column and in my book "Healing Animals & the Vision of One Health."

DEAR DR. FOX: My 2-year-old female cat is sick. I took her in for her annual checkup last Friday. The vet gave her Pfizer's nasal vaccine FRVC (no distemper). No other medication. She got her last set of vaccinations by injection in November 2013.

On Nov. 26, 2014, she was throwing up and had a fever of 104.6. She got a shot for nausea and a delayed-reaction antibiotic. She started keeping food down. Two days later, she threw up three times overnight. I took her back to her vet. Her temperature was up again. She had eaten and was keeping it down, but got another nausea shot. At the vet, she also got an X-ray, blood work and a stool check. She showed no problems on the X-ray. She had no elevated white cell count, no problems with the stool and no fleas.

Could this be a late reaction to last year's vaccines? What should I do? Her vet says he can give her a shot to bring her temperature down, but I worry because she has already received the other medications. She also has three brothers due for their annual checkups and vaccines. I don't know if I should let them get the nasal vaccine.

I am worried sick about Angel. She's a rascal, but I love her. -- M.H., St. Louis

DEAR M.H.: I am sorry to hear about your trials and tribulations following what should have been a routine wellness examination and what you and your poor cat had to go through, including costly diagnostic tests to rule out a cause other than a delayed adverse vaccine reaction.

I consider this the most probable cause. The new-generation feline vaccines that are sprayed into the cat's nose to protect against panleukopenia (feline distemper), calicivirus and rhinotracheitis (feline influenza or herpesvirus-1) certainly eliminate the possibility of an injection-site cancer developing. Feline nasal vaccine manufacturer Heska Co. also notes that unlike the nasal-spray vaccines, subcutaneous vaccines have been reported to produce a significant antibody response to kidney cells that could be a factor in causing kidney disease later in life. But this does not mean that this new generation of vaccines is safe, and your veterinarian should report your cat's post-vaccination issues without delay to the manufacturer, Pfizer, and the Food and Drug Administration. The suggested injection (probably prednisone) to bring her temperature down may be effective.

I would also ask why your cat, presumably a protected indoor-only cat, who had prior vaccinations, was given this annual booster and what was the justification for giving additional vaccinations, which could have triggered an adverse effect on your cat's immune system.

(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: As promised last week when I presented my dog food recipe after having been deluged with requests, I am posting the recipe for cats. May all enjoy!

DR. MICHAEL FOX'S HOMEMADE DIET FOR CATS

1 whole chicken, cut in pieces, or 1 pound hamburger, ground lamb or turkey

1 cup chopped chicken hearts and gizzards

1/2 cup peas, chickpeas or lentils

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon fish oil

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin

1 egg

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon chopped canned clams in juice

1 teaspoon nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon calcium carbonate, calcium citrate, lactate or human-grade bone meal

Combine all above ingredients. Add enough water to cover ingredients. Simmer, stir and add more water as needed until cooked and thickened. Add an egg or 1 cup of cottage cheese. Immediately after cooking and cooling, debone the chicken parts, but do not feed your cat the cooked bones since they can splinter and cause internal injury. Add a few drops of fish oil after the stew has cooled to room temperature. Stew should be thick enough to be molded into 1/2-cup muffin-size patties. You can add a little oatmeal, bran or mashed potatoes to thicken if needed. (Note: Some cats are allergic to fish, corn, beef and dairy products.)

When the food has cooled, put the portioned food in the refrigerator, where it should be good for three days. If you have cooked a larger quantity, freeze the patties and thaw as needed. Serve one patty to your cat three times per week with regular food. This recipe can also be put into a food processor and fed raw.

For variation, substitute 1 pound lightly cooked and mixed equal parts ground or chopped pieces of calf heart, kidney and liver. It is advisable to change up the basic ingredients to provide variety and to avoid possible nutritional imbalances.

If you are feeding only this recipe to your cat, it is safe and beneficial to add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of spirulina to the food two to three times a week.

Transitioning your cat onto the new diet should be done gradually to allow for adaptation and avoid aversion and digestive problems that a sudden dietary change may cause. Mix increasing amounts of your cat's new food with decreasing amounts of the old food over a seven-day period.

A daily multivitamin and multimineral supplement is also advisable. One that supplies essential amino acids and is recommended by feline vets is called Platinum Performance Feline Wellness. Designing Health Inc. also makes excellent animal (and human) supplements under the label The Missing Link. In a pinch, crush up one human "one-a-day" complete multivitamin and put a light sprinkling (about one-fifth of the pill or less) on the cat's food at one of the daily feedings.

Since obesity is so prevalent in companion animals today, weigh your cat at weekly intervals when putting him on a new diet, and adjust the amount being fed according to any decrease or increase in weight.

Note: Different animals have slightly different nutritional needs according to age, temperament, amount of physical activity and health status.

Keep teeth clean by giving a scalded raw chicken wing tip with skin on, thin strips of scalded raw beef heart or scalded shank meat to your cat to chew every three to four days. The tougher the meat, the better! Make sure it's scalded to kill the bacteria. Avoid addictive and potentially harmful dry foods that do little to keep teeth clean.

(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 aunt, who lived in Woodlawn, Illinois, raised Rhodesian ridgebacks for years. She was hit head-on by a drunk driver in Oklahoma. At the time of the accident, her kennel girl was feeding the seven dogs. She said all seven went to the kennel gates and started howling in unison. -- M.L.R., St. Louis

DEAR M.L.R.: Many readers will appreciate your sharing the apparent reaction of your aunt's dogs to her sudden death hundreds of miles away. Skeptics may dismiss this as sheer coincidence and perhaps ask if this was the only time the dogs ever went to the kennel gates and howled together.

I have received many anecdotes that seem to present evidence of some extrasensory or psychic ability in animals. We must exercise some rigor in determining if indeed there is evidence supportive of my "empathosphere" theory, which I first presented in 1996 in my book "The Boundless Circle" and more recently gave several remarkable accounts in my book "Animals & Nature First."

Your account, pending confirmation that such group howling was a rare event and not triggered by some wailing siren or faraway dog, would indeed be what I call a classic example of animals' remote sensing and supports the concept of an empathosphere.

DEAR DR. FOX: I have a 3-year-old Jack Russell terrier who has a social problem regarding other dogs. We have tried personal training, but she still reverts to terrible behavior.

We live in a small community where residents walk their dogs. When my dog sees another dog approaching, she starts a loud guttural yelp that has people coming out of their homes to see if some wild animal is attacking. If I allow her to slowly approach the oncoming animal, she might just sniff, or she may snarl and bare her teeth. Otherwise she is a delightful pet, and gets along well with our Lhasa apso. She loves people.

What do you suggest we do? Would a shock collar work? I have tried having her sit and wait, but the yelp is awful. -- E.A.S., Fort Myers, Florida

DEAR E.A.S.: Sometimes it is best to accommodate an animal's spontaneous behavior because attempting to inhibit may cause complications, such as conditioned fear, anxiety, confusion and aggression.

Your dog's collar, and heaven forbid any choke chain collar you might be tempted to use, could possibly distort your dog's vocalizations. Putting her in a harness may be better.

Our late Indian pariah dog, Batman, used to scream bloody murder whenever we came home after leaving him in the house even for a short time. That was his way of greeting us and relieving his pent-up emotions in a most expressive and loud volley of cries and yelps. We half expected neighbors to call animal protection or the police because it sounded like he was being tortured!

Learning to love what and whom we live with regardless of certain behaviors and potential embarrassment is the kind of live-and-let-live attitude that seems ever more remote in these times.

TENDER LOVING CARE HELPS KEEP SHELTER CATS HEALTHY

Veterinarian Nadine Gourkow, Australia's Queensland University School of Veterinary Medicine and associates have published an elegant study demonstrating the benefits of stroking and talking softly to cats that go into shelters. Such gentling for 10 minutes per day over a 10-day period helped reduce cats' anxiety or frustration and elevated their production of infection-fighting immunoglobulin A. Non-gentled cats showed an increase of potentially harmful bacteria and viruses associated with upper respiratory infection, a common problem in cat shelters, while gentled cats did not.

(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.)