DEAR DR. FOX: I would like to clarify the "no-kill equation" referenced in your recent column.

The very noble and attainable goal is to ensure the successful placement of at least 90 percent of the pets entering the animal control system. Even the staunchest animal advocates realize that not all animals can be saved -- the sad truth is that some are too severely abused, ill, injured or aggressive for rehabilitation.

Applied correctly, "no kill" never requires or advocates the suffering of terminally ill or injured animals; the home placement or indefinite caging of aggressive animals; dumping cats; or refusing assistance to animals in need.

The shelters that are applying no-kill inappropriately are in desperate need of community involvement and additional resources. Criticizing the no-kill movement by using examples of poor implementation helps no one. On the other hand, encouraging the public to volunteer, foster and donate benefits the entire community. In reality, the basic tenets of the no-kill movement are: adoption, spay/neuter and compassion. Who can argue with that?

Animal lovers: Let's fight the problem, not each other. -- C.F., Sterling, Virginia

DEAR DR. FOX: I take exception to what Dr. Larson says in your recent column about no-kill shelters piling up dogs, not checking temperaments, etc.

Our own Charlottesville-Albemarle Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which has won many awards, does extensive work with the animals. It is also our local pound, so it has no choice about which ones it takes.

No-kill shelters are not 100 percent no-kill. They have to euthanize a few animals who are too sick or injured or whose dispositions cannot be rehabilitated. I am familiar with other no-kill shelters, and they all do the same thing. I don't know what Dr. Larson is talking about, but it sure isn't one of the many shelters I know. -- P.A., Keswick, Virginia

DEAR DR. FOX: I have volunteered for, worked for and adopted from Save-A-Pet in Grayslake, Illinois, and I can personally vouch for its animal care.

Its cats are given a nice big room full of toys and soft things to live in. Newcomers are temporarily put in "isolation" rooms (nine to 15 cats, each in its own cubby) until their medical work comes back. If the animal is clean, it's moved to a kitty condo in the general cat room, where it stays for a couple of weeks to get adjusted to life in the shelter. Finally, each cat is let out into the room at large, where I've never seen fewer than three volunteers in there at a time, petting and playing and calming and talking to potential adopters.

Save-A-Pet is nonprofit and no-kill. However, I believe that it follows a no-kill principle in the same way that any deeply caring pet owner would -- I remember a cat with late-stage cancer and seizures being taken to be put to sleep while I was working there, and just about everyone was crying and saying goodbye to her. -- P.A., Grayslake, Illinois

DEAR C.F., P.A. and P.A.: I have received many letters on this subject and have shared yours to add to the debate.

With all due respect for this laudable ideal, a "no-kill" flag over an animal shelter holding adoptable cats and dogs (ideally in compatible social groups) is possible only if there is some other nearby shelter where unadoptable and incurably suffering animals are killed. This could be the wave of the future and is already evident in some communities, where there is a nexus of people providing foster care for adoptable animals along with humane (no-kill) shelters. (These shelters should be licensed and inspected to prevent cruel animal hoarding.) These shelters take in animals from a community/municipal animal receiving facility (the old "dog pound"), where there is an effective quarantine, behavioral assessment and rehabilitation, full-service veterinary and animal care staff, and animal control officers. I prefer the term "animal welfare officers" for these latter-day dogcatchers and cat trappers, trained in animal rescue, first aid and cruelty investigations with police powers of entry, arrest and animal seizure in cases of neglect and cruelty.

Housing compatible cats and dogs in small groups can facilitate their recovery and adoptability. Being kept in separate cages during quarantine and assessment is essential, but prolonged separate caging can be stressful and may lead to over-attachment to caretakers. When adopted, such animals may be more prone to separation anxiety.

In my opinion, the term "no-kill" should be dropped and replaced with "humane shelter," even though I have sympathy for it. It has become part of the lexicon of animal rescue and protection in reaction to the municipal animal pounds that became high-kill dog and cat extermination and recycle operations. They used inhumane killing methods, including mass killing with truck exhaust fumes, gas and decompression chambers, and even electrocution and injections with the curare-like drug succinylcholine chloride, which paralyzes animals so they cannot breathe, then suffocate to death.

Until regional pet overpopulation, abandonment and surrender (notably during periods of economic hardship and homelessness) are rectified, thousands of cats and dogs will continue to be killed every week across the United States, and this is indeed a national disgrace. So support your local animal shelters!

(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: What is your opinion on my daughter's 3-year-old spayed, totally indoor cat getting an annual rabies vaccine? Do you think she needs this? It is time for her annual visit to the vet. -- K.R., Springfield, Missouri

DEAR K.R.: It does not seem logical to have to give the rabies vaccine to an always-indoor cat, but it is the law in most states, and veterinarians must toe the line unless they determine that the animal could be at risk from receiving the vaccination.

An injection-site fibrosarcoma is the most often reported adverse reaction in cats to vaccination; fortunately, it's relatively rare. In order to reduce the complications of treatment if this vaccinosis develops, many veterinarians no longer give the injection on cats' backs or between the shoulder blades, and insteadgive it toward the end of the tail or lower down one leg, which is easier to amputate if this cancer develops.

For more details about vaccinations, check my website DrFoxVet.com.

Another reason your daughter's cat may need the rabies shot: If you ever have to board her, the boarding facility will most likely insist on this and other vaccinations being up to date.

DEAR DR. FOX: Presently, there is an injured feral cat that I have been feeding and protecting on my back patio. He or she (not sure) comes every morning and sleeps in a makeshift bed I have provided to protect her from the elements. We live in New Jersey, and it's been quite cold here. I have a relative who is a vet in California who suggested I investigate a catch-and-release program.

This cat has a damaged left paw, which is either a birth defect or an injury. In any event, it is very bloody. My California connection says the most humane procedure would be to amputate the leg. This would be very costly, but he says there are agencies out there that would fund feral cat procedures. Do you know of any of these organizations? How I would go about contacting them? Also, trying to catch this cat in a Havahart trap would not be easy. But, if caught, I would have to bring it to a participating vet immediately, since I could not bring it inside. -- B.W., Leonardo, New Jersey

DEAR B.W.: I wish more people were like you, doing what they can to help the hundreds of thousands of lost and feral cats across the country.

There are rescue organizations and networks in most states, including foster care people, who rehabilitate cats like the one you are helping. Then they put up a notice on Petfinders.com or get the word out locally, even putting up photos in local veterinary hospitals.

I advise you to pick up the Yellow Pages for a start and check under "Animal Shelters" and "Animal Rescue," and take it from there. You may not have difficulty catching the cat when she or he is hungry. Borrow a large Havahart or similar trap from a shelter or rescue organization, which can also show you how to set it up and advise you where to take the cat when caught. My wife and I have caught several such lost, stray and feral cats in our neighborhood. All were immediately put in quarantine facilities of local shelters, where veterinary care is on hand.

The capture trick is to stop feeding the cat for a couple of days, then put a little food once a day beside the trap for two to three days so the cat habituates to the it; then put the food inside the trap. Chose a time and day when the facility where you will be taking the cat is open and waiting for you. Good luck!

STATEWIDE BAN ON DECLAWING PROPOSED IN NEW YORK

From the New York Daily News: "Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, D-Manhattan, introduced a measure that would ban feline declawing except for a medical purpose such as removing a tumor. The AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) recommends that declawing only be performed as a last resort. If adopted, the measure would establish the country's first statewide declawing ban."

(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 a 6-year-old male miniature poodle. He has being with us since he was 9 weeks old. He is seldom alone, since both my husband and I are always at home. Our biggest problem is that when he wakes up, he scratches our bedroom door to get in, or begs for us to go to his room and get in bed with him (he sleeps in a regular queen bed). It happens around 1 or 2 a.m.

What can be done to discourage this behavior? He was neutered when he was 6 months old. Thanks. -- Y.R., Springfield, Virginia

DEAR Y.R.: The simple answer is to keep your bedroom door open so he can come from his room to sleep with you, which he will probably do very quietly, not having to scratch on your bedroom door to open it.

It never ceases to amaze me how complex patterns of behavior can evolve between people and their animal companions where boundaries and consistency are lacking. Your little dog might be most content with his own little bed at the foot of yours and appreciate an open-door policy in your home!

DEAR DR. FOX: My wife and I have a 5-year-old, 12-pound silky terrier, Stewie. We got him as a rescue when he was 1. There's a consistent problem, however, when it comes time to feed him. He'll scratch his bowl to let us know he's hungry; we prepare his favorite food -- a mix of wet and dry -- and warm it in the microwave (yes, he's spoiled). Then he refuses to eat unless several things happen beforehand:

First, he won't eat unless I'm standing over him and his bowl. If I'm in another room of the house, he'll leave his food and seek me out, sitting against my feet. I then have to accompany him to his food, where he'll stand over it, as if guarding it, growling and baring his teeth.

Second, I have to pet him and scratch him vigorously (while he's growling, though he never bites) several times before he lets out a snort and then gobbles his food, followed by a large belch. He then becomes passive once again.

If I'm off on a several-day business trip, my wife tells me he seems to settle in and eat without a problem. But when I return, so does his ritual. For shorter periods of my absence, say when he's fed just before I leave the house for some errand, my wife tells me he sits on the couch looking out the window, waiting for me to return before he'll touch his food.

One partial solution I've found is, when he's standing over his food growling, I simply take it away and set it on a counter, out of his reach. He looks forlorn; I give it back to him after a while, and most times he'll eat. Again, I know he's hungry, but we seem to have to go through this ritual each time.

Is there anything you could suggest to break him of this habit? -- D.K., Springfield, Virginia

DEAR D.K.: It is amazing what complex rituals can evolve in our caring relationships with animals, and sometimes with each other, when we become conditioned to certain reactions and expectations. This could become a problem for your dog if you have to have a dogsitter come and care for him when you and your wife are away from home. Or maybe not, since it seems to have evolved just between you and your dog.

His behavior will change when yours changes. His food-soliciting expectation and subsequent guarding behavior is a cycle you can break, as you have discovered by putting the food back up on the counter for a while. This should cease the chain of behaviors where he will not eat until you have petted him and ruffled his fur.

So put the food down and walk away. Go back after a minute and put the food on the countertop for a minute, then put the food back down for him in a different place from the usual. Leave him alone until he is finished, then call him and groom him -- a reward for eating by himself.

REGULAR WELLNESS EXAMS MUST INCLUDE DENTAL CHECKUP

Dogs and cats should be examined by a veterinarian regularly for dental problems that can cause pain, injury and systemic disease, particularly affecting the kidneys. Signs of trouble aren't usually apparent to owners. Serious periodontal disease affects about 85 percent of dogs, while an estimated 72 percent of cats suffer from tooth resorption, a type of decay, possibly an autoimmune disease that often isn't discovered until teeth become loose and extraction is the only available treatment.

(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.)