DEAR READERS: Cats are carnivores, but for decades now the pet food industry and organized veterinary medicine have done nothing of significance to stop marketing biologically inappropriate diets for cats, high in non-animal (soy) protein, cereal starches and fiber (notably GMO beet pulp). The nascent soy- and starch-free raw pet food market is being closely monitored by the Food and Drug Administration concerning bacterial contamination -- and one sector of this market is pushing for pasteurization, which is a backward step, though not as far back as irradiation treatment. But in terms of volume and frequency, more dry foods than raw foods have been recalled because of bacterial contamination.

I have been editing my files as I slowly rebuild my website, drfoxvet.net -- I apologize to readers for it being down until now -- and I found the following report concerning an all-too-common health crisis in cats. I feel I must share it because, even though it was published more than 10 years ago, the pet food industry's major companies still market cat foods that contain biologically inappropriate ingredients that cause illness, and they derive additional profits from special "prescription" diets, available only through veterinarians, to treat the disease they created (genetics and other factors notwithstanding).

From the American Journal of Veterinary Research, February 2004:

"Evaluation of effects of dietary carbohydrate on formation of struvite crystals in urine and macromineral balance in clinically normal cats ... Conclusions and clinical relevance: Starch and fiber in diets potentially stimulate formation of struvite crystals. Hence, reducing dietary carbohydrate is desirable to prevent struvite urolith formation. In addition, a net loss of body calcium, phosphorus and magnesium during feeding of the fiber diet suggests that dietary inclusion of insoluble fiber could increase macromineral requirements of cats."

For more details on proper cat nutrition, visit feline-nutrition.org.

DEAR DR. FOX: I was wondering if there are intestinal or stomach diseases that animals can transmit to humans. My two grandchildren have been having problems for the past 10 years. They have been diagnosed with gluten problems, have lactose intolerance, had their gallbladders removed and various other diagnoses, but the pain in their gut is still there. They eat antacids like candy. The gluten and lactose problems have been addressed, but the stomach pains are still there. They are eating less and look horrible because of the weight loss.

Is there a possibility of a disease transmitted by their cats or horses? We are at our wits' end, and at this point are grasping at straws. -- M.M., Whiting, New Jersey

DEAR M.M.: You are wise to raise the question of possible zoonotic disease -- an infection transmitted from one animal species to the human species. Doctors may overlook such possibilities when they do not consider the patient's environment and contacts with other species. I was shocked a few years ago when some at a large teaching hospital in Washington, D.C., were baffled by the skin condition I developed from dogs during my work in India and that I diagnosed correctly as scabies (mange), telling them what prescription to give me.

Certainly zoonotic agents (pathogens) such as toxoplasma, giardia, salmonella and E.coli need to be considered by attending physicians and internal medicine specialists. But, and that is the big BUT, human and animal doctors are learning not to blame such potential pathogens alone for various diseases, but also to look at the patients' environment and diet.

Diet can make for strong or weak immune and digestive systems because some food ingredients -- especially sugars, white flour and other refined carbohydrates -- can lead to the proliferation of some kinds of bacteria in the digestive system that disrupt the health-promoting "microbiome," or what I call the bacterial garden of the gut. Both human and animal patients are now being given fecal transplants from healthy donors to restore their microbiomes.

This may be the more holistic approach needed for your grandchildren. I must add that studies have shown that children born into homes where there are dogs and cats do indeed have fewer allergies and infections calling for antibiotic treatments, a finding attributed to their microbiome being enriched or fortified by bacterial varieties acquired from contact with these animal companions.

COMPANION ANIMAL EXPENDITURES IN 2014

Spending on pets increased 4.2 percent in the United States, from $55.72 billion in 2013 to $58.04 billion in 2014, according to an annual report from the American Pet Products Association. The report evaluates five areas of pet spending: food, veterinary care, supplies, the animals themselves and other services. Veterinary care utilization was stable or trending down, while per-visit spending was up as people spent more on life-extending care.

The greatest spending growth was in the services category, which includes grooming, training, boarding and spa treatments. Spending on specialty foods also featured prominently.

(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: We took our standard poodle to a dermatologist three weeks ago. The vet thought her problem may be sebaceous adenitis, and sure enough, the biopsies confirmed this genetic disease.

Instead of a drug, he suggested we try mineral oil baths once a week, and then less often if this helps. We gave Ember her first "bath" in this very concentrated oil and left it on her for five hours. She had to be crated several of those hours as this oil is quite messy; however, she didn't seem to mind. We used Dawn dish soap to clean her, though it didn't remove all the oil after a two-minute bath, so we will bathe her again today.

As mineral oil is a laxative, we were concerned about her licking herself. We have a follow-up appointment with the dermatologist vet in four weeks, and hopefully we will see an improvement.

She is very healthy. She walks 3 miles daily, plays with other dogs, swims in the river and doesn't seem to be affected by her skin condition, except for the hair loss and lots of dander. When I Googled sebaceous adenitis, there is a concern for secondary infections, which the vet also discussed with us, with open sores, which looked quite nasty and I'm sure are not pleasant for the dog. I hope our beloved Ember never has to contend with that issue. -- S.B., Toms River, New Jersey

DEAR S.B: I am glad that a diagnosis has been made for your dog's skin issue, which, if not treated, is likely to get much worse.

Sebaceous adenitis (also known as inflammatory skin disease) is seen in other breeds, such as the Akita, Belgian sheepdog, Samoyed and Hungarian vizsla. The genetic component may be linked to a special need for certain nutrients, such as omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin A. Discuss adding these to your dog's daily diet with your veterinarian.

You may also consider Selsun Blue medicated shampoo (for humans), which can help with various seborrheic skin conditions. Another weekly treatment protocol is to use bath oil in equal parts with warm water, which should be left on the dog one to two hours, then removed with a degreasing, unscented dish detergent or a benzyl peroxide shampoo, gently scrubbed into the skin with a soft brush. Follow this with an oil-based skin conditioner, such as PetzLife's Bath-Eaze. Visit petzlife.com for more details.

Keep me posted on your progress. And be sure to keep your dog out of the river and any and all standing water until her skin is healed.

DEAR DR. FOX: I had to write and tell you what just happened when my (indoor) cat saw the large picture of a tick on the cover of today's Washington Post.

I happened to look down at her as I was opening up the paper. I noticed that she was acting skittish, her eyes were completely dilated and her tail was HUGE! She even had a worried look on her face. I quickly hid the picture, but she continued to look for it. I talked soothingly to her and petted her, and eventually she calmed down.

Well, I guess you could say she has really good eyesight, and also that the picture was realistic enough to cause this reaction. -- S.S., Springfield, Virginia

DEAR S.S.: This is a surprising event, and it's clear from your cat's behavior that she was very much disturbed by what she was looking at.

Perhaps rustling the newspaper drew her attention to the large image that appeared to move when the paper was moved. Many cats (and dogs, too) are responsive to television images and associated sounds, but to my knowledge, they are not responsive to static images of other creatures. Certainly, as learning and discrimination studies have shown, cats, dogs and other animals can recognize various picture symbols and signs, and they respond to them as cues.

I would like to hear from other readers whose companion animals have responded to nonmoving pictures of other creatures. Maybe we are on the threshold of a new era of picture books and magazines to share with our cats and dogs. Our dogs, when we tried to capture their attention with color photos of other dogs in a book, were either indifferent or sniffed the colored inks on the page.

SUMMERTIME DOG HAZARDS

A warning for all dog caregivers: Don't walk or jog with your dog on hot pavements for any distance, especially in humid weather. Also, don't leave your dog alone in a vehicle. Even with the air conditioner going, the engine could stall, and you come back to a dog with potentially fatal heat stroke. Take an ice chest, cold drinking water and a towel to soak as needed to cool your dog. It amazes me when I see people on TV suffering through a heat wave, and are were wearing a wet bandana or towel around their necks -- the most efficient way to help cool the blood!

Unlike us, dogs pant to regulate their temperatures, and quickly develop a thirst. Never allow your dog to drink water you would not, or even swim and play in standing water with blue-green algae floating on the surface, which produce a toxin that quickly kills dogs every summer in the U.S.

(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: Please help us figure out what is going on with our beloved dog Chief. We are baffled, and so is our vet.

Chief is a 4- or 5-year-old red coonhound mix we adopted from a shelter two years ago. He weighs about 55 pounds. We live on a 5-acre wooded property that is almost entirely enclosed in an invisible fence, and when we got him, Chief would race around the property at warp speed most of the time, to the point of creating his own well-worn paths throughout the area. And, true to his breed, he would go nuts barking at squirrels and raccoons in trees (although deer don't bother him in the least -- he has always just ignored them). Sometimes it was even difficult to get him to abandon making the world safe from squirrels and come into the house.

In February, Chief had a bad urinary tract infection and was on antibiotics and pain medication for several weeks. He has recovered from that, but in some ways he has changed radically: Now he will barely go into the yard and won't go into the wooded area at all, he hardly ever runs anymore and he mostly ignores squirrels. He likes to sit outside in our driveway or on the deck, but he won't venture much farther than that. He is still loving and playful, but he prefers now to be inside most of the time. His personality has not changed, but his behavior is so different that sometimes I wonder if he really is the same dog.

We will be grateful for any light you can shed on his transformation from dog dynamo to a "house cat," as my son now calls him. -- J.B., Fairfax, Virginia

DEAR J.B.: I have heard of dogs developing a phobia of going outdoors where there is an invisible fence set up. They may have received shocks and developed a conditioned emotional reaction. Disconnect it and take Chief on frequent walks in and out of your property. A light dose of alprazolam from the veterinarian may help. Later, reconnect the fence and be with him when he experiences the signal that it is on. I prefer a real fence to keep other dogs (or rabid wildlife) away.

It is also quite possible that his painful urinary tract infection, much like cats with cystitis avoiding the litter box, became associated with being in your outdoor area.

Alternatively, he may have some chronic pain issue and does not want to be very active -- possible vertebral or limb joint problems worth evaluating. Incidences of both acute and chronic pain in animals can set up aversive fear reactions, which persist long after the painful condition has been resolved, fear being part of the enduring conditioned emotional reaction.

DEAR DR. FOX: I have a 1-year-old cat I got from a shelter when he was 6 months old. He is a wonderful companion, sits on my lap and brings me toys when he wants to play.

Every so often, he frantically bites my arms. His teeth are very sharp, and he breaks the skin. He does it only when I am in my recliner or sitting on the edge of my bed, never when I am at my desk or table, even though my arms are accessible. He bites through clothing if I am wearing something with long sleeves.

Do you have any thoughts on why he does this? More importantly, what I can do to stop this behavior? -- J.R., Falls Church, Virginia

DEAR J.R.: Expectant parents usually get books and seek advice about infant care before their child is born, and I wish more people would do the same before they take a companion animal into their lives. Knowing something about their behavior and basic needs and modes of communication are essential for establishing a mutually enhancing relationship. Love without understanding will not get you very far!

Your cat is giving you "love bites," which I discuss in my books "Supercat" and "Cat Body, Cat Mind." A loud "No," followed by a light tap in the cat's nose, just as a mother cat will discipline a kitten, may suffice. Alternatively, pick up the cat and put him on the floor and redirect his behavior to a toy. Before one of our cats gets into this amorous mode (some cats will follow the bites with straddling and humping or regress and try to nurse and knead your arm or leg with their front paws), we either start brushing or massaging the cat. Ideally, consider adopting another cat so they can interact as cats do on their own terms and enrich each other's lives in ways we cannot.

You may also be unwittingly attracting your cat with some body lotion you have applied to yourself that may act like a pheromone and trigger this kind of behavior.

(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.)