DEAR DR. FOX: My 10-year-old gray tabby has "barbered" her lower belly and the upper parts of her hind legs until they are totally hairless.

Some months back, she had a lower urinary tract infection but that has been cleared up for six months. She is otherwise healthy, happy and energetic.

I have heard that barbering is sometimes the result of anxiety in a cat. I was sick recently, but this problem began before that time. Still, would feline pheromones help?

Any other ideas? Could it be the self-heating purr pad I gave her for the winter months?

She has no sores on her belly, but it looks terrible. What can I do? -- S.P., Washington, D.C.

DEAR S.P.: I discuss this kind of excessive grooming in my book "Cat Body, Cat Mind." It is all too common in cats, and as you suggest, it can be triggered by anxiety as a self-comforting behavior that can become an obsessive compulsion, leading to self-mutilation.

But there are other possible reasons. Considering your cat's age, hyperthyroidism could be the issue, or a food allergy or intolerance -- especially if you have recently changed her diet. I am always suspicious of pet heater pads and beds, especially those manufactured in China, some of which have been found to contain toxic, volatile chemicals.

I would advise you to seek a veterinary consultation for your cat, ideally with an animal doctor who does in-home visits to help reduce the stress of taking the cat to the clinic, which is an extremely stressful experience for many felines.

DEAR DR. FOX: About a year ago, we agreed to pet-sit a cat who has now become a permanent member of our household. She is the sweetest animal I have ever owned, but she has difficulty using the litter box. We have talked to our veterinarian, but he has no ideas about how to fix this problem.

Our cat is a female, about 18 months old, and is probably a Siamese/tortoiseshell mix. When we got her, she had diarrhea continuously, and we would find fluid feces on the laundry room floor (the only place where we can keep a cat box). At my suggestion that perhaps she was not able to digest regular cat food, the veterinarian did tests for worms and parasites, then changed her diet; she has done better with an all-meat prescription diet of venison cat food, which we provide for her in moist and dry forms. Her coat is much more glossy and healthy than it was before. The diarrhea has stopped, but her stools are still the consistency of toothpaste.

Unfortunately, she still regularly urinates and defecates on the laundry room floor -- at least once a day. We try very hard to keep the cat box clean, but when we wake up in the morning, invariably we have a mess to clean up. We are at our wits' end over this. Do you think there is some other underlying medical condition we should be concerned about? -- R.T., Vienna, Virginia

DEAR R.T.: There are many reasons why cats behave as yours is doing, notably prior association of pain and fear while in the box evacuating because of some physical condition such as cystitis or severe cramping diarrhea.

Having the box in a quiet place (some cats do not like to be disturbed when going in the box), using a dust-free litter made from corn or wood fiber and having no cover (covered boxes can become very ammoniated if not cleaned several times a day) are steps to consider.

A urine test for chronic cystitis may be worthwhile, as is placing a second litter box in the laundry room with several sheets of newspaper spread around. If your cat likes catnip, give her some every day -- it is a natural, calming herb for cats. It may also help reduce any smooth muscle spasms. Probiotic supplement in her food to help repopulate gut bacteria may be crucial to resolve chronic bowel inflammation and malabsorption of food, which you should discuss with your veterinarian.

Try my home-prepared cat food reciple, posted on my website, which may be less expensive in the long run.

(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.net.)

DEAR DR. FOX: Years ago, you responded to a reader who asked for help with her 12-year-old dysplastic German shepherd. You recommended adding 1 teaspoon of turmeric to the dog's food. That was back in 2005, and I have been a strong supporter of turmeric since then.

A few years after we started our dogs on the turmeric regimen, not only did it work well on our bouvier des Flandres with hip dysplasia, it also shrunk a large grade-A tumor on our pug. He was about 12 1/2 at the time, and the tumor shrunk to the size of a small grape!

I am the Florida regional coordinator for the American Bouvier Rescue League, and I posted your reply to several bouvier lists; from there, the use took off in the bouvier community. There are a lot of people who are using it as a tumor inhibitor, and it seems to be helping a lot of dogs.

One of my friends -- a reputable bouvier breeder -- asked me a question the other day, and I thought I better ask for your assistance. The organic turmeric she purchased says on the label not to take if you are pregnant. Since she was planning on giving it to both male and female dogs, will this cause a problem with breeding females?

We have been using your homemade dog food recipe for years; we had lost several bouviers over the years to cancer, but since cooking for our dogs, we have had good longevity -- our bouviers live between 12 1/2 to about 14 1/2 years. The other supplements I have added to their food are oil of oregano, coconut oil and freshly ground black pepper. My seven dogs are all lean and healthy! -- T.M., Loxahatchee, Florida

DEAR T.M.: According to Internet sources, taking turmeric as a supplement is not advisable for women who are or who intend to become pregnant because of fears of miscarriage and birth defects. I would advise similar caution with breeding dogs: Take them off such supplements until it is time to nurse. Some advocates of turmeric point to countries like India -- where this spice is regularly consumed -- to prove that there is no association with infertility, miscarriages or birth defects. But that could be an epigenetic effect of adaptation over generations.

As you will see on my website, DrFoxVet.net, I have made some changes to my basic dog food recipe, including adding ginger as well as turmeric to help digestion and joints. These basic herbs, long used by people as condiments, digestive aids and food flavorings, have some remarkable medical properties. A little cayenne pepper may help lower blood pressure; cinnamon may help reduce insulin need in diabetic dogs, as it has been shown to help humans; and oregano may help promote a healthy population of gut bacteria.

BACTERIA IN PET FOODS: ACUTE AND CHRONIC HEALTH CONCERNS OF ENDOTOXINS

Bacteria are everywhere, including pet foods. Most bacteria are harmless, and many are essential for our health and other animals' health, but some cause acute food poisoning and other serious health problems. High-temperature cooking or processing kills most bacteria, but in the process, it releases endotoxins from them. High levels of endotoxins are associated with high levels of bacteria in the animal parts -- many condemned for human consumption -- billions of pounds of which is processed into pet foods, livestock feed and fertilizer every year. This includes the remains of so-called 4-D animals -- those who are dead, dying, debilitated or diseased upon inspection at the slaughterhouse.

Endotoxins can cause shock, organ failure, trigger the release of histamine and inflammatory cytokines, cause changes in white blood cell numbers, affect blood coagulation and lead to hypertension, arthritis and asthma. They probably damage cell DNA with carcinogenic consequences.

The recycling of this vast tonnage of slaughterhouse and fish industry waste into pet food and animal feed (causing mad cow disease in the U.K.), albeit highly profitable, it is part of an unsustainable, climate-changing and costly public and environmental health problem that calls for systemic change, at the core of which must be a reduction in production and consumption of high-carbon-hoofprint beef, pork and other animal produce. This should begin with the government establishing better ways to dispose of this animal waste where polluters pay and only human-grade foods and their immediate by-products are permitted in pet foods, fish foods and livestock, horse and poultry feeds.

(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.net.)

DEAR DR. FOX: I have always loved animals, and for a while I did cat rescue. I am 70 years old, and my husband and I have a 16-year-old cat. We have not been replacing pets as they die because of concerns about them ending up in a facility, or burdening our daughter with a house full of animals that she would need to assimilate into her own household.

I was raised on a small dairy farm in rural Virginia, and when I retired two years ago, I enrolled in master naturalist training. I understand the need to connect to nature and our animals. You recommended adopting from a shelter, and I am in total agreement. It would be nice if you would have an article about how to be a pet owner for those of us who are not sure if we will outlive our pets -- our last dog was 15 when she died, and we have had cats who lived 18 and 20 years.

In December 2015, I started volunteering with the Humane Society of Fairfax County. I have found it immensely rewarding, and I get my dog fix. The Humane Society has staff to do the cleaning. What they desperately need are people to spend time with the cats and dogs, socializing them. If you want to bring a book and hold the book with one hand and pet a cat or dog with the other, the staff is quite happy.

I thought it might be difficult for me to see these abandoned animals, but I focus not on what I am seeing as the worst traits of our species, but on the everyday staff and people adopting these pets -- which is what is best about our species. I think of my work with the animals as a comfort station at a particular juncture in their lives. 

People of a certain age do not have to "own" a pet; nor do people who know they will be going overseas and unable to take a pet, or people whose lives are in transition. Please share the benefits of NOT owing a pet -- especially if a person is not settled enough to go the full 10 to 20 years of commitment. Another interesting benefit for me was that I had always had herding breeds or shepherds, and I didn't think I could consider anything else. A month of working at the kennels has shown me that what I got from my shepherds, I also get from a variety of other breeds and mixed breeds. I was able to hone in on why I love dogs -- they are companions, and they make me smile, even laugh. -- D.M., Vienna, Virginia

DEAR D.M.: Your beautiful letter will suffice to encourage older people to find satisfying alternatives to adopting a companion animal who may well outlive them. I appreciate the fact that you found the truth that all dogs are great and not just the particular breed with which you were familiar.

CANNED DOG FOOD RECALL

Fromm Pet Foods announced a canned dog food recall of all lots of the following three canned products: 12-ounce Gold Chicken Pate Dog can, 12-ounce Gold Chicken and Duck and 12-ounce Gold Salmon and Chicken Pate can.

Fromm has discovered through its own analysis that the dog foods do not contain recommended levels of vitamins and minerals. These products may contain elevated levels of vitamin D.

This recall is being implemented in an "abundance of caution," as symptoms would be noted in situations where dogs have eaten the affected products as their only meal for an extended period of time, which could lead to depression of appetite. While there have been no reports of any health problems, Fromm is recommending the affected products not be fed.

For more information, visit frommfamily.com/connect/annoucements.

(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.net.)