DEAR DR. FOX: Your articles about feral cats make me angry every time you write them. You are undoubtedly a knowledgeable veterinarian, but you need to stick to animal health issues and leave local politics out of your articles! You are not an expert in this area! Your comments about cats and birds incense people and cause hard feelings among neighbors. I have been active in trap-neuter-release (TNR) for many years, and I have a colony of ferals living on my property.

Dog walkers have harassed me and my friends for feeding the cats. I’ve also had two of my ferals poisoned (perhaps only by coincidence) after one of your articles.

TNR helps to stop reproduction of homeless cats and helps the community in which they live by ridding it of moles, voles and other destructive animals. You need to stick to advice about animal care.

P.S. I have 50 to 60 birds at my feeders every day. They coexist with the cats nicely. -- C.D., Fairfax Station, Virginia

DEAR C.D.: I appreciate your dedication to caring for homeless cats, but I respectfully disagree with you that it is acceptable to allow cats to roam free just because they are regarded as being "feral."

You castigate me for dabbling in "local politics" and urge that I stick to giving advice just about animal care, but animal care includes animal welfare and ethics, which can have local, national and international political and legal consequences. As a veterinarian with doctoral degrees in medicine and ethology/animal behavior, I have written extensively over the years on these matters, and the bioethical basis of my philosophy is reverential respect for all life. The human-centered pro-life ideology extended to keeping cats alive and free-roaming outdoors is a wrong-minded perversion of this ethic.

Every community can aim high in this regard. Dogs are no longer allowed to roam free, and neither should cats. Many, if not most, so-called "feral" cats are lost strays who, when rescued, can become sociable indoor cats in a few days or weeks.

Our latest cat rescue on our property here in Minnesota, whom we had seen outdoors since May and in 20-below temperatures this December, turned out to be a total cuddle-puss and will be in a new home by the time this column appears in the paper. His veterinary care bill was $1,400, which included partial amputation of a crushed tail.

Obviously, cats who are neutered and then released outdoors are not going to breed, but they are likely to suffer far more than indoor cats (and those unadopted ones kept in enclosed sanctuaries) from injuries and disease, kill wildlife, and pose a public health risk from some of the diseases they can transmit to humans. Cats are the primary source for toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease considered to be a leading cause of death attributed to foodborne illness in the United States. More than 60 million men, women and children in the U.S. carry the Toxoplasma parasite, but very few have symptoms because the immune system usually keeps the parasite from causing illness. However, women newly infected with Toxoplasma during pregnancy and anyone with a compromised immune system should be aware that toxoplasmosis can have severe consequences.

I wish you and all those well-meaning cat lovers who care for "feral" cat colonies would extend their compassion and respect for cats' lives to embrace all species, including moles, voles and other "destructive" animals, and give every stray cat a fair chance to become an indoor companion animal -- safe, secure and well loved. In our relationships with other animals, we must examine socially accepted norms and cultural ideologies and abandon those that cause more harm than good.

This is the last word that I will give in my column on this issue, and I hope others involved in TNR will put compassion first and think twice about the inevitable cruelty and animal suffering in the misguided and wrong-minded pro-life cult behind TNR.

U.S. PET OWNERS SPENT $63 BILLION ON PETS IN 2016

Americans' spending on pets reached a new high of $63 billion in 2016, according to the American Pet Products Association -- more than twice what owners spent on their animals in 2001. Spending on food was highest at $23 billion, with veterinary care next at $15 billion, then $14 billion for supplies and over-the-counter drugs and $5 billion for pet boarding and grooming.

NATIONWIDE: OBESITY CLAIMS FOR PETS EXPANDING

Pet health insurer Nationwide says policyholders filed 1.3 million claims for pet ailments related to obesity in 2015, accounting for $60 million in costs for veterinary care. Arthritis was the most common dog obesity-related claim, with an average cost per claim of $295, while bladder and urinary tract problems were most common among obese cats, costing an average of $442 per case.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 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 READERS: In America, the wolf has become a political symbol of a nation divided between the exploiters and protectors of animals and wild places. Wolves are again in the crosshairs of legislators bent on passing -- without judicial review -- Senate Bill 164, which removes federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. This legislation invites sport hunters and trappers to “harvest” wolves. It arrogantly assumes that we human hunters can replace the wolves’ role in maintaining not only healthy herds of deer and elk, but forests and biodiversity.

Abnormally high deer populations, fostered by state game agencies that profit from them and by landowners planting recreational deer feeding areas, have helped decimate wildlife habitats, while spreading chronic wasting and other deer diseases. Some of these diseases are communicable to humans, such as Lyme disease, which has become a national public health issue.

Delisting wolves will open their domain to mining, logging and other destructive human incursions. Failing protection, wolves will suffer and die under fire from new legions of hunters and trappers and the publicly subsidized beef industry that favors their eradication.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest Democracy Index, the U.S. government has been downgraded and is no longer classed as a “full democracy.” That demotion is deserved. Our democracy will never be complete so long as its native flora and fauna continue to be marginalized. The informed majority of America can stop this destructive juggernaut of vested interests by urging their senators to oppose Senate Bill 164. In the protection of the wolf lies the preservation and restoration of democratic process, eco-justice and a humane society.

DEAR DR. FOX: I have a Yorkie who has a distinctive sweet, flowery scent on the top of his head. We thought it was possibly transferred from some of the perfumes found in soaps and such that we humans used, but it's not; it's just his own distinctive smell. This is the first time I've ever encountered this in any of my dogs. I love it. Picking him up at the end of a long day and cuddling with him and sniffing his head lets me know I'm home in a very elemental way. -- L.F. Fairfax, Virginia

DEAR DR. FOX: My first dog companion was a husky-mix. Throughout my childhood, she treated me like I was her pup and was always looking out for me. When I would get upset, Mom would apparently tell me to go smell the dog's belly, and it would calm me down. I don't remember anything about this, other than how much I loved that dog.

I am an adult now, and I have my own standard poodle. I thought I'd smell her tummy just to see if it worked. You know, the smell of the dog's tummy is sweet, like flowers and baby powder, and yes, it is still very calming. -- M.H., St. Louis

DEAR L.F and M.H: I have posted earlier responses from dog owners about their perfumed dogs and hope that your letters will encourage others to check out their own dogs for scented body areas. You both give support to pheromone research and marketing of dog-calming body scents for dogs, which you both find calming for yourselves!

We are losing our sense of smell as well as other sensibilities as we text and tweet with our less and less opposable thumbs in cyberspace. Engaging in a good dog sniff may be one way for us to recover our senses. We can also use our sense of smell to help recognize when our dogs are not well and need a change of diet or just need a bath. For most healthy dogs, this is rarely needed, except for some breeds with oily skin and older dogs with various age-related conditions.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 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 am amazed at your anger about the breeding of domestic cat-wild cat hybrids -- but I'm very glad. My most recent experience with this type of experiment is in southwest Florida. It seems that some university folks thought it was a great idea to cross Florida panthers with Texas pumas, arguing that is how you save the panther. I understand the puma, a more aggressive breed, is considered quite a problem in Texas for us humans and domestic animals. It has proven to be the case here, as well. When will we understand not to confuse interfering with Mother Nature and good stewardship, care and concern? -- D.W., Naples, Florida

DEAR D.W.: Yes, after close to 50 years of advocating animals' rights to humane treatment and respectful stewardship to provide them with a life worth living, I am angry on many fronts when it comes to our collective exploitation and abuse of fellow creatures.

Creating "misfits" like wild cat-domestic cat hybrids, and keeping "exotic" species as pets, are ethically questionable when appropriate environments are not (and generally cannot) be provided for them. We must question subjecting any creature to a deprived existence simply for our own pleasure or dubious "educational" purposes for children and entertainment.

The scientific basis for hybridization is valid when striving to save endangered species and subspecies like the cougar. I asked Will Stolzenburg, author of "Heart of a Lion," a wonderful book about the history and status of America's cougar or panther, to give more insight on the situation you mention. He writes:

“Concerning the Florida panther situation, I have to side with the scientists on this one, who decided that the Florida panther (so terribly rare and inbred at the time that their eyes were crossed, their tails kinked, even their sperm was deformed) was doomed without introduction of fresh genes. (By the way, there's debate as to whether they're even separate subspecies, despite morphological differences that experts can easily detect.)

"The move has proved warranted, as the population has since rebounded from a scant 30 to more than 100. The idea that the fresh-blooded panthers of Florida, or the Texas cougars from which they were bolstered, are more aggressive, I've yet to see any scientific evidence of this.

"Despite the headlines, the frequency of livestock depredations in either Florida or Texas is still relatively tiny and localized compared to all other factors of livestock mortality. My own journalism profession is guilty of hyping these rare depredations with dramatic headlines, while ignoring the great majority of panthers/cougars who go about their daily lives in close proximity to humans and their companion animals with never a hint of conflict. I'm not only glad they saved the Florida population of cougars by intervening; I'm in favor of translocating a few females north of the Caloosahatchee River so that they can naturally expand northward to repopulate the Appalachians. The eastern forests, overrun with deer and feral hogs, sorely miss their alpha predators.”

I would add that free-roaming and feral domestic cats put panthers, lynx and bobcats at risk from feline diseases they can harbor.

NYC VETERINARIANS BATTLE H7N2 OUTBREAK IN CATS

According to the New York Post, "Officials say 386 New York City shelter cats have tested positive for H7N2 avian influenza as veterinarians work to stem an outbreak among feline residents that appears to have started in October 2016. Some 500 cats have been placed at a makeshift quarantine facility staffed by six veterinarians and eight technicians as well as support staff, and some of the animals will be released in the coming days."

I would call this outbreak an example of an anthropogenic, human-generated disease facilitated by the inhumane poultry and pig industries in virtually every country that are the petri dishes for new strains of the influenza virus. This virus can mutate and spread fast, in part facilitated by migrant birds, but far more so by our own international travel and commerce. We reap what we sow. I have met more than one adult who was partially paralyzed, permanently, after receiving an anti-flu vaccine.

Vaccinology and the profitable vaccine industry have too long ignored the path of disease prevention through more humane animal husbandry and good hygiene, so terribly deficient in the CAFOs -- concentrated animal feeding operations. Some historians contend that the Spanish flu virus pandemic, which probably came from pigs, caused such human morbidity and mortality in the millions that it put an end to World War I.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 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.)