DEAR DR. FOX: My 5-year-old cat has been diagnosed with stomatitis, and the veterinarian says that he will probably have to have all his teeth taken out. His gums are sore and some of his teeth are getting loose, and the doctor says it is a kind of autoimmune disease where his body is reacting in a way that leads to this condition.

Is there anything I can try to stop it? -- R.K., Washington, D.C.

DEAR R.K.: This degenerative dental disease, called feline caries or feline odontoclastic resorption lesions, is not uncommon in cats and is often coupled with kidney problems in older cats.

The condition may be triggered by periodontal disease, herpes or other chronic viral infection and excess vitamin D in the diet. It causes discomfort, making eating difficult unless a mushy food is provided, and the associated bacterial infection can spread to internal organs.

My advice would be to have your veterinarian try VetzLife’s Feline Oral Care gel for stomatitis, which may help improve your cat’s condition -- and for many cats showing early signs of this condition, actually stop it in its tracks. For more details, visit vetzlife.com.

You can also read my review on this common feline malady, "Feline Stomatitis Complex: Preventing and Treating the Oral Plague of Cats," posted on my website, DrFoxVet.net.

DEAR DR. FOX: A few months ago, a young male cat was in the neighborhood. I would see him at various times for a week or two, and then he would leave. After another few weeks, he would be back.

I have three cats, but this other one seemed to need a home. No one else would take him for various reasons. He is used to being inside, and he is litter box trained.

The only problem is he eats like he is starved. He gobbles his food and, if I let him, everyone else's food before they are finished. He even jumped on the kitchen counter and stole a bite of my breakfast sandwich.

I've had cats before whose previous owners have put them out to fend for themselves. I got one of my older cats this way about 10 years ago, but none of them had this food obsession.

I spend 30 minutes or more making sure he doesn't eat everyone's food before they finish. This is a big problem. Is there any way to change this? -- M.M., Kansas City, Missouri

DEAR M.M.: I appreciate your predicament, which your feeding of this semi-feral cat who roams your neighborhood has created.

His hunger seems to indicate he has no home where he would be fed, and you are the sole source of his sustenance.

If he is not neutered, you are fostering a prime multiplier of ever-more cats in your community. He could also have a communicable disease that could infect your cats and even you.

So call your local animal control agency or animal shelter and ask then to help you get the cat to a veterinarian for blood tests and neutering, since he seems like a very adoptable cat who would adjust well to an indoor life.

The cat's ravenous appetite could be because he is actually starving outdoors, but he could also have tapeworms or other internal parasites that need to be checked for and eliminated with appropriate medication.

MUSIC MIGHT HELP SHELTER DOGS RELAX

A study at a shelter in Scotland found that dogs spend more time lying down and relaxing when music is played, and heart rate measurements suggest dogs' stress levels were lowest when listening to reggae or soft rock. Scottish SPCA officials plan to buy sound systems for shelters that lack them.

(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: On Feb. 3, The New York Times reported, the “Agriculture Department has removed animal welfare inspection reports, enforcement records and other information about the treatment of animals from its website, citing privacy and other laws. ... A spokeswoman for USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service would not say if the removal was temporary or permanent in the new Trump administration. The information is used by advocacy groups and other members of the public to look up information on commercial dog and horse breeders, some of whom have had a history of abuse. The reports included lists of animal welfare violations at those facilities and also at animal testing labs, and whether those violations have been corrected.”

This unconscionable action by the Trump administration to protect vested interests, regardless of animal suffering, which parallels the dismembering of the Environmental Protection Agency, is an assault on civil society. It is yet another regrettable affirmation of my book "Inhumane Society: The American Way of Exploiting Animals."

I just signed the petition, “Tell the USDA to stop hiding animal cruelty from American taxpayers.” I think this is important. Will you sign it, too?

Here’s the link: https://goo.gl/F2jhNK.

DEAR DR. FOX: I just got an 8-week-old golden retriever, and I have a couple of questions. I would really like to make his food but am not sure of the following:

-- Should the recipe be changed at all for puppies? I thought large-breed puppies should maybe have a different formula.

-- How often and how much should I feed my puppy?

My sister makes your dog food recipe for her senior lab, and it works great. -- M.B., Miami

DEAR M.B.: After a puppy has been weaned and is eating solid food, I advise giving the pup a variety of different kinds of food with different ingredients. Every three to four days, offer him a different main protein such as eggs, then chicken, then cottage cheese, along with various fruits, vegetables and a small quantity of whole grains such as brown rice, amaranth and quinoa. My home-prepared diet includes this consideration. It is not so much that variety is the spice of life as food variety early in life can help reduce the chances of food allergies and intolerance later in life, possibly by increasing the diversity of beneficial bacteria in the digestive system -- the "microbiome."

I would also advise feeding your dog various manufactured dog foods high in protein that are either frozen or freeze-dried. Your pup should be fed four times daily, essentially giving him as much as he will eat to the point of satiation, then measuring out the approximate amount for each serving, increasing the amount as the pup grows. Weigh the pup every week to be sure there is weight gain. It is important for some breeds such as Labrador pups to eat a lower-calorie diet because of the breed's genetic propensity for obesity and subsequent joint and other related health problems later in life.

After 4 months of age, feed your dog three meals a day, and between 6 months and 1 year -- or when the dog is fully grown, based on his breed -- lower it to two meals daily. Large dogs and those with deep chests should be fed three smaller meals daily and never exercised after eating. Older dogs with poorer digestion do better on three small meals a day or 2 1/2 plus digestive enzymes.

DEAR DR. FOX: I just read the letter about the poodle who sneaks into the carpeted bedroom to urinate.

My rescued border collie mix has had this problem in two different homes. Each time, I solved the issue by feeding her next several meals in the area where she had urinated. Feeding her in that part of the house helped her understand that it was part of her living space and not an area where she could relieve herself.

I highly recommend giving this a try. -- B.K., Takoma Park, Maryland

DEAR B.K.: Your suggestion makes eminent sense to me. Getting into a dog's mind calls for close observation before trying some behavior modification strategy.

Many dogs have the cognitive abilities of a relatively mature human but the emotional intelligence of a 3- to 5-year-old child (with some exceptions with highly attentive and empathetic dogs that surpass many adult humans), and a much more variable verbal comprehension. Also, their motivation and attentiveness can vary greatly. So what may work in modifying the behavior of one dog may not succeed with another.

Especially important is remembering that what we say when we talk to our dogs is not always as important as how we say it -- I call this the emotional tone. Yet it is amazing how dogs do keep attuned to our conversations and can pick up specific words and short sentences. Example: If I use the words “go out” or “ready” in general conversation with other people, our attentive, newly adopted dog Kota jumps up, ready to go for a walk; she has learned that it is walk time when I say, “Kota, are you ready to go out?”

(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: Ultra-low doses of the widely used herbicide glyphosate, when fed to rats, is linked to an increased likelihood of developing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, according to a recently published study in the journal Nature. A lead author of the study, Michael Antoniou, Ph.D., stated that the findings are “very worrying as they demonstrate for the first time a causative link between an environmentally relevant level of (glyphosate) consumption over the long-term and a serious disease.” The findings point to the growing need to eliminate the widespread use of this herbicide, as it has already been implicated in endocrine disruption, reproductive effects, and kidney and liver damage. (Read the study at nature.com/articles/srep39328.)

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease can be caused by several factors, along with often-associated acute and chronic pancreatitis seen frequently by veterinarians in companion animal practice. Many pet owners have contacted me concerning the abnormalities in their animals' liver enzyme levels, which the attending veterinarians cannot explain. Maybe we have the explanation now -- the biologically inappropriate inclusion of genetically modified corn, soy and beet, all resistant to and containing this herbicide, along with glyphosate-sprayed dry wheat and imported GMO rice, used by most pet food manufacturers.

When all the dots are connected, and considering the ubiquitous presence of glyphosate even in human amniotic fluids, this endocrine-disrupting probable carcinogen may prove to be a major factor associated with intestinal dysbiosis, allergies, autoimmune diseases, metabolic syndrome and the obesity epidemic in people and their cats and dogs.

DEAR DR. FOX: We have a 7-year-old cat, Sophie, who is affectionate and good-natured all day -- except at mealtimes.

About three years ago, our vet told us that Sophie was much too heavy for her health and that we should cut back on her dry food. We did so, and she lost a significant amount of weight and is now much healthier. However, starting about a year ago, she began demanding food the moment we woke up in the morning with loud, wailing howls. Even if we do not respond to her for an hour as we go about our morning routine, she continues to howl and scratch and bite our feet and ankles, especially when we are in the kitchen (where she is fed). Once we feed her, she subsides until the evening at about 4:30 or 5, when the demanding howling, biting and scratching begin again until we do the evening feeding. She also tries to forage for other food on the counters and tabletops, even though we never, ever feed table scraps and have always been consistent about a no-counter-and-tabletop rule.

What can we do to help Sophie? We have a second cat, her sister from the same litter, Maggie, who has none of these behavioral issues (and was not heavy at all). -- J.B., St. Louis

DEAR J.B.: Many cats do improve in terms of losing excess weight when given less (or no) dry cat food high in starches and gluten. Corn and wheat gluten may interfere with nutrient absorption in the gut, and along with the intestinal bacteria "microbiome" population changing to process starches (and being harmed by herbicide residues in the grains and soy), could lead to the cat being hungry and wanting to eat more. Also, neutering and being less active may contribute to weight gain and the development of the metabolic syndrome.

Some cats adapt better than others to having grains in their diet and do not gain weight. Of the two formerly feral cats in our home fed the same diet and the same amount, one kept a normal weight, and the other became fatter and fatter and was always hungry.

In your cat’s case, if you are feeding her only twice daily, this could be an aggravating problem in terms of between-meal hunger developing. Four small meals daily is a better feeding regimen for most cats. Adding some dietary fiber, such as a half-teaspoon of soaked psyllium husks or chia seeds, may help the cat feel fuller and more satisfied. Your cat may improve after transitioning to a raw-food diet or part-raw and part-canned -- with no cereals or soy ingredients. My home-prepared cat food diet (posted on my website, DrFoxVet.net) may also help, and there is useful information on the website feline-nutrition.org.

If Sophie is ravenous and losing weight, a veterinary checkup is required, hyperthyroidism being one consideration.

(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.)