DEAR DR. FOX: Two years ago, I started having short episodes of double vision, numbness on the right side of my face, diminished taste sensation and gait abnormality. For about a week, I had to walk with assistance and could not drive. My primary care doctor diagnosed me with central origin vertigo and ordered an MRA (to check blood flow to the brain) and an MRI of the brain. The brain showed some spots. I was then referred to a neurologist, who did a lumbar puncture. This confirmed a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.

The diagnosis was devastating, even though I had no outward signs of the disease. I started taking the oral medication Tecfidera. As time passed, I developed a severe anxiety disorder, and I had obsessive-compulsive tendencies. I had a lot of other psych symptoms that I somehow managed to keep under control. I developed fears of everyday things, such as being afraid to make a pitcher of iced tea, take a shower or do the dishes; if you asked me why I was afraid, I couldn't tell you. I had turned into a person my husband didn't recognize.

My primary doctor prescribed Lexapro and then Buspar -- neither had any effect. Ativan was also ineffective. I then sought the help of a psychiatrist, who prescribed Zoloft and Seroquel, which helped very little, although they did help relieve some of the intense panic I felt all the time.

More symptoms started snowballing as time went on, such as sharp pains and pressure in my head and eyeballs, severe sensitivity to hot and cold on my teeth, neuropathylike symptoms in my lower legs and feet, burning patches of skin on various parts of my body and other odd sensations. I began to think something else was going on, so I started taking my temperature daily. I always ran a low-grade fever.

Having overcome Lyme disease about 10 years prior, I do have some knowledge of vector-borne diseases. I researched and started reading about the various diseases and considered the fact that I was infected with Bartonella, also known as cat-scratch fever. When I started reading about it, everything hit home with me.

I made an appointment with my previous vector-borne disease specialist and was tested for Bartonella. My titer was 1:256, which is very high! The abnormalities in my spinal fluid, brain spots and constant inflammation are most likely caused by the infection. It got to a point where my brain felt like it was sitting in a bowl of acid!

Being on the Tecfidera (an immuno-suppressant for MS costing over $6,000 a month) allowed the bacteria to become even more prolific.

My doctor and I discussed how I got infected. I do own a cat, and he has bitten and scratched me innocently during play. I recall one occasion when I got a deep bite on the thin skin on the back of my hand, so I figure that these bacteria had almost three years to multiply in my central nervous system! Oh, and it's not just from cats. It can be contracted from a dog or any animal, plus many insects.

I bypassed any flulike illnesses, swollen lymph nodes or other symptoms typically associated with Bartonella. (The same thing happened to me when I somehow contracted Lyme. No bite recalled, no rash, just started with neurological symptoms.)

I will be on three different antibiotics daily for several months. Some of the psych and neuro symptoms have resolved, but I still have a way to go. My case may be atypical, but all possibilities have to be considered when it comes to these vector-borne diseases. These are not cookie-cutter diseases! -- C.C., Cumberland, Maryland

DEAR C.C.: I am sure that many readers will sympathize with you and appreciate your clarion call for greater vigilance concerning this bacterial disease transmissible from cats and other animals to humans. Your experience is a warning to all cat owners to not let their cats roam free because they may pick up fleas that have fed on infected cats, putting family members at risk -- especially those with weak immune systems, notably the elderly and infants.

There are various strains of Bartonella, some specific to cats who get infected from fleas. Medical doctors should take note and never fail to inquire about the patients' exposure to animals in the home or outdoors and of course to ticks, fleas and other disease-transmitting insects when working up a diagnosis and deciding what tests to conduct. Various infectious organisms can cause non-specific auto-immune diseases depending on how the body reacts to them.

DOG DOMESTICATION/GENETICS STUDY

In a new study, geneticist Bridgett vonHoldt and colleagues compared the sociability of domestic dogs with that of wolves raised by humans. Dogs typically spent more time than wolves staring at and interacting with a human stranger nearby, showing that dogs were less fearful and more social than the wolves.

Comparative genetic analysis of those dogs and wolves, along with DNA data of other wolves and dogs, showed variations in three genes associated with the social behaviors directed at humans: WBSCR17, GTF2I and GTF2IRD1. Interestingly, all these are associated with the Williams-Beuren hypersociability syndrome in humans. Not all dogs, fortunately, are so affected to become what I have long-called “perpetual puppies.”

(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 have a 10-pound tabby cat and just got him back from the vet. He had a case of impacted poop. This cost me $400; $55 of that was a case of Pro Plan gastroenteritis cat food, which I had to feed him through a syringe, liquefied with chicken broth. Now that he is eating and drinking on his own, he refuses to eat this cat food. (I am not feeding him dry food anymore, and even when I did, he also got canned wet food.)

What can I do to make him eat the Pro Plan the vet recommended? I do not want to go back to feeding him like a baby bird. -- T.A., Trinity, North Carolina

DEAR T.A.: You and your cat have been through a costly ordeal. Who would ever have imagined, a generation ago, paying $400 for veterinary services to treat a constipated cat? But a generation ago, when cats were more active and not over-fed, this problem was less prevalent.

Dry cat food, with all the modern taste, odor, texture and food-addiction technology applied by manufacturers to make cats crave their manufactured kibble, is a major contributing factor to the epidemic of feline obesity and associated constipation. Organized veterinary medicine has remained relatively silent on this and other companion animal nutrition issues.

At the very least, your veterinarian should give you your money back for the unpalatable prescribed cat food, which is simply a profit-driven spinoff, intended to solve a problem created by bad cat food to begin with. This point was emphasized by veterinarian Dr. Elizabeth M. Hodgkins, formerly Director of Technical Affairs at Hills Pet Nutrition, in the book “Not Fit for a Dog: The Truth About Manufactured Cat & Dog Food,” which I co-authored with her and veterinarian professor Dr. Marion E. Smart.

Feed your cat a regular, good-quality canned cat food or my home-prepared recipe (posted on my website), get her to play more, and massage her tummy regularly.

DEAR DR. FOX: What organizations working on behalf of animals would you suggest as possible beneficiaries when I write my will? I love all animals, but am especially fond of birds. -- K.A., Arlington, Virginia

DEAR K.A.: Nonprofit organizations dedicated to protecting animals wild and domesticated change over the years, and not always for the best.

Some put more moneys into executive salaries on an equivalent scale to for-profit corporations that I find questionable. A few organizations, especially in the wildlife and conservation sectors, employ lawyers and other professionals who demand salaries equivalent to what they would earn in private practice. They also put millions of dollars into TV advertising and other media outlets, which they justify as “educational expenses” rather than pure self-promotion to raise more money. Since that money often comes from a limited donor pool, this effectively robs smaller, local organizations of potential funding -- especially when donors feel that they have given enough already to a good cause.

To find the better organizations that put most of the funds they raise into direct action and specific programs, not into salaries and money-generating promotions, visit charitynavigator.org.

Visit your local animal shelter and wildlife refuge and see their facilities. Assess them: Are they locally reputable? What are their needs? As the saying goes, “think global, act local.”

Considering your affinity for birds, I would highly recommend the American Bird Conservancy. Also check to see if there is a local chapter of bird watchers, possibly with the National Audubon Society.

(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’ve had a compost pile for decades for natural disposal of leaves, grass clippings, eggshells, peelings and all kinds of rotten vegetables. Years ago while living on a farm, my mother also added chicken and rabbit manure to her compost (horse and cow manure, mixed with straw, had their own pile). This “black gold” made a huge difference in our gardening efforts.

Dumb Question of the Day: Is it safe to put cat feces and urine clumps in my compost pile? I use unscented, clumping kitty litter. -- I.E.E., Danbury, Connecticut

DEAR I.E.E.: The compost pile, when we worked our kitchen gardens and grew some of our own food, was indeed a source of “black gold.” I would not put cat poop into a compost pile unless I knew that it generated sufficient heat to kill off any potentially harmful bacteria and other organisms in cat feces.

It is good that you are using a fragrance-free cat litter. We are all better off without synthetic chemical fragrances, from laundry products to toiletries, in our homes, and our gardens would be better without herbicides, fungicides and insecticides. Such chemicals are likely to be present in a corn- or wheat-based clumping cat litter, and I would not use that kind of litter in my garden. Cat litter made of clay would probably not turn into good compost, nor be good for any kind of soil.

DEAR DR. FOX: When I whistle, my dog is able to quickly locate where the sound is coming from, and looks at me. When I whistle at my cats, they look all over and can’t seem to locate where the sound is coming from. They even run into another room, trying to locate it. It’s like the Monty Python skit called “Confuse a Cat.”

Is there something different about the way cats and dogs locate sounds, or are my cats messing with me? -- S.P., St. Louis, Missouri

DEAR S.P.: You have made an intriguing observation comparing the reactions of your dog and cats to your whistling.

I am a fan of Monty Python -- and not just because I am English, but because we need to laugh at the absurd aspects of human nature, which is often too far removed from authentic nature. Crazy cats can help us bridge that gap.

Cats aren’t stupid, nor are yours (necessarily) “messing with you.” Rather, in my opinion, they are having difficulty understanding why you are whistling. Could you be mimicking a bird outside or in another room, setting them off on a search for it? Or do they simply think that whistles do not come from people, so it must be from a bird somewhere else? I recall that every time I used to play a birdsong CD, my wonderful Siamese cat Igor would run up to the windowsill and look out, rather than running to the speakers.

Dogs have spent thousands of years longer with humans than have cats, so they have evolved a greater ability to read our body language and signals with greater alacrity and accuracy. They know through early experience that a whistle is a signal to get their attention, or to come, or to execute some other particular behavior. Given time and patience, cats will learn to respond to a person’s whistling -- especially if it is used to signal that their food is ready.

ANIMALS AT CARNIVALS, FAIRS AND FESTIVALS

I am one dog owner who would never take my dog to a county fair or carnival because she would experience more stress and anxiety than enjoyment. But many people do take their dogs, regardless of crowd size, noise, temperature and humidity. I wonder how many do it just because they like the attention of so many passersby stopping to comment and asking to pet their dogs.

Other animals at such events -- including animals in petting zoos and farm exhibits, and animals used for children’s rides -- need special oversight and established health and animal-care protocols, ideally with an animal welfare or veterinary expert consultant and monitor. Pigs and poultry can and do transmit diseases, especially influenza, to humans. Infections such as salmonella and E. coli can be a risk from calves, goats, reptiles and other animals on exhibit with close public exposure.

All states should follow the protocol of Red River Valley Fair in West Fargo, North Dakota, which recently stopped one vendor from giving rabbits away as prizes, citing state law. In my mind, this is a significant step forward in animal rights and protection. Next is to put an end to the nationwide sale of millions of chicks, ducklings and bunnies as Easter festival gifts every year. Most of them die, turning this Christian celebration of life into one of sadness for many families.

(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.)