DEAR DR. FOX: I just finished reading a woman's story about her beloved cat that crossed the Rainbow Bridge, but still visited her frequently at night.

This made my heart smile. My beloved mixed calico cat, Poco, passed a little more than two years ago. Though my heart is still broken, I often hear her running up and down the stairs at night. Ours was a friendship deep-rooted in mutual love. Is this crazy? -- L.P. Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania

DEAR DR. FOX: My wife and I read your column about the dog owner who said he saw his dog after he passed away. We had a cat, Junior, for 22 years. He passed away eight years ago. For a few years afterward, my wife and I would wake up having felt Junior walking across the bed at night just like he used to, going around our feet from her to me. He would split the night with each of us, always sleeping on the outside and never between us.

I never would have thought such things occur, but it did. After a time, it stopped. I am sure someone will say it was grief. I will not try to argue that, but it was very real to us. We miss Junior still. -- T.S., Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

DEAR L.P. & T.S.: This question of life-after-life is important to me because we as a culture have become so embedded in materialism-consumerism and the addictive virtual reality of social media and entertainment. We no longer have communion with nature, or talk to the trees and listen to the birds, and we cannot see the stars because our energy-consuming night lights have brought the end of darkness across all densely inhabited regions of the planet.

Where is the place and time in our daily lives for most of us to engage with nature and the great mystery of life?

Companion animals, regardless of their human-created genetic anomalies and dependence on their caregivers, provide countless people with such a spiritual connection of love and trust. Those who neither understand nor respect such mutual affection between humans and other species are sadly disconnected.

The bond both of you had with your cats lives on in your hearts and minds. Their presence to you in sounds, running up and down the stairs at night or snuggling in bed as they did regularly when alive, is possibly a projection from your own memory that your grief keeps awakening.

Another possibility is that your grief keeps calling them back because they loved you so much. Either way, let go. I find that reflecting on the life of a beloved animal companion through writing or even putting together a photo album helps alleviate the sense of loss; this reflection leads to celebration and gratitude for that companion animal's presence in your life.

L.P. REPLIES: Though I miss Poco every day, I feel as though I have let go. I connected with Poco like I never connected with anyone before. We were special to each other. We had her for seven of her eight years. She was diagnosed with large-cell lymphoma and received treatment for nearly two years. She let me know it was time to say goodbye. Her ashes sit on our mantle. I celebrate her life and am thankful for our time together.

DEAR L.P.: Then I would say that the power of love can indeed transfigure and transcend our mortal lives.

ANOTHER TECHNOLOGICAL DISCONNECT FROM RESPONSIBILITY?

A high-tech litter box from the PurrSong company automatically cleans and refills the receptacle. The LavvieBot also can be monitored with an available smartphone app. It is marketed as a device to relieve cat owners of litter box chores. (From digitaltrends.com, Jan. 6.)

In my opinion, this kind of litter box system does not enable the cat caregiver to make a daily inspection of urine and feces to see if there is a problem, such as blood in the urine or diarrhea. The more we rely on technologies in animal care, the more we must be mindful of technical limitations.

Also, animal husbandry (the old term for animal care) is a relationship of attentive engagement, which applied technologies should enhance. Technology should not limit our engagement with our pets or become a substitute caregiver.

(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: Our dog is a very anxious 8-year-old Morkie (a Yorkshire-Maltese mix).

In your opinion, would there be any advantage to giving her a drop of CBD during anxious activities such as flying? Would it be safe to give her a drop every day? -- J.J.E., Estero, Florida

DEAR J.J.E.: First, get your dog used to being in an airline-approved dog crate. Keep it open, with soft bedding and a few treats inside, so it becomes like her den.

As for your query, I asked veterinarian Dr. Robert J. Silver to respond. I have known him for many years, and he is one of the pioneers of integrative veterinary medicine and the application of cannabis in veterinary medicine.

Here is his response:

"Your question is a good one. It is known that CBD has a calming but not sedating effect on dogs, and it works pretty well at much lower doses than we would use if your dog was in pain, had epilepsy or cancer.

"When you ask if a drop a day would help, that is an impossible question to answer for these two reasons:

"1) I have no idea what the potency and concentration are of the CBD oil you have in mind; and,

"2) I have no idea what size (weight in pounds or kilograms) your dog is, since the most successful way to give CBD is by basing the dosage on the body weight of the animal.

"Another issue here is that with the incredible popularity of CBD, there are some shysters out there who just want to take your money and give you a bogus product. So look carefully at the CBD oil you are interested in and see if there is a contact number on the bottle. There should be. Call that number and ask for a Certificate of Analysis (CoA) that will tell you what the laboratory tests said in terms of how much CBD is in the formula, and if there is any THC in it. THC can be very troubling to dogs, so we want to give them only the very small amount that is found in hemp oil, which should be less than 0.3 percent THC.

"A good starting dose for calming your Morkie is 0.1 mg of CBD for each pound of body weight twice daily. The best way to give the oil is just into the mouth, so it absorbs through the oral mucous membranes.

"I hope this is helpful. All the best to you and your four-legged companion." -- Robert J. Silver DVM, MS, CVA; Boulder, Colorado

(You can check out Dr. Silver's blog at NurseYourPet.com.)

DEAR DR. FOX: Please help me settle a discussion I had recently with a relative. She claims you cannot bring a new cat into a house that already has a cat (cats). I have heard of cases where one cat gets so bored all day alone that a new cat would be welcome. What say you? -- C.D., Naples, Florida

DEAR C.D: I really appreciate your question because it is a common misconception that you cannot introduce a cat into a home where there is already one or more cats.

You are right that cats can suffer from extreme boredom when left alone for hours during the workweek and not getting the kind of stimulation another cat could give. This can contribute to obesity and other health and behavioral problems. As I document in my book, "Cat Body, Cat Mind," two cats living harmoniously together are generally happier and healthier than those living alone.

As to your contention that a cat will get bored when home alone all day, this I can confirm from a photo just sent to me from the family who adopted our latest rescue cat, Black Bean. The photo shows Black Bean hugging his buddy cat, Zorro, who my wife and I also rescued. This family adopted Zorro a year before Black Bean.

After following the basic steps of helping the cats get to know each other and develop trust, the new owners reported a month later that Zorro is more alert and losing weight, even though he was living with a family with two young children and an old dog. And his new companion Black Bean loves to leap, chase and play.

For details of the steps best taken to introduce a new cat to the home, see my article on this topic at drfoxvet.net.

(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.)

One of the world's most horrendous forms of animal exploitation is China's lucrative collection of bear bile for traditional medicine. Bears' abdomens are opened to collect bile on a regular basis, which causes chronic infection and liver disease. The animals are kept in small iron crates that are so cramped they cannot even stand up their entire lives. The confinement causes skeletal and other deformities.

Many of these bears die young, while others suffer for decades. There are an estimated 100 large-scale farms, which are legal in China, with the largest holding over a thousand bears.

Trade between countries continues to be condoned where there is human slavery and other violations of human rights, inhumane treatment of animals and destruction of wildlife habitat, and environmental pollution. Without broader harmonization of bioethical standards, "free" trade and the current tariff wars ignore the core issues of ethics and sustainability.

The consequences of such ethical blindness are increasingly evident on almost every continent today and are epitomized by the suffering of these bears. An abomination indeed, and a shame on China.

To learn how you can help stop this practice, visit animalsasia.org.

DEAR DR. FOX: I adopted a 5-year-old rat terrier mix last September, and potty-training has been difficult. She had not had an accident for about a month until the other night, when she urinated on my lap. I apparently missed her signals. Still, why would a dog urinate on her human? What steps should I take to make sure this doesn't happen again? -- C.B., Raleigh, North Carolina

DEAR C.B.: Good for you for adopting a dog in need of a forever-home. But what a surprise you must have had when she urinated on your lap! If this happens again -- before you check in with the vet -- do not punish her in any way. Quietly clean it up.

She could have cystitis, inflammation and possibly infection of the bladder or other urinary tract problems. Some dogs, especially after being spayed, have weaker sphincter control and will leak urine on occasion. Intermittent treatment for the latter condition with diethylstilbestrol, a replacement hormone, is generally most effective, but some veterinarians have reservations about this drug. In my experience with this hormone-replacement therapy, long-term use for this condition is not necessary, thus reducing possible harmful side effects.

But first, a full wellness examination is called for, and your veterinarian can help you find a solution. It is possible that she really needed to go out to urinate, and as soon as she relaxed on your lap the pressure of her full bladder was too much for her. So she may have no evident medical issues after all!

RESEARCHERS MEASURE LEVELS OF TRACE METALS IN DRY DOG FOODS

Researchers at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine found aluminum, chromium and molybdenum in commercial dry dog foods at higher concentrations than would typically be consumed by a person. Though researchers say the levels appear to be safe, the elements can cause health problems at high levels, and more research is needed. (From American Veterinarian, Dec. 24.)

(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.)