DEAR DR. FOX: I read a recent statement about socializing feral cats and caging them. My parents raised applehead Siamese cats when I was younger, and I’ve had a multi-cat household ever since. My parents caged cats for breeding and showing purposes, and I have caged cats for behavior issues, food allergies, and for the safety of feral cats and the rest of my clowder (group).

My observation is that the cats, even the ones that must be caged for food allergies, become very attached to their cages or their own personal space. Right now, I have an 18-year-old cat with food allergies that is caged at night, while I’m away from the home and when I clean. And I have two feral cats caged about 90 percent of the time due to behavior issues and the safety of other cats. But even when the doors are open, they are usually found in their respective cages.

I believe this is like a dog that has been properly crate-trained; the crate/cage becomes a safe haven, not a punishment. Their food and water are there, along with a litter box, toys and bed, providing a safe zone.

Unrelated: When will an animal behaviorist be a standard part of a veterinarian’s practice? I mean an individual that specializes in behavior, not just a few classes that the vet took at school.

And finally, I don’t have to tell you that your daughter Camilla is amazing, but she is! Her Project Coyote is dear to my heart. Education is the best defense for these beautiful creatures. I live in Indiana and the hunting is cruel. I support her nonprofit organization, and share her website regularly. -- T.S., Indianapolis, Indiana

DEAR T.S.: Your observations about some of your cats staying in their cages when the doors are open, and that they regard it as their den, confirm what I have long advised. I encourage cat owners to put a small cat-carrying crate in a low-traffic corner with a soft towel or blanket inside, and put in treats on occasion, including catnip. Keep the door open at all times and encourage the kitten or cat to use it as a den. This would make life so much easier and far less stressful for the cat when a veterinary appointment is due.

On the topic of behaviorists, there is an American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (see their recent book “Decoding Your Dog”), but regrettably they are few in number. I am one of the founders of applied veterinary ethology, advocating for decades to have related courses that are required, not elective, for students in all veterinary paths (companion animal, farmed animal, “exotic” animal, laboratory animal and zoo animal).

According to veterinarian Dr. Karen L. Overall: “Most colleges of veterinary medicine have historically lacked, or still lack, full-time programs in veterinary behavioral medicine led by board-certified veterinary specialists” in applied ethology or behavioral medicine. This is unacceptable. Any creature with a broken spirit can never fully recover from physical illness or injury. Ethology, the science of animal behavior, essentially studies animals’ ethos -- their spirits, so vital to determining and providing for their well-being and quality of life.

I am so glad that you know of my daughter Camilla’s Project Coyote. I am very proud of her dedication and recent successes getting coyote-killing contests outlawed and exposing and stopping the practice of setting dogs onto them while they are in cages. These efforts take endurance and the support of people who care. I do not fund her, since what we have to spare goes to two veterinarians working in India, where my wife, Deanna Krantz, once ran an animal refuge and 24/7 in-field veterinary service. (For details, check my new website, drfoxonehealth.com.) The region in India is one of the last wild preserves left for elephants, tigers and leopards. Human and livestock encroachment is relentless.

(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 DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR DR. FOX: The USDA is rushing ahead with its “modernization” plan for the slaughter of pigs, turning over key inspection responsibilities to the industry it regulates.

We should all be concerned. While current regulations allow slaughterhouses to kill a staggering 1,106 pigs per hour -- or one pig every three seconds -- apparently that’s not fast enough for the pork industry. The Trump administration’s new regulations, to be rolled out as early as May, will actually remove that cap. That means meat packers killing 90 percent of the nation’s pigs will be given the go-ahead to operate at unrestricted line speeds, killing pigs as fast, and as recklessly, as they want.

This move is on the heels of a new Trump administration decision to increase processing line speeds for some poultry plants from 140 to 175 birds per minute. In addition, the USDA is working to deregulate slaughter inspections in the beef industry. These irresponsible changes put consumers, workers and animals at grave risk.

Increasing already exorbitant line speeds is being achieved by replacing qualified USDA meat inspectors stationed in the plants with the slaughterhouses’ own personnel, who are “trained” at the discretion of the plants, and subject to disciplinary action if they “impede” meat production. The result of the fox guarding the hen house is the fact that the nation’s large hog plants will increase their line speeds by about 12 percent, and their annual profits by millions of dollars per plant.

The public will be put at risk, as the responsibility for detecting diseased and contaminated product will be delegated to, or shared with, company employees. Workers will suffer the consequences, as injuries and illnesses like carpal tunnel disorder will likely increase dramatically. And animals, the nonexistent concern in most slaughterhouses, will pay the highest price.

When my book “Slaughterhouse” was published in 1997 and updated in 2006, my investigations with the Humane Farming Association (HFA) revealed that pigs at high-volume plants were routinely dragged, beaten, excessively prodded, inadequately stunned, bled, and immersed in the scalding tank (for hair removal) all while fully conscious. This happened because employees at high-speed plants routinely resort to brutality as they struggle to keep the production line moving at ridiculously high speeds. -- Gail Eisnitz, Humane Farming Association, San Rafael, California

DEAR G.E.: Many readers will appreciate your expert testimony on a serious issue where money takes precedence, yet again, over animal welfare and public health and safety. Several years ago when I was investigating slaughter practices, I was told by a government meat inspector that the inspection was termed “organoleptic” -- meaning eyeballing the slaughtered animals as they flew past on the conveyor. I also saw some pigs and poultry hanging by shackles and struggling before being “processed,” not having been stunned and killed beforehand. I should add that meat condemned for human consumption from animals diseased, dead, dying and debilitated (called 4-D meat by the industry) go into many pet foods, with better brands indicating “Organically Certified” and “human-grade quality.”

Your dedicated investigations and documentation should be accessed by all involved, and used to stop such insanity.

DEAR DR. FOX. What is your advice about feeding feral cats? About two years ago, four feral cats were hanging around my neighborhood. I called our animal control unit, and they recommended capturing, neutering and releasing them. To make a long story short, all four had already been neutered. It was hard for me to see hungry animals, and I began feeding them -- basically just dry food in the morning outside on our deck.

Something happened last summer to one of them, and now there are three. We have been away for vacations a few times, and I worry about what will happen to them, but they always seem to find their way back to our house.

What do you recommend doing? My husband is not a cat lover and would never agree to capturing them and trying to make them indoor cats, but I find it hard to ignore their hungry stares. -- A.P., Trumbull, Connecticut

DEAR A.P.: You are a “captive of your compassion,” as my wife and I say about each other. At least I have a supportive partner. Perhaps your husband has never known a rescued feral cat’s love, which can eventually be won with patience, empathy and understanding. Read “Most Feral Cats can be Rescued and Recovered from the Wild Outdoors,“ posted on my website (drfoxonehealth.com). Might your husband consider setting up a large enclosure for them, if he does not wish to take on the challenge of bringing them into your home?

Outdoor cats’ lives are generally short, ending with injury, illness or being killed by a larger animal or vehicular traffic. In your situation, the cats are still going to catch, maim and kill small mammals and birds, so feeding them may help reduce their predation. Also, provide fresh water and insulated boxes for shelter. We use an electric heating pad in a large box during cold Minnesota winters, and eventually trap them. After appropriate veterinary attention, we provide foster care for these cats until we find “forever homes” for them. On occasion, they become permanent members of our own family, current status being one rescued dog and one recently rescued cat!

(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 DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

In a March 20 email to veterinarians, Hill’s Pet Food expanded its recall of certain canned dog foods found to contain excess vitamin D. The following notice from the company was provided to TruthaboutPetFood.com by a veterinarian friend:

“Following the recall, we conducted a detailed review of our canned dog foods. As we had expected, that review confirmed that the issue is isolated to the same vitamin premix used in canned dog foods and limited to specific production lots. However, our review did determine that there were additional products affected by that vitamin premix, and it is for that reason that we are expanding the recall. No dry foods, cat foods or treats are affected. ...

“We understand that this recall has caused pet parents considerable concern and that the well-being of their pets may have been affected. We are also aware of the disruption and difficulty that this has caused you and your staff. We have addressed the issues that caused this recall, and we are working to make this right.

“We have expanded the operating hours of our Veterinary Consultation Service and opened our consumer call center to 7 days a week. We will pay for the diagnostic screening for hypervitaminosis D for any pet consuming impacted food. We will pay for continued diagnostic testing for pets with elevated vitamin D levels until they are back to normal. We will reimburse pet parents for medical treatment for an affected pet eating impacted food.”

Customers wanting information about reimbursement should visit HillsVet.com/RecallResources.

DEAR DR. FOX: As the grandson of a cattle rancher, and with a father who taught me how to hunt and trap, it seems like you have it out for us.

DEAR G.Z.: I could have written your letter myself because I am deeply aware of the divide between “us” and “them.” But you and I are on the same page, surely, for the love we have for our children, for the animals in our lives and for the “great outdoors.” Yet there is a gap between us in where we draw the line when it comes to killing other animals and how we should best farm and fish so as not to harm the planet any further.

The vets we see to care for our two dogs are not like you, or at least they don’t write stuff about animal rights. I admit some of your vet advice they agree with, but I don’t agree with you using your Animal Doctor column as a soapbox for your radical animal liberation and anti-business conservation and environment protection. Hunters and farmers are conservationists, after all -- otherwise there would be no ducks and deer left to hunt and no food on our tables. -- G.Z., Baytown, Texas

It is time for us all to bridge the great divide that is widening every day, globally, between the rich and the poor, inviting conflicts over dwindling resources and polluting and destroying the great outdoors.

The essay about our divided cultural attitude toward wolves, “A Nation Divided: Lupophobia, Wolf Protection or Managed Slaughter,” posted on my website (drfoxonehealth.com), may help you see both sides. Then dedicate your life as best you can to the common good. For me, in particular through this column, that means helping maximize the quality of life for companion animals and all creatures great and small that are affected by our choices.

I received this relevant statement from a longtime associate: a holistic medical practitioner, acupuncturist, and one of only two veterinarians in the country trained and licensed to work on both people and animals -- and, like you, from a farming and ranching family. It reads as follows:

“How do we get people thinking holistically and ecologically vs. the typical Western way, whether in medicine, nutrition, agriculture or wildlife management? We are all connected from the soil on up, and the health of one affects the other. My grandfather farmer understood this. ... Some just can’t see interconnectedness. It is a mystery to me. I can’t understand how they can’t understand. My response would probably be to let kids taste soils, run in the woods and wild grasses, be quiet and learn. Then come home to a rescued dog or cat or two.”

(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 DrFoxOneHealth.com.)