DEAR DR. FOX: Thank you for correcting some of the misinformation about feral cats out there. I would like to see more information about the diseases that cats pass along to people, especially toxoplasmosis and rabies.

For those people who don’t care about our dwindling numbers of songbirds and other native wildlife, maybe the threat to pregnant women and children will force new laws to be written that carry stiff fines for allowing your cat to roam outside and for feeding feral cats.

I think the book “Cat Wars” by Peter Marra and Chris Santella should be required reading for the irresponsible people feeding feral cat populations. -- P.O.G., Lake Worth Beach, Florida

DEAR P.O.G.: Thanks for your comments. Yes, indeed, this indoor-outdoor and free-roaming cat issue needs the full attention of all municipalities to protect public health.

Public health authorities in most states, and at the federal level, need to step up to the plate and involve the veterinary profession. More and more diseases are coming from animals -- as with the coronavirus pandemic, the containment of which has been pathetic, along with preparedness.

Here are just some of the diseases and infections cats can pass on to people: chlamydiosis, leptospirosis, MRSA, tuberculosis, plague, Salmonellosis, cat flea typhus, sporotrichosis, cat scratch fever, ringworm, Malassezia dermatitis, Chaga’s disease, Giardiasis, mange and rabies. (Ref: The Merck Veterinary Manual, 2010)

The fact that cats can be infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus by infected humans, and (in laboratory tests) pass this disease to other cats, is surely a wake-up call for the need to keep cats indoors. Fifteen of 102 cats in Wuhan, China, tested positive for the coronavirus, with three cats getting the infection from their owners. Of the others, six were stray cats and six were from pet hospitals, according to a report by Q. Zhang et al. in BioReview.

DEAR DR. FOX: A while ago, my cat started chewing, and possibly eating, our carpet. She had also been drooling for several months. We took her to the vet for her annual teeth cleaning, and they removed two teeth. She stopped chewing for a while, but soon returned to it.

We took her back to the vet, and ultimately they removed four more teeth. (I expected one or two, since we were told that they were questionable after the first surgery.) We received three days of anti-inflammatory medication, and she didn’t chew until two days after taking that. Then it started up again, along with the drooling.

She is 10 and doesn’t have many teeth left, plus I can’t imagine it is her teeth at this point. Is there anything else I should be looking at? I’m at a loss. -- K.F., North Palm Beach, Florida

DEAR K.F.: Dental problems are so common in cats. Many cases relate back to poor nutrition, and to foods high in cereal byproduct glutens. These cling to the teeth and gumline, altering the acidity and bacterial population in the oral cavity. Then inflammation and infection set in, sometimes followed by periodontal disease and other complications, which can be costly to correct -- and are sometimes fatal. For details, check my website (drfoxonehealth.com) for the article “Feline Stomatitis Complex.”

Preventive measures should start early in life. That includes getting kittens and puppies used to having their teeth brushed at the end of the day, and being weaned onto a wholesome and healthful diet -- not just dry kibble with high cereal/starch and gluten content.

Your poor cat presumably had dental radiographs taken to assess the degree of bone erosion in the tooth sockets; more extractions may be needed to reduce infection and inflammation.

Her chewing on carpet material is a common response to discomfort (excessive self-grooming can also serve this purpose). It is called pica, and it may give a temporary feeing of relief. But there can be complications, such as intestinal blockage of swallowed material.

My concern is possible secondary kidney damage from the dental disease, which could be making your cat experience nausea and engage in pica. Is she losing weight? Did the veterinarian evaluate kidney function and take your cat’s blood pressure? A follow-up appointment seems appropriate.

I would give your cat easy-to-eat canned cat food, or my home-prepared diet (posted on my website). Include one sardine a day for the anti-inflammatory benefits of fish oil, plus 500 IUs of vitamin D3 -- break the capsule and put the contents in her food.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR READERS: Authorities in the United Kingdom -- like those in the United States and most other countries -- have not managed this pandemic following the four pillars of disease control, say two U.K. veterinarians. Those pillars are biosecurity, biocontainment, surveillance and resilience, and they must be applied concurrently. (See D. Sibley and J. Brownlie’s “Vets would not manage COVID-19 this way,” Vet Record, April 2020.)

I would add a fifth pillar: bioremediation, meaning the restoration of natural, disease-limiting biodiversity in ecosystems, and also in our farming and food-production industries. Without massive applications of vaccinations, antibiotics and other drugs to animals in factory farms -- which epidemiologically mirror our crowded cities, slums and refugee camps -- these facilities would not be productive and would succumb to disease. The African swine fever virus (affecting only pigs up to now), for which there is no vaccine, has swept across Asia into some European countries, and the U.S. is on the alert. The only control measure authorities have taken is the mass slaughter of millions of infected pigs.

The Trump administration’s press conferences downplaying high human mortalities in susceptible communities, and promising accelerated development of vaccines and various drug trials, are seen by some critics as bordering on criminal negligence while pandering to the pharmaceutical and vaccine industries. This is the antithesis of preventive medicine and effective pandemic preparedness and control protocols -- essentially generating profits for a few at the expense of many.

It is up to us all to practice due diligence and follow the guidelines of the CDC and recognized health experts, especially with regard to the airborne spread of this virus in confined and crowded places. Facial masks are imperative. Since some people can pass this virus in their feces, extra precautions are called for in locations such as nursing homes, food preparation areas, swimming pools, public restrooms and laundry facilities.

It is also advisable not to pet other people’s dogs when walking outdoors, and to avoid allowing one’s own dogs to make contact with others, because they may carry the virus from infected owners. Such dog-to-human transmission has not yet been reported, but the precautionary principle should be applied.

INHUMANE FISHING PRACTICES REVISITED

Because walleye and other species of fish are dwindling in numbers in some of Minnesota’s lakes, the state’s Department of Natural Resources is stipulating that walleyes can only be caught and released (ditto certain other species). Some people who fish contend that the DNR “overestimates the mortality rates of walleyes caught and released” (Star Tribune, March 18). Regardless of mortality rates from the stress, injuries and secondary infections from being caught on a hook and struggling to escape while being reeled in -- a process that can last for several hours with large fish -- we should all consider the fact that scientists have documented that fish feel pain and have a range of emotions, from fear to caregiving.

Knowing these facts, even if the fish survive being caught and released, those who fish should consider if it is worth making fish suffer physically and emotionally simply for their own “sporting” enjoyment. We need more empathy in many segments of society. What better evidence of such deficiency than keeping live fish on a line strung through their mouths and gills, trailing behind a boat? This practice should be outlawed on humane grounds, and quick kill after catching mandated. For details about fish intelligence, sentience and efforts to improve their welfare and protection, visit fishfeel.org.

DEAR DR. FOX: Animals were never exiled from Paradise, just humans. Ergo, all of them will return there when they die. (WE, on the other hand ...) And I remember that the Creator took delight in making animals, so I must help keep them safe. The Creator loves them! They’re never “ours” to do with as we please. -- S.M., Plymouth, Indiana

DEAR S.M.: I know many people will appreciate your words and share your sentiment, while others consider other animals inferior and made for human use. These two “cultures” have long been in conflict from age to age. When we see clearly what we have done to planet Earth and the plight of all of God’s earthly creation, it is surely time to make amends for such “original sin.” I like the words of philosopher Meister Eckhart: “Every creature is a word of God.”

For atheists and agnostics, there can be no denying that other animals possess intelligence -- in some cases, far more advanced than ours -- and that many species show evidence of empathy. So there is no reason other than brute ignorance and indifference for humans not to treat other life forms with respect and consideration.

PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR WASHINGTON STUDY

Researchers at the University of Washington and Washington State University are collaborating on a study measuring pets’ susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2, and are seeking local participants. Pet owners in the area who have been diagnosed with a novel coronavirus infection within the last two weeks can sign up online, and researchers will go to their homes to test dogs, cats, ferrets and hamsters at no cost. (KIRO-TV, Seattle, May 11)

(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 READERS: Cats infected experimentally with SARS-CoV-2 transmitted the virus to other cats, researchers reported in The New England Journal of Medicine. But the cats did not develop clinical signs of illness.

In 2016, an H7N2 influenza outbreak in New York City cat shelters highlighted the public health implications of cat-to-human transmission to workers in animal shelters. Cats may be a silent intermediate host of SARS-CoV-2, because infected cats may not show any appreciable symptoms that might be recognized by their owners.

In early May, a cat in Spain that died from a common feline respiratory condition tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, according to the results of a necropsy, making the cat one of a handful worldwide to test positive for the coronavirus. The cat belonged to a family whose members had tested positive for the virus, but the viral level was low, and there is no evidence pets can transmit the virus to people, says professor Joaquim Segales of the Animal Health Research Center in Catalonia.

So vigilance and more monitoring are called for, where there are cats in homes where people are infected with the coronavirus. Such cats should be kept indoors and not allowed to roam outside. To date, there is no evidence that cats carrying this coronavirus can infect people, but if allowed outdoors, they could contact other cats who are infected -- whether with this coronavirus or other diseases -- that they might bring back to the families with whom they live.

DEAR DR. FOX: This is my second time writing to you, thanking you for your valuable work. The mistreatment of animals is a potent cause of disease. Included in this mistreatment is taking away their natural habitat.

The New York Times had two interesting articles a few weeks ago on this same topic: “Our Cruel Treatment of Animals Led to the Coronavirus” and “Animal Viruses Are Jumping to Humans. Forest Loss Makes It Easier.”

I am older now, and retired. A few years ago, I adopted a dog because his owner could not look after him. The dog showed me that all animals have human qualities in some measure, and all deserve to be treated humanely. I wish more people would adopt animals so they could see this for themselves. Then maybe we would transition away from eating our friends to a diet consisting of Earth’s bounty.

Keep up the good work. -- B.C.S., Nassau, Bahamas

DEAR B.C.S.: I very much appreciate your comments and references to articles that connect public health with our continued exploitation and consumption of other animals, wild and domesticated. Many consumers are now waking up to this tragic reality and are changing over to eating less, or no, animal produce, and see that a plant-based diet is the wave of the future.

Several people sent me this relevant article from Time magazine, which I encourage readers to find online: “We Need to Rethink Our Food System to Prevent the Next Pandemic.”

I also appreciate what you say about the dog you adopted and what the dog taught you. It is an obfuscation and denial that other animals do not have emotions, and cannot suffer as we do. That animals do “have feelings” has been proven by ethologists and other scientists. So it is no lie to contend that they have the capacity to experience fear and anxiety, as well as affection and security. By extension, therefore, they have interests and rights to humane treatment, which is our collective and singular responsibility.

Lying, denial, obfuscating -- concealing the truth -- have become commonplace in these times, from the highest levels of public office to our own personal lives. A life unexamined is a life unlived. We must all examine the truths we live by, especially in relation to the rest of the animal kingdom, and begin to make amends.

One truth is that there are too many of us on Earth to live on the meat-based diets that are now documented to be a major contributing factor to climate change, habitat loss and species extinction -- plus a host of food-borne illnesses, which the current COVID-19 pandemic affirms. This truth is inescapable, but is denied by vested interests, including those who believe that animals were created for man’s use.

(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.)