DEAR READERS: Philosopher and priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin famously wrote, “Everything that rises must converge.” There is a convergence today in the United States, and around the world, of ethical, legal and moral concerns about racism, speciesism, oppression, poverty, exploitation and cruelty. Likewise, there is a call for equal justice for all under the banner of the Golden Rule.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which is anthropogenic -- a consequence of our exploitation and killing of animals for food -- is sending psychological, political and socioeconomic shockwaves around the world. It is making us confront how the soon-to-be 8 billion of us are living, and is kindling the fires of ethical accountability.

My friend Thomas Berry, the late environmentalist and priest, saw this convergence of environmental justice, social justice, animal rights and environmental protection as the beginning of the “ecozoic” age: a time of ecological awareness and responsibility to ensure economic, social and environmental justice, determining the quality of life of future generations of humans and animals. Thomas wrote the foreword to my book “Animals & Nature First: Creating a New Covenant for Animals and Nature,” which promotes the concepts of One Health, One Justice, One Economy and One Earth. If religion cannot move us, then surely reason can. Where there is passion and compassion for all life, as well as awe, wonder and, above all, enthusiasm for ethical values, there is hope.

DEAR DR. FOX: My husband and I have a nearly 14-year-old Siberian feline, Niki. He is a much-loved and well-treated member of our family. He will sometimes join us on our deck, but prefers to find a soft, sunny spot indoors. He returns our affection by wanting to be close to us for brushing, petting, etc.

Our concern is his coughing: It starts as a dry cough, but ends up as a wet one (like he’s trying to cough up phlegm). We have taken him to a veterinarian, who has prescribed allergy medication (chlorpheniramine maleate). His lungs are clear, per X-ray, but we are concerned as Niki still struggles with this coughing three or four times a day. He also is taking prednisone once a day for asthma.

We give him his meds in a pill pocket. He gets occasional dental treats, and his regular food is canned Hills c/d. -- L.W. & J.W., Boone, North Carolina

DEAR L.W & J.W.: Your cat’s symptoms could mean a number of issues. Some cats diagnosed with asthma have a food allergy, so a change in diet is called for. The whole-grain corn and corn gluten meal listed in the prescription diet you are feeding Niki could be a contributing factor. Corn and glutens have no place in a cat’s diet, since they are obligate carnivores.

I especially like The Honest Kitchen’s freeze-dried cat food; that, or my home-prepared diet (posted on DrFoxOneHealth.com), may help. Other potential reasons for the cough include irritation and chemical sensitivity to formaldehyde-releasing carpets, various floor cleaners and other in-home chemicals. Also, the dust in some cat litters can be problematic, so a change in cat litter may help. Try washed sand or shredded newspaper for a while.

The most common reason for cats gagging and making distressing sounds is that they have fur caught in their gullets from self-grooming and swallowing, so groom your cat well every day. Offer some sprouted wheat grass or mashed green beans or butterbeans in his food, as the natural roughage can help get clear the trapped fur. Fur accumulates in a cat’s stomach if not fully regurgitated or passed in the stools, leading to trichobezoars: solid balls of fur in the stomach that can impair appetite and digestion before moving into the intestines and causing blockages.

So you need to do some more detective work on your cat’s problem. The current medication that has been prescribed may or may not help.

Excessive grooming because of thyroid disease, with a lot of fur being swallowed, as well as fluid in the lungs from cardiac problems, can also lead to the kind of coughing fits your cat is exhibiting. Keep me posted.

(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: Chicago Alderman Brian Hopkins wants to cap the fees pet stores can charge for shelter dogs, in order to close a loophole in an ordinance that allows commercially bred dogs to be sold as “rescues” in pet stores. Two businesses in Iowa that supplied dogs to Chicago stores agreed to close and pay $60,000 in fines for operating “sham rescue groups.”

This dubious activity may be going on in other states, so I urge all who are looking for canine or feline companions to seek out a legitimate animal rescue, shelter or refuge organization. For humane and public health reasons, pet stores should be prohibited from selling puppies and kittens from breeders. Ditto for across-state-lines internet sales of animals. People have become ill from infections carried by pet store puppies and other animals. Inadequately screened dogs brought up from southern to northern states, some veterinarians contend, have increased the incidence of canine diseases like heartworm and giardia in the local dog population.

For similar animal welfare and public health reasons, I would outlaw the sales of any wild animal species -- reptile, amphibian, crustacean, fish, bird or small mammal -- from wholesale-retail market chains. The live-animal markets in China, where it is thought this devastating COVID-19 pandemic arose, surely serve as warning enough.

Animals are not commodities and require proper, informed care, a knowledge of which impulse-buyers may lack. Better to adopt, and phase out commercialized animal exploitation. Responsible rescue and re-homing organizations provide information as to proper care -- for any kind of animal, from rats and ferrets to gerbils and bunnies -- and expect compliance, including home inspections for some rescued species. But non-domesticated species bred in captivity or taken from the wild should not be regarded as “pets” because, with rare exception, the natural environmental and social conditions they require cannot be provided, and they suffer the consequences of a dispirited existence for human enjoyment.

DEAR DR. FOX: I just read disturbing information on the product Bravecto, and now need to know how to protect my 10-year-old American Staffordshire terrier from fleas and ticks. She has a recurring skin condition and breaks out in whelps about twice a year. She is allergic to the meds that have been prescribed (Clavamox and others in the same family). I’ve been giving her Benadryl to soothe the itching, but I’m looking for some guidance on what else to do. -- S.P., Palm City, Florida

DEAR S.P., Yours is one of many letters I receive in the spring and the fall, concerning dogs who have an environmental allergy aggravated by fleas and complicated by flea-bite hypersensitivity. Poor nutrition can also play a role, as can swimming in a pond or stream, which can mean a damp coat and fungal infection. Many older dogs have low thyroid activity and derive much benefit from thyroid hormone supplementation, including better skin and coat condition.

Essential fatty acids are vital for many body functions, including the health and integrity of the skin. A few drops of fish oil daily (or one canned sardine) in your dog’s food will help, plus 1 teaspoon of brewer’s or nutritional yeast per 35 pounds of body weight. This yeast product is rich in B vitamins, and many veterinarians and pet owners contend that it helps keeps fleas away.

A daily teaspoon (per 35 pounds of body weight) of local honey or bee pollen has helped subdue allergy problems in many dogs with a skin issue like yours.

If your dog does swim -- and please, dog owners, never allow this if your dog has a topical anti-flea and -tick treatment or wears a pesticide collar, since these chemicals are deadly to aquatic life -- rinse her off well to get rid of possibly toxic blue-green algae that kills dogs every summer, and dry her thoroughly.

(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: We need certain vaccines because of the ways we live and work -- and especially how we raise farmed animals for consumption under crowded and often unsanitary conditions with poor air and water quality. These and other environmental factors increase the probability of infectious and contagious disease. And rather than addressing these issues, we have come to over-rely on vaccines, antibiotics and other drugs, profitably promoted as preventive medicine (as was using DDT in the home decades ago).

The overuse of antibiotics has led to the evolution of highly resistant strains of bacteria, increasing human and farmed-animal mortalities. The same can be said about highly toxic herbicides and insecticides leading to the evolution of resistant “weeds” and insect pests. The overuse of vaccines has resulted in an increase in autoimmune and other so-called “vaccinosis” diseases in dogs and humans alike. Some vaccines that are composed of weakened viral strains like measles and polio may cause temporary shedding from recipients, leading to infection of non-vaccinated children and greater susceptibility to other infections in those who are malnourished and have compromised immune systems.

Vaccinations have helped reduce the incidence of zoonoses -- diseases transmissible from animals to humans -- such as rabies and tuberculosis. Expanded immunization of animals as barriers against human exposure has been proposed. Species-specific diseases that can decimate local populations of cats and dogs, such as feline panleukopenia, canine distemper and parvovirus, have been effectively controlled in many communities with vaccinations. Human smallpox has been eradicated globally thanks not only to vaccinations, but to international collaboration and the fact that there are no domestic or wild animal reservoirs of this disease.

Humans are susceptible to few of the hundreds of thousands of animal viruses that exist in nature, but changes in the human-animal interface increase the chances for zoonosis. And experts warn that humans can also transmit viruses to animals. “Any time viruses have the potential to mix and mingle with others, it can cause serious issues, especially when they can jump between animals and people in either direction,” said veterinarian Casey Barton Behravesh, director of the CDC’s One Health Office.

But with rising human and farmed animal populations, and incursion into wildlife habitats, the emergence of new diseases like COVID-19 is inevitable. The SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for this disease is a challenge to vaccinate against: Coronaviruses rapidly multiply, mutate and recombine to create new strains, which could potentially infect a person simultaneously. They also have RNA repair mechanisms that other types of viruses lack. To a far lesser degree, we see this vaccination-effectiveness issue with the failure of influenza vaccines, since newly recombined and unanticipated viral strains come from factory-farmed poultry and pigs around the world. These are also widely spread by international travelers, migratory birds and, some believe, by the microbiome in our planet’s upper atmosphere.

Bioremediation -- restoring healthy, disease-preventing natural ecosystems protected from human encroachment -- along with more effective human population control through family planning and spay-neuter programs for dogs and cats -- would be significant progress. But this can’t happen without a reduction in the use of climate-changing, environment-polluting fossil fuels and worldwide factory-farmed animal production. Their populations must be supplanted, and the acres used to feed these poor animals must be restored, by the rise of organic, regenerative and sustainable food production systems.

If we give life to such long-overdue initiatives now, future generations will have greater health, economic and food security than the millions who are needlessly suffering today. We all must strive to live like the trees, which give more to life than they take, rather than to take all we can for ourselves.

DEAR DR. FOX: I would like your opinion about the most humane dog food. We are needing to put a couple pounds on our 12-year-old rescued collie, Danny. -- J.H., Minneapolis, Minnesota

DEAR J.H.: As part of the aging process, older dogs lose muscle (and weight) through a process called sarcopenia. They need more fat and protein to stave this off. Arthritis may also be involved, along with some kidney dysfunction with loss of protein in the urine.

I would feed The Honest Kitchen freeze-dried dog food (with grains) and add, on alternate days, a tablespoon of cottage cheese, grated Parmesan cheese, blueberries or plain yogurt or kefir; a few drops of Nordic Naturals cod liver oil or good-quality fish oil; a teaspoon of ground turmeric and ginger; and an emptied capsule or crushed tablet (daily human dose) of L-carnitine and chondroitin-glucosamine-MSM. Transition to this new diet over five to seven days.

Older dogs also benefit from good-quality human probiotics, taken daily, and digestive enzymes, which can be provided through a daily tablespoon of canned, unsweetened pineapple or papaya. I also give our dog a little Halo dog kibble and U.S.-made rawhide chews to help keep the teeth clean.

(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.)