DEAR DR. FOX: I have to tell you about a strange thing that has been happening to me over the last four weeks.

We moved into a 55-and-older community about three years ago, and I often take an hour nap in the afternoon. But recently, when I went to lie down, I felt something touch my feet! This happened again in the evening, and has now happened every time I tried to sleep since then.

About a week ago, while I was asleep, I felt something touch my face, and I also felt something jump on my legs. Whatever jumped on me was small, and it felt like it had four paws. The next day while sleeping, I felt something on the bed, lying tight against my back (I was sleeping on my side). Whenever I moved, the object disappeared. This happened every time I tried to get some sleep!

I decided to set up a camera to record what was happening. The video showed an outline of a cat that was gray on the white bedcover. The cat shape turns around very slowly, and you can see an outline of a cat’s face. You had to look very closely. I set up my iPad a second time, and in that video, you can see the distinctive shape of a cat’s body, tail, head and paws.

I did not want to tell my wife in case she thought I was hallucinating. But my wife looked at the videos and is now a believer. I have never owned a cat and I am not a cat person. I don’t know why it would keep coming to me on the bed! -- T.G., San Diego

DEAR T.G.: So good to receive your email! I have been documenting this phenomenon for some years now, as per my article “Animal Spirits” (posted at drfoxonehealth.com).

Is there any way you can send me a clip of the videos you recorded? I think this is so important to help people realize that we are part of an incredible universe of mystery and consciousness in many forms and different realities -- a quantum field, indeed.

Michael A. Jawer, in his landmark book “Sensitive Soul,” explores these and other phenomena. Read on for more.

BOOK REVIEW: “Sensitive Soul: The Unseen Role of Emotion in Extraordinary States” by Michael A. Jawer, Park Street Press

These are existentially and emotionally challenging times, and this book will provide a big boost to all who have a grain of empathy, who have felt emotionally connected with animals and nature, or who have an ounce of curiosity, skepticism or spiritual self-doubt. It provides well-documented accounts and scientific references related to our increased understanding of the different states of consciousness, the realms of the emotions and thoughts of the lives around us and within us, and the empathosphere and various cognitive states such as PTSD and prescience.

Thanks, Michael Jawer, for a book that can inspire, help heal and increase our respect and awe for all creatures, great and small. Visit his website for more (michaeljawer.com). As he states, “At its root, spirituality is really a matter of ‘fellow feeing.’”

VETERINARY TEAMS WORK TO SAVE ANIMALS FROM FIRES

Veterinarians, vet technicians and vet students on the University of California at Davis’ Veterinary Emergency Response Team have rescued, examined or treated some 600 animals affected by the North Complex wildfires in Butte County, California. The students, in particular, “go way beyond what anyone can imagine,” says veterinarian Lais Costa, the team’s coordinator. (Full story: KXTV-TV, Sacramento, California, 9/17)

Visit worldvets.org to see how you can help support veterinary emergency services; so much is needed in so many places.

SOME BETTER NEWS: UP TO 48 SPECIES SAVED SINCE 1993

Conservation efforts have saved up to 48 bird and mammal species from extinction since 1993, when the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity came into being. The Iberian lynx, California condor and pygmy hog are among those that have been saved. Researchers estimate that extinction rates would have been three to four times greater without conservation action.

Many species, however, are still endangered. “This is a call to action,” says study co-leader Phil McGowan. “The loss of entire species can be stopped if there is sufficient will to do so.”

(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: Climate fires are ravaging the drought-afflicted states of Oregon, Washington and California -- like the recent devastating conflagrations in Australia, Siberia, the Amazon and Brazil’s Pantanal region (extending into Bolivia and Paraguay). All this, as other regions suffer through unprecedented floods, hurricanes or droughts as desertification spreads from continent to continent. Experts in planetary ecology have been warning about, and striving to prevent, this planetary crisis for decades.

The state of the environment is a mirror on the human condition. The ethical nature of this crisis -- where human cupidity and stupidity take precedence over the rights and interests of other species, and where “the economy” is given precedence over environmental and public health -- needs to be confronted. Make America Green Again!

I grieve for all the lives, beauty and species lost, and for the families, communities and ecosystems torn apart. I weep for the plight and suffering of the drought-stricken elephant herds in Zimbabwe and the COVID-infected families crowded into refugee camps.

Massive deforestation will accelerate the climate crisis, which has been wrought since the beginning of the industrial age with the burning of coal and other fossil fuels. The petrochemical fossil fuel industry has poisoned the planet and contributed royally to the climate and extinction crises. This is a crime against humanity and all that nature holds.

The COVID-19 pandemic could have been prevented, but as long as we treat other species as “resources” devoid of rights and intrinsic value, then future pandemics will be inevitable (as predicted by proponents of the One Health perspective, onehealthinitiative.com), along with other plagues and pestilence. For supportive documentation, see the Sept. 10 Washington Post article “Humans are decimating wildlife, and the pandemic is a sign.”

Fatalistic pessimists may say it is too late, while optimists might hope that stock markets and GDPs (Gross Domestic Products) will somehow recover and act as a panacea. The unified sensibility of realists, however, can empower a different path toward GQL: Global Quality of Life. All who care must support this path if there is to be any future for us and other species on this planet, which we have collectively abused and now imperil, along with our own kind.

DEAR DR. FOX: I am writing concerning our 6-year-old male cat. He was recently at our vet’s for oral prophylaxis. During his treatment, he was catheterized and a urine sample was taken. The results showed elevated values for urea and creatinine. In addition, he had a positive “RenalTech” index, which our vet said means he has a 95% probability of developing kidney disease sometime in the next two years.

She has suggested we try a prescription renal diet, and provided us with cans of Hills, Purina NF Early Care and Royal Canin Renal to try. Our cat is currently on Blue Healthy Gourmet and has done well with it. My concern is with the effectiveness of special, commercial dietetic foods. I am skeptical, and look at these products as marketing ploys. Will this prevent his having kidney disease? Is there an alternative?

I know you recommend your homemade food, and will check your website for recipes. Can kidney disease be prevented early in a cat’s life, or is it inevitable? -- P.K., Danbury, Connecticut

DEAR P.K.: So many cats have kidney problems, in part due to poor oral health care and related poor diet (dry kibble). It is essential for cats (and dogs) to have their teeth cleaned properly, or at least annually evaluated by a veterinarian. For details, see my reviews of dental problems and feline stomatitis on my website (drfoxonehealth.com). There, you will also find my article on helping cats and dogs with kidney problems, which offers alternatives to these costly, and generally unpalatable, prescribed diets.

I am surprised -- or should I say not surprised, but disappointed -- that many veterinarians are selling these manufactured prescription diets, which offer a significant profit margin, while failing to educate their clients on the best nutrition for their animal companions. A large number of pets are fed mainly kibble (widely sold in veterinary clinics), which lies at the root of many subsequent health problems. For documentation, see the book that I co-authored with two other informed, concerned veterinarians: “Not Fit for a Dog: The Truth About Manufactured Cat and Dog Food.”

(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: My concern that the coronavirus could be present in the feces of infected humans after they test negative for the virus in respiratory samples has been recently confirmed in the gastrointestinal journal Gut (“COVID-19 and the gastrointestinal tract: more than meets the eye,” Siew C. Ng and Herbert Tilg, September 2020).

I based this concern on the fact that it is well known that feline coronavirus can be present in cats’ feces, but now that cats can get a different coronavirus infection from humans with COVID-19, my next concern is that such cats could also have the SARS-CoV-2 virus in their feces.

On this topic, I contacted professor Yoshihiro Kawaoka at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine. He wrote, “We have performed additional cat experiments and found one of six animals shed SARS-CoV-2 in its feces. So, in our hands, SARS-CoV-2 can be present in feces, but it is not a common occurrence.”

But in a larger population, this could be problematic if the amount of viral shedding is sufficient to cause infection. Read on for more about cats and SARS-CoV-2.

EVIDENCE CORONAVIRUS CAN SPREAD TO PETS

Eight cats whose owners had a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection had antibodies for the virus in their blood, and the owners reported that all eight had shown signs of respiratory or other illness, researchers reported at a recent conference on the coronavirus. Two of 10 dogs whose owners had confirmed infections also had coronavirus antibodies in their blood, and one had shown signs of a respiratory illness.

“These preliminary results suggest that a substantial proportion of pets in households of persons with COVID-19 become infected,” said study co-author Dorothee Bienzle, a professor of veterinary pathology at the University of Guelph in Ontario.

These findings call for heightened vigilance when handling fecal waste, both human and feline -- especially in homes where one or more people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and who have one or more cats. As a public health safety precaution, cats from quarantined homes and in infected communities should not be allowed to roam free, since they could become potential reservoirs for cross-infection to other cats and susceptible wildlife -- and also a source of reverse-infection to humans.

DEAR DR. FOX: I don’t read your columns regularly, but did happen to see a recent one that explained your way of dealing with the world for readers who don’t like your politics. I thought it was really well-written, clear and consistent. Sadly, we seem to have developed a very toxic individualistic culture, and many don’t care about the common good.

I retired as a psychotherapist last year, and know that many do not have the ability to think abstractly. Also, many are fearful that there are not enough resources to go around, so they have to look out for themselves and cannot see how improving the common good helps us all. But I also know that when an alternative view is presented in a nonthreatening way, it does cause some to consider alternatives. I’m hoping your clear message will cause a few of the readers who object to your “politics” to consider other ways of thinking. -- B.C., Mantoloking, New Jersey

DEAR B.C.: I appreciate your perspective as a psychotherapist -- a profession in which you must be sensitive in confronting your clients to examine the truths they live by, especially as they relate to their own suffering and that of others. I see epigenetically impaired cognitive processing as a serious social and cultural issue, which educators and therapists alike need to address with the same compassion and understanding as any good cat “keeper” or dog “owner”!

(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.)