Dear Dr. Fox:
My cat had diarrhea and was vomiting. There was no permanent cure, despite extensive and expensive testing and medication, plus a diet of only prescription canned food.
I finally realized that the problem was the excessive liquid content of the canned cat food. After opening the cans, pouring out the excess liquid and allowing the contents to dry out by leaving the opened can in the refrigerator for a day before using it, I greatly reduced the liquid content of the food. The result was a permanent cure of my cat’s vomiting and diarrhea — without further use of medications.
I recently found out that a friend’s cat had the same problems as a result of excess liquid in prescription canned cat food, and she cured him the same way.
R.P., Matawan, N.J.
DF: Your diligence on behalf of your cat should benefit many other cats and their owners.
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It is time for a big wake-up call and a demand for pet food industry accountability. The suffering of uncounted cats, and the anguish and financial and emotional costs to their owners associated with various ingredients and deficiencies, is criminal.
Clearly, your poor cat was allergic or hypersensitive to and intolerant of one or more ingredients in the “gravy” — not simply, as you contend, to the excessive liquid content. All cats need liquid!
Check my Web site, (www.drfoxvet.com) for information on one "gravy-making" additive, carrageenan, which can cause vomiting and diarrhea, and trigger symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease.
This disease leads many veterinarians to prescribe risky corticosteroids and even to anesthetize sick cats to do intestinal biopsies to make a diagnosis and rule out cancer.
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There might also be Red No. 3 dye (erythrosine), which is still used in some canned cat and dog foods. It may cause cancer and disrupt functioning of the thyroid gland.
BOWL GAME
Dear Dr. Fox:
I recently read in your column about a cat not drinking water. I thought I would offer a suggestion: My cat won’t drink water from a dish placed next to his food bowl.
Growing up, my cat would drink the water left in the bottom of the bathtub, so we started putting her water bowl on the side of the tub. My current cat started drinking water from a short glass I had for myself on my nightstand. So that is where her water bowl is now.
Some cats are just picky about where their food and water are located. I discovered my cat does not like deep bowls for her food and water. She would take her wet food out of the bowl and put it on the floor to eat it, making a mess. I don’t think she likes her whiskers touching the sides of the bowl.
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Now I put her food on plates or wide, low-sided dishes. Her water bowl is deep and wide, so her whiskers don’t touch the sides. It must be filled to the top, and she lets me know when it isn’t!
Sometimes, feeding and drinking issues are as simple as location and container type.
D.F., Fargo, N.D.
DF: Your observations might help many readers who have cats that do not like to drink by their food bowls and that prefer to avoid contact with the sides of their drinking bowls with their whiskers (vibrissae).
Wide glasses or ceramic bowls are best, in my opinion. Metal bowls can trigger a static electrical discharge, especially indoors in winter with synthetic carpeting, which can go through the vibrissae on the lips and under the chin and shock the cat.
Plastic food and water bowls might be safer in this regard, but they can be toxic. Some cats with skin lesions on their lips and chins have improved when their plastic food and water containers are replaced with glass or ceramic.
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SAFE FLEA PROTECTION
Dear Dr. Fox:
One of my mini-dachshunds, (he just turned 4) has had two seizures eight weeks apart.
Our vet thinks it was the Comfortis flea medicine, or maybe Heartgard, because the second seizure took place one hour after giving him these two meds.
Is there anything out there that is natural and less harmful for heartworm and fleas, or is there anything you would suggest for the heartworm prevention? My vet is saying Revolution all-in-one treatment. Ours are indoor dogs that get one morning walk on no grass and that are never in kennels.
D.D., Naples, Fla.
DF: This is some of what the manufacturers state on their Comfortis Web site:
"For dogs: The most common adverse reaction reported is vomiting. Other adverse reactions reported in decreasing order of frequency are: depression/lethargy, decreased appetite, incoordination, diarrhea, itching, trembling, excessive salivation and seizures. ... Following concomitant extra-label use of ivermectin with Comfortis, some dogs have experienced the following clinical signs: trembling/twitching, salivation/ drooling, seizures, incoordination, excessive dilation of pupils, blindness and disorientation. ... Use with caution in breeding females and dogs with pre-existing epilepsy."
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Clearly, your dog had an adverse reaction to these drugs. Check my Web site for my review of safe methods of dealing with fleas. Low-dose Heartgard (ivermectin) to prevent heartworms should be given only after a blood test has determined that the dog is not already infected. In states where winters are too cold for mosquitoes that transmit heartworm, the preventive drug need not be given year-round.
I know of no other safe preventive. This drug is not safe for some breeds, such as collies, when given at a high dose, as for treatment for mange.
TERRIFIED BY A PIG
Dear Dr. Fox:
I read your column about dog owners letting their pets urinate in public. How does this apply to service dogs?
This is a rare occurrence with my husband’s dog, but it recently happened after he was leaving the hospital after five or six hours of being there. The dog was allowed no water after his dinnertime, and he did his business at home before they left. Is a blind person expected to clean up after the dog?
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My second question involves the same dog. He is 4 years old and is a great service dog. We recently got a mini-pig, and the German shepherd is scared to death of it! We have had the pig four months.
R.S., Asheville, N.C.
DF: I am very much aware of the stress often imposed on guide dogs, especially when they are older and develop kidney problems and need more water, because my wife and I took in Quincy, her brother's guide dog, when he was retired from devoted service.
Service dogs are indeed trained not to evacuate until given vocal command, and the situation you describe calls for the public to be understanding. Your husband, of course, cannot be expected to clean up after his service dog.
Some dogs are spooked by pigs, not being used to their behavior, scent and ways they communicate. Give the dog time, and get a harness for the pig and take them both for walks together. Let the dog see the pig play with toys, and then try to engage the dog. Good luck!
Michael W. Fox, author of a newsletter and books on animal care, welfare and rights, is a veterinarian with doctoral degrees in medicine and animal behavior. Send letters to animaldocfox@gmail.com or write to him at United Feature Syndicate, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, Mo. 64106.
2014 United Feature Syndicate
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