clockThis article was published more than 7 years ago
Dear Dr. Fox:
I have a 4-year-old male tabby cat named Beau. He is loving and friendly to everyone. About a year ago, he surprised me by sneaking up and biting me on the back of my leg. Since then, it has become a weekly event.
I find myself walking backward so I can keep an eye on him. After he bites me, he gets in a crouch position and has a vicious look on his face. The bites are serious — they bleed and look infected. I have a strong antibiotic that I use on them.
Beau lets me pick him up, he naps on my lap and he purrs. When I have guests, he will come and sit with us. Yesterday, I fell asleep and woke to him charging up the couch and biting my arm. I have tried walking around with a water bottle ready to squirt, but that isn’t always handy.
I was thinking of having his teeth removed. Everyone scoffs at the idea, until they see my scars. It was so bad one time that I took pictures of the wounds. I truly believe that if a vet saw them, he would agree to the dental surgery.
There is no pattern to the attacks, and he doesn’t do it when he is hungry or after I have rubbed his belly (which he loves). It is always when I am walking freely throughout the house.
I love this guy, but I am so very frustrated.
M.O., Naples, Fla.
DF: You have a problem cat, indeed. This is common in many one-cat homes, and it could have been prevented by having another cat so the two could play-fight together.
You need to change your relationship in regard to your fear and the cat’s uninhibited biting.
Removing the teeth is not the best solution, nor is removing the claws of cats that scratch. Cats can learn not to bite hard or scratch.
What you need to do is get some cat toys and play with your cat, especially early in the evening, when cats are most active. Have Beau chase a laser pointer and a fluffy or feathery lure on the end of a string tied to a cane. Play with him as long as he is receptive, and then groom him with a long-handled brush.
Also set up a cat condo so that he can get up and look down on you and feel secure. Making his environment more stimulating and redirecting his play-fighting behavior with suitable interactive games are steps worth taking before all else.
Dear Dr. Fox:
I acquired a 2-year-old Afghan hound from a breeder who deemed him not to be of show quality and did not want him to breed. He said that neutering would spoil his coat, and instead gave him a vasectomy. This worked very well; he remained a gorgeous dog and was much admired.
Every three weeks, I took him to the breeder for grooming. One day, my dog came home very unhappy. He moaned and cried, and he wouldn’t eat his food. I couldn’t imagine what was wrong.
After a week of this, I called the breeder to ask whether anything had gone amiss on his visit. He laughed and explained that a female had been sent to him to be bred, and she was present while my dog was there for grooming.
My dog had fallen in love (!) and was pining for her. The breeder said that the mating had been unsuccessful and, compassionately, said, “Bring him back.’’ I did so, and my lucky, infertile dog was able to spend a happy weekend with his lady love before she was sent home. He came back smiling.
G.J., Silver Spring
DF: Your experiences with your vasectomized dog will enlighten and amuse many of my readers.
There is a reconsideration of routinely neutering male and female dogs because, especially in some breeds, there are significant health benefits from retaining their ovaries and testicles and related natural hormone levels, according to health surveys by veterinarian Benjamin Hart and his associates at the University of California’s Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Removing these glands can disrupt the regulatory functions of other endocrine glands.
Dogs do “fall in love,’’ and I have seen this in dogs that have been neutered and are members of the same sex. My Indian pariah dog Batman screamed with joy when he met with the canine love of his life, a neutered male sheltie, in our local park. They would engage in sex play, much to the consternation of his owner, who called my dog a pervert!
Some years ago, I read about male dogs in Denmark or Sweden spending time at kennels where there were female dogs in heat that had been surgically altered (hysterectomy) so they would not get pregnant, and the dogs could satisfy their sex drives. But the United States, with its puppy play groups and doggy day-care centers, might not be quite ready for such indulgent canine prostitution.
Dear Dr. Fox:
I want to thank you for your help over the years with our German shepherd Markus’s health problems, which eventually reached the point where we had to decide on euthanasia because he was suffering so much.
Many days after his departure, which we deeply mourned, it appeared we had received a “sign’’ from him. We are skeptical about such things, but one morning last week we found pieces of fur on the carpet runner where Markus used to rest before coming down the stairs. This area had been cleaned and stepped on, but the pieces of fur (obviously from an animal) had not been stepped on and were scattered around this area. They are really noticeable to the naked eye and are displayed in a certain design, like a dog’s paw.
The whole runner had been covered with newspapers for two to three weeks. The newspapers were removed after Markus’s departure, and there was no sign of these pieces of fur at that time.
I thought I would share this experience with you and hear your comments. This is beyond our comprehension.
M.S., the District
DF: I was so saddened to hear from you about the necessary humane decision to euthanize Markus.
I detail many instances of apparent afterlife communications or manifestations by people’s beloved animals in my books “Dog Body, Dog Mind” and “Cat Body, Cat Mind.” Also, updated accounts are posted on my website, drfoxvet.net, under the title “The Empathosphere.”
I would like to hear from other readers who have had comparable “visitations,’’ which can be in various modalities, such as seeing the animal’s form, hearing the paws on the floor or the jangle of tags on the collar, feeling the familiar touch of the animal or finding the animal’s fur around the house. Although grief and trace memories of aspects of the living animal’s physical presence might trigger brief sensory hallucinations, there is evidence, as when two or more people in the home experience the same physical presence or sensation at the same moment, that there is indeed more to life and death than we ever dreamed of.
I like the metaphysical statement that the spirit is not in the body, the body is in the spirit.
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.
