Dear Dr. Fox:
My husband and I live in a house that gets an annual invasion of crickets and spiders when the weather turns colder. We relocate them outside as we find them, alive and unharmed. Spiders do good work in bug control, after all.
This year, we adopted two young-adult cats from a local rescue group, and they are very feisty! Among other things, they hone their hunting skills on any insect they can find. They are strictly indoor cats. I never knew we had so many bugs, even before the weather turned. I am worried about the coming spider invasion.
What arachnids in the Washington area could hurt our boisterous boys, how can we identify them, and how do you suggest we protect them?
C.C., the District
DF: I wish more people would show the kind of respect that you do by putting spiders and other insects you find in the house safely back outdoors. Collectively, insects contribute so much more to the greater good on planet Earth than does the human infestation!
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Our always-indoor cats serve as in-home sentinels, alerting us to any insect they find by their obvious focus, pawing and, if we are not quick to intervene, chewing. Some cats are expert fly and moth catchers. In the wild, insects can be part of a cat’s diet, and because of their high protein and fat content, some bug species are being developed as an alternative food source for humans, which is probably more sustainable and humane than raising warm-blooded animals for food.
The area around where you live is home to an impressive array of spiders, and only two are poisonous: The black widow has a shiny black body with red spots on the underside and is poisonous, but rarely bites. The other poisonous spider is the brown recluse; it is more often found in other areas of the country but has become more common in Maryland and Virginia in recent years. The brown recluse is unusual because it has only six eyes (most spiders have eight) and a violin-shaped marking on its back.
I would advise staying alert and keeping a close eye on your cats, so you can intervene to rescue any insects they find.
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I would worry most about wasps in early fall, which can sting cats and dogs and cause an acute reaction that could require emergency veterinary attention.
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT
Dear Dr. Fox:
My 2-year-old male cat has developed a pattern of copulation behavior with pillows or with my leg. He has been neutered, so he cannot receive satisfaction, and he is frustrated. After such attempts, he comes over and bites me and acts angry. What can I do for him?
S.W., Silver Spring
DF: Sex play is an activity that is quite common in neutered cats and dogs, which can be redirected into contact play-fighting or prey-chasing using a fluffy toy or feather tied to a string on the end of a cane.
Your cat is not sexually frustrated so much as play-frustrated. Many play-deprived cats will give “love bites’’ and ambush their human companions and scratch and bite. These are aspects of play-fighting and prey-catching behavior that should be modified appropriately by the caregiver by learning how to play with the cat or introducing a healthy, compatible cat companion.
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Two cats living together are generally happier and healthier than one living alone with only human company. See the steps needed to introduce a second cat on my website, drfoxvet.net.
LIFE AFTER LIFE
Dear Dr. Fox:
Having just read your column about a deceased dog seeming to have left traces of fur on a cleaned and paper-covered carpet where he used to sleep, I thought you might be interested in two cases in which our dead dogs came back to visit us.
Woodrow was a black husky mix with a loving personality. As he turned 13, he found it difficult to get up because of arthritis. We had to gently pull him from the front to help him stand.
Our oldest daughter and her husband kept him for us while we went away for a few days. Our son-in-law (who doesn’t like dogs in general) was unhappy with Woodrow, who was under the dining room table while they were eating. He couldn’t get out on his own, and my son-in-law became impatient with him, even though the dog wasn’t begging for food. Consequently, the dog was yelled at and pushed and shoved at his backside, where he was in pain. The dog bit our son-in-law severely. Given an ultimatum by our son-in-law, we had to put Woodrow down.
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Two days after Woodrow’s death, his smiling face (head only) showed up to another daughter of ours and me while we were half-asleep. It was like he was letting us who loved him know that he was happy and okay.
For years, I thought maybe we were both just dreaming, until our next dog, a sheltie named Alex, came back to visit. At about 15 years old, Alex, who also had a sweet and loving personality, and arthritis, died while being boarded while we were on vacation. I’d had a premonition about it happening but still wasn’t prepared for it when it happened.
Three days later, we returned and picked up his ashes and a paw-print mold that the vet had ready for us. The next night, I heard his slow footsteps walk into the kitchen, and then something drinking water from the bowl we had for our other dog. Alex’s chain was clanking against the bowl the whole time he drank. At first I thought it was our remaining dog, but he was sleeping on the sofa, curled up against my wife. Then I heard Alex walking back into the room where the rest of us were.
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The same thing happened the next night. I felt that he was showing his love for us in his former life, so I told him how much we loved him and what a wonderful dog he was. Then I explained that in death, he was supposed to be able to run and play and be without pain or any limitation, so if he saw that he was able to do that if he didn’t remain with us, he should know that we still loved him greatly, and that he didn’t have to stay with us. My wife also heard all of this.
We never heard from him again.
R.C., Glenn Dale, Md.
DF: Your accounts of after-life manifestations do parallel many that I have received from others, which I have published in my book "Animals and Nature First.''
So many similar accounts do help confirm the metaphysical veracity of these phenomena, to which we may be privy when we have open hearts and minds. Thank you for adding to this documentation. I have received several other accounts from readers who feel the familiar touch or hear the jingling tags of a deceased animal companion, as you did, sometimes by two people at the same time or by another animal in the home responding at the same instant. These new accounts are posted on my website, drfoxvet.net, under "New Evidence of Life After Life.''
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TRASHY BEHAVIOR
Dear Dr. Fox:
We have a 2-year-old Labrador mix. She is crate-trained, and we are working on leaving her out more often.
The problem is that sometimes we come home and find that she has gotten into the trash. At this time, we cannot afford a “pet-proof’’ can, nor do we have a cupboard we can keep it in. I’ve read many remedies, including hot pepper spray, vinegar, citrus spray or ammonia. Are any of these effective? Do you have any other ideas?
C.F., Myersville, Md.
DF: Dogs are scavengers by nature, and those alone all day get bored, which is another reason to invade the trash container.
I would buy a cheap tin bucket with a lid and wire handle that flips up and locks the can lid securely; they’re not expensive. You might also leave your trash container in the bathroom and close the door before you leave.
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Safe chew toys for the dog and a hollow rubber Kong filled with peanut butter or cream cheese will occupy your dog for some time after you leave. Leave on a radio or television tuned to a talk show to provide him with entertainment.
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.
Copyright 2016 United Feature Syndicate
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