From March 2004- March 2005 I kept a record of the hundreds of different health and behavior problems that readers of my nationally syndicated Animal Doctor newspaper column ( with United Features, NYC) wrote to me about. Many of these problems had received veterinary attention, and for various reasons had not been resolved.

The top 5 health problems for dogs were skin problems---itching, hair loss, hot-spots/raw areas and acral-lick granulomas topping the list, followed by adverse reactions to vaccinations and anti-flea & tick meds., then lameness/arthritis. Tying for fourth place were seizures, and congestive heart failure, with various cancers taking fifth place..

Topping the list of 5 most common behavioral problems in dogs was coprophagia and pica (eating stools, dirt, grass), and tying for second place, aggression toward other dogs, and aggression toward people. Then in third place came fear/phobias, especially to fireworks and sudden noises, then obsessive compulsive disorders like tail-chasing and carpet-digging. Tying for 5^th place was urinating in the house, separation anxiety, excessive barking and incontinence in female dogs.

Of the top 5 health problems in cats, skin problems---itching, hair pulling, raw spots, and hair loss were most common, followed by feline urologic syndrome (urinary bladder inflammation and calculi/blockage of urine), with chronic diarrhea, possibly inflammatory bowel disease, in third place. Kidney failure, adverse reactions to vaccinations and anti-flea meds tied for fourth place, followed by repeated vomiting of food. (A number of chronic skin problems, judging from the descriptions in the letters, seemed to be undiagnosed cases of eosinophilic granulomatosis).

The top behavioral problem in cats was house soiling, most often with urine, (and not associated with FUS), but frequently with feces as well. Second was aggression toward humans (in some cases possibly linked to hyperthyroidism), followed by aggression toward other cats in the home. Biting too hard during play, and "love biting" while being petted, took fourth place, with addiction to dry food, senile dementia, and spraying by mainly neutered males shared fifth place.

Most of these health and behavioral problems, as I have long advocated, can be prevented, and in many instances effectively treated in both dogs and cats, by a more holistic approach by veterinarians who include, as many animal shelters are now doing, and veterinary colleges in their students‘ curricula and in-field experience/community outreach, behavioral counseling, and preventive health-care education to cat and dog owners and especially for those who have recently purchased, but ideally adopted, a new kitten or puppy. Genetic susceptibilities of certain breeds of dogs and cats, and individual genetic abnormalities not withstanding, most of the above health and behavioral problems, that result in much animal suffering, and emotional and financial cost to the primary care-givers/"owners", should and can become something of the past when the basic principles of holistic veterinary preventive medicine and responsible animal care are applied to the companion animal-human bond/ relationship. These translate into care-givers/guardians/owners of animals providing them with not only the right nutrition/diet, but most importantly a right relationship based on an understanding of the animals’ behavior and emotional, social, environmental and physical needs, which means providing the right environment for the animal. The other right of all animals under our care/dominion is right veterinary care, which must begin with a more conservative approach to prescribing and administering potentially harmful and often unnecessary vaccinations and other drugs, especially those used to control fleas and ticks, that are wrongly toted under the banner of "preventive" medicine*, for pecuniary if not misguided reasons, like the wholesale use of antibiotics in intensively farmed animals that put consumers at risk world-wide from antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria in contaminated meat, eggs, poultry and dairy products (.Those who have read Ivan Illich’s book "Medical Nemesis" may well see a parallel in this "veterinary nemesis" that I have been seeking to rectify for many years. And I am not alone** in this deep concern for the animal health and well being, and for the good of every society, East and West.

The love that is shared between most people and their animal companions makes both parties vulnerable to the exploitation of those whose vested interests in making a profit from selling some new product or service is only too often frivolous , and contrary to the best interests of the animal and to those of the animals’ owners/primary care givers. Those who resort to the kind of emotional blackmail that ‘if you don’t give this new pet food or disease -and -suffering- preventing product to your pet you are an uncaring and irresponsible person and pet owner‘ operate in a money-driven ethical vacuum in total disregard of the real costs and consequences.

In the final analysis, (or count-down as we embrace the end-of days, as many see it), we are beginning to make amends for our limited appreciation and understanding of what wellness in body, mind and spirit means. In our deeper understanding of the health and behavioral problems that afflict our companion animals, that mirror in so many ways our own afflictions and dis-ease, we may find the way to wholeness, health and fulfillment.

* Adverse vaccination reactions resulting in disease (so called vaccinosis) include injection-site fibro- sarcomas in cats, and various immune-system dysfunction diseases, possibly hyperthyroidism, inflammatory bowel disease, various chronic skin conditions and kidney disease. More research has been done in dogs, where certain breeds and lines are particularly prone to develop vaccinosis. Conditions associated with same include encephalitis, seizures, polyneuropathy ( weakness, incoordination and muscle atrophy), hypertrophic osteodystrophy (shifting lameness and painful joints), autoimmune thyroiditis and hypothyroidism, liver, kidney and bone marrow failure variously associated with autoimmune hemolytic anemia, immune mediated thrombocytopenia.

The increased recognition of vaccinosis means a more conservative approach to vaccinating dogs, cats, ferrets and other companion animals.

As for the contribution of highly processed commercial diets to the sickness and suffering of cats and dogs, the fact remains that animals often make spectacular recoveries, not when put on special prescription diets, but when taken off all such ‘junk’ convenience foods, and are instead fed balanced diets appropriate for their species (e.g. no cereal-based diets for carnivorous cats), that contain whole-food ingredients, ideally organically certified and humanely derived.

** For more information contact The Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights, PO Box 208, Davis, CA 95617-0208 , and The Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, 2214 Old Emmorton Rd., Bel Air, MD 21015 for more connections. And for beginners in the quest for a more holistic approach to companion animal care, see Donna Keller’s book, "The Last Chance Dog", Scribner, NY( 2003).Richard H. Pitcairn and Susan Hubble Pitcairn, "Natural Health for Dogs and Cats", Rodale Press, Inc, Emmaus, PA (1995), and Franklin D. McMillan, "Unlocking The Animal Mind", Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA (2004). More advanced texts for veterinarians include Allen M. Schoen and Susan G. Wynn "Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine". Mosby, St Louis, MO (1997). Susan G. Wynn and Steve Marsden, "Manual of Natural Veterinary Medicine", Mosby, St. Louis, MO (2003), and Cheryl Schwartz, "Four Paws and Five Directions", Celestial Arts, Berkley CA (1996). Elizabeth M. Hodgkins, D.V.M. Esq, "YOUR CAT: A Revolutionary Approach to Feline Health and Happiness." St Martin’s Press, NY, 2007

The American Veterinary Medical Association published the following facts and figures on the most prevalent health problems in cats and dogs in the U.S. causing owners to seek veterinary treatment, compiled by the Veterinary Pet Insurance Company, of Brea, Calif..

For the second year in a row, urinary tract infections topped the list for cats as the most common medical condition. Veterinary visits for skin ’allergies’ resulted in the most claims for dogs in 2005. Ear infections topped the list for dogs in 2004.

Claims by incident in 2005 for dogs: 1. Skin allergies. 2. Ear infections. 3. Stomach upsets. 4. Bladder infections. 5. Benign tumors. 6. Osteoarthritis. 7. Sprains. 8. Eye infections. 9. Enteritis. 10. Hypothyroidism.

Claims by incidence for cats in 2005: 1. Urinary tract infections. 2.Stomach upsets. 3. Kidney disease. 4. Skin allergies. 5.Respiratory infections. 6.diabetes. 7. Ear infections. 8. Colitis. 9. Eye infections. 10.Wound infections.

Aside from the few health problems in dogs and especially cats from being allowed outdoors to roam free, (eating garbage, getting into fights, and contacting sick animals) all of the above medical conditions are worth careful scrutiny considering the fact that they occur in animals who are essentially confined indoors most of their lives. So what is brought into their environments from the outside to cause so many health problems demands some consideration. Top of my list are the kinds and quality of food, water, routine preventive medicines, especially vaccinations and ant--flea and parasite drugs, house and garden chemicals, and last but not least, emotional stress in the animal’s life, notably separation anxiety, boredom, and social conflict, especially in group-housed cats.