Marion starts by telling how she, a human nutritionist who studies food systems, came to write Pet Food Politics. She’s interested in obesity and food safety, which of course are important for animals as well as people. Today’s food safety threats include food quantity (too many calories and too few), microbes such as Salmonella and E. coli, etc. The argument of her book is that if we don’t clean up the safety of pet food, it’s going to affect human food. Her interest started with her book What To Eat, a book about the human food supply and how to think about food issues. Talks about looking at pet food during the writing of that book and not understanding what was on the labels. Her partner, who had a background in animal nutrition, would look at them and explain about the guaranteed analysis and so forth. She planned to do a chapter on pet food and decided it deserved its own book. She realized that the kinds of questions people were asking about pet food were the same questions people asked about human food.

Now she’s talking about the pet food recall. It became very apparent right from the beginning that the implications of the recall not only affected the pet food industry but also American government food safety regulations, foreign relations with countries like China, etc. I was having my first experience with investigative reporting. The surprises about this and there were a great many were the number of recalls. Explaining what wheat gluten is and how it’s made and that it’s expensive to make, which is why it was outsourced to China. Wheat gluten in health food stores is called seitan. Now she’s explaining that melamine is an industrial chemical that had also been outsourced to China. Used to make plastic dinnerware and Formica countertops. For years people have been trying to figure out what to do with the nitrogen in melamine. Unscrupulous people added melamine to protein so that any food it’s in will test as being higher in protein. Melamine by itself isn’t very toxic to the human or animal body, but it’s unstable and one of its breakdown products, cyanuric acid, formed crystals that blocked kidney function in cats.

Who knew that surplus pet food would be fed to farm animals, but pet food is highly nutritious…and animal feed makers feed surplus food to chicken, pigs and fish. Talks again about link between human and pet food supply. I got the feeling during the recalls that the FDA was floored by the response of pet owners being so upset about their pets eating tainted food. One of the problems was the complexity of the food distribution chain. Very difficult to trace where ingredients went. A lot of the facts of what had happened only came out when one of the distributors was indicted and the documentation was presented in the court case. It was never clear who manufactured the tainted wheat gluten.

People didn’t know that so many of our food ingredients were made in China like citric acid and vitamins and minerals. NYT reporter found out melamine had been added to pet food for years. 80 percent of China’s food production is done in very small scale decentralized companies, basically backyard factories. China has cracked down on those factories since. Asked a USA Today reporter who was in Beijing for the Olympics to tell her what she saw in Chinese pet food stores and their shelves were very similar to those seen in American pet supply stores.

Now talking about the discovery of melamine in infant formula in China in fall 2008. Evidence that problems began a year earlier.

Result: bad economic situation for Menu Foods, although they are now back in the black. Implications for FDA and Congress. New legislation calls for standardization of ingredients but so far not much has happened.

We have one food supply and if it doesn’t work for pets it’s not going to work for people. We have a global food system that needs some regulation. CDC says there are 76 million cases of food poisoning each year, not counting pets. Lots of reports about how U.S. food supply isn’t particularly safe, and Nestle thinks that’s an understatement. Just this year alone, recalls of peanutbutter, pistachios and cookie dough.

What I find disturbing is the number of recalls that still continue. Pet food companies are not doing the kind of testing they need to. Laws regarding food safety have not changed much since 1906, when they were instituted after publication of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle. The food safety system is divided in regulation between the FDA and the USDA and there are aspects of the food safety system that are so antiquated that they would be absurd if lives weren’t at stake. Many of problems in food supply are due to animal waste.

Too much is proposed but not passed or is voluntary not mandatory. Notes that FDA does not have recall authority, although it may after next week. FDA poorly staffed and cannot keep up with burden of oversights with which it’s tasked. So government passes on food safety responsibility to consumers.

Common ideas: single food safety agency for all food, pet or human; recall authority to FDA.

I think we’re in the middle of a food revolution. Slow food, organic, animal welfare, locavore.

Her mantra: “one food supply.”

Ends with slide of her “grandcat”

What they bring to us every single day is something very special.

Right now David is showing us a fabulous DVD of dogs, including James and Uno, visiting children at hospitals.

The images say it all, David says. You walk into the room with the animal and the energy changes immediately. We visit at the Women’s HEalth Unit at Sloan Kettering every week; we visit the ROnald McDonald House; the reaction is the same. The parents will say to us, ‘that’s the first time she’s smiled since she’s been here.’

Telling about visiting a man with dementia, an angry man who feels dumped by his family. As often happens with a boy and his dog, i’m an experimental case to see if we can make something happen. This guy looked up and he looked angry, and then he saw Belle, and he lights up and starts slapping his knee and says “Come here, you knucklehead,” and Belle goes and breaks the rules and jumps in his lap. I’m fighting back tears and the administrator is fighting back tears. Turns out the man had had Brittanys all his life and thought Belle was his dog.

When we’re dealing with kids, we say when a child is sick, the parents are sick too. when you’re making that child smile, you look over and see mom and dad and they’re smiling too.

You can walk into that room with a dog and talk to them about their dog at home or just get them to smile.

Tells about a girl with a spinal tumor who asks to walk Belle; she was fired up and ready to go. THe physical therapist told me, you just got her to do something I’ve been trying to get her to do for weeks.

David telling about his wife just starting to volunteer with their Brittany Tighe and how she decided to get a master’s in theology instead of an MBA and wrote her thesis on animal-assisted therapy and is now director of spiritual care for Ronald McDonald House. Our dogs were the first dogs ever allowed into bone marrow stem cell transplant center. When they start letting dogs in there it’s because they’ve pretty much decided they’re not going to make it. David is choking up telling a story about a girl they visited there who passed away. Her friends came over and told us that she loved the dogs and they loved the dogs for what they had done for her. I like working in the dog so nobody can see when I tear up.

Ron McD house gives us an adventure every week. there’s a kid who’s been there five years from Australia. He came there after his parents had been told he had only six months to live.

Telling about two young men at Mt. Sinai who see them with the dogs on a visit and one of them whistles at Tighe. Tighe rolls over for one of them. I think there’s a little food motivation going on there, David says, because the boys are being fed. The other one drops his arm off the chair and Tighe runs over and gives him five. By this time, they’re all crying and laughing, and Tighe thinks he’s the greatest thing ever.

I’m not changing the world; I’m just the guy on the other end of the leash. Now is telling about a woman who is paraplegic and gets a visit from Tighe. He gets up on her bed and lays there like a rock for 20 minutes–this is a dog who runs crazy in Central Park and chases squirrels, other crazy behavior, etc.

What we go through is nothing compared to what these kids go through every day. here’s another thing we often don’t talk about is the staff, what they go through. The staff breaks out from what they’re doing and they’re smiling to when they have an opportunity to interact with a dog.

Delta certifies rabbits. Rabbits are good for working in burn units, David says.

I think anybody who has a pet knows intuitively that when you go home and interact with them you feel better.

Now the science is starting to show it: your blood pressure goes down, your heart rate goes down; we need to do more research, but the medical profession is saying that this is good for patients.

Now I’m trying not to cry as he tells a touching story about the death of Belle and the relationship he had developed with a homeless veteran because of her.

We created Angel on a Leash as a charitable entity for the WKC four years ago and now it is a separate organization. We’re in 12 different facilities around the county…

Uno’s been a wonderful dog for us and I know many of you are dog writers as well and are familiar with Uno. Getting ready to show us another DVD. Telling us about Uno visiting Walter Reed after going to the White House. Uno met a double amputee marine there, who is now on the board of Angel on a Leash. We’re seeing Uno and this young man, Joshua Bleill, interact with kids at the Ronald McDonald House.

Just like when I saw this 18 months ago, people are blowing their noses, wiping away tears. Amy Shojai is pointing out that show cats would be good at this because they’re used to being handled.

Time to break for lunch; David is heading home to deal with a dog problem. Uh, oh!

Cavalier laugh for the day: I have a Mardi Gras mask, one of those half masks on a stick with feathers on it. I picked it up the other day to put it away–it had been out for Halloween–and on a whim I put it up to my face and turned toward Harper. Imagine a happy dog face immediately changing to horrified. Then she started barking at me. Too funny!

“Can you imagine living in a space the size of a bathtub?” Dr. Kate Hurley,  Director of the Koret Shelter Medicine Program at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, asked. “It’s ridiculous, but that’s what shelter cats kept in standard cages have to do.”

Not only are closely confined cats uncomfortable; they’re also much more prone to respiratory disease, a leading killer of shelter cats. That’s because feline upper respiratory infections — URI — are triggered not just by infection, but by stress.

“Feline URI is very closely related to stress,” she said. “Cats who get URIs are by definition experiencing severe stress, so it’s usually a marker for welfare as well as health. It gives us an idea how well shelters are doing not just in keeping cats healthy, but also how well we’re meeting their needs.”

Shelter medicine experts suspected that crowding and the resulting stress were at least partly to blame for high rates of URI in shelter cats, so the Morris Animal Foundation funded a study by Dr. Hurley:

[The study] is assessing disease incidence, cage layout and sanitation methods to determine how shelter housing affects stress and stress-related illnesses. Her research shows that prevalence of feline URI varies wildly across the country—with anywhere from 5 percent to 60 percent of shelter cats getting sick. Environmental risk factors explain some of the variation, and so far, shelters with the lowest URI rates seem to be those with high-quality housing for cats.

The first stage of the study, which was just completed, involved gathering data to find out what shelter management practices resulted in the lowest rates of feline URI.

All the cats coming into shelters had similar health levels, but the cats housed in the most crowded conditions had the highest rates of URI — often extremely high. So the second phase of the study involves comparing cats in typical crowded shelter conditions with cats housed much less intensively.

Dr. Hurley’s team is overseeing a remake of the cat housing at a nearby shelter, the Yolo County Animal Services facility. “We ripped out the old traditional small cages and put in 11 new improved units,” she said.

The new cages are multi-level cat-condos with an elevated resting shelf, multiple hiding places, and enclosed litter boxes. The cages are made of stainless steel, which can be a noisy material for feline housing, but has the best acceptance by shelter directors.

“We wanted something shelters would actually use,” Hurley said. “Steel can be noise-reflective, so the manufacturer replaced some of the parts with polymer components that are easily replaced but quieter to open and close. There is also sound-dampening on the cages, and the resting bench is also polymer, which is quieter and warmer, but can still be cleaned.”

Most importantly, the cat condos are twice the size of a standard cat cage, allowing each cat a full three feet to stretch out. “This is a big push, so this is why it’s important to document that cats really do need at least three feet of space,” she said. “Imagine not being able to stretch for a week, or two, or three. This is the minimum size we think is functional.”

The outcome of the second phase of the study could protect as many as a million cats a year from respiratory disease.

“We know URI in most shelters is number one or number two reson for euthanasia of cats,” Hurley said. “We know it’s costing shelters a tremendous amount of money. The Association of Shelter Veterinarians listed it as the number one health issue in shelters.”

Hurley acknowledged many shelters think that giving cats twice the space means they won’t be able to save as many cats, but she thinks they’re doing the math wrong.

“Setting the bar where cats have good quality care does not mean shelters can’t save as many cats consistently,” she insisted. “In fact, they may save more. Cats who are too stressed to cope can’t show their true colors, or show if they’re already great candidates for adoption or need some special help.

“Healthier cats can go to to offsite adoption,” she said. “Sick cats can’t. Healthy cats can go to rescue, and rescue groups can move more cats if they aren’t having to take time to nurse the cats, and use up foster care space.

“And as long as the shelter has the capacity for all the cats who are on hold or are waiting to go out to rescue groups, as well as a good selection for adopters, then having fewer cats just means they have more time to spend on the cats they have, and on developing good programs to care for those cats and cats in the community.”

Hurley’s project is one of three Helping Shelters Help Cats studies funded through the Morris Animal Foundation’s Happy Healthy Cat Campaign. An international team from the United States, Canada and Australia is also working to develop effective behavioral interventions to minimize the spread of URI.

Controversy and criticism have plagued McHugh-Smith and the SF/SPCA in recent years. An expensive veterinary hospital — a legacy from her predecessor — as well as the decision to close down the SF/SPCA’s three-decades old hearing dog program without any notice to its longtime staff and clients contributed to a growing narrative in the community that the organization had lost touch with its animal lifesaving mission.

A move to get the SF/SPCA to change course gained momentum in 2008, when a scathing article in the alternative newspaper SF Weekly accused the organization of abandoning its commitment to no-kill — a movement that originated at the shelter when Richard Avanzino was its head.

Called “A Time to Kill,” the article said that a kitten named Tulane and a young dog named Isaac had been killed by the SF/SPCA even though they could have been saved — and that this change was part of a larger picture:

The SF/SPCA has also announced a new protocol for euthanizing sick kittens, which conflicts with the public’s perception that the shelter adheres to no-kill principles.

The reason for the new euthanasia policies is, in part, money. The SF/SPCA is scrambling to find funding to complete its controversial $30 million, for-profit animal hospital, the Leanne B. Roberts Animal Care Center. The project is only half complete, and with the looming specter of hiring staff, new equipment costs, and opening expenses, there has been an emphasis on saving money around the shelter, where it costs an estimated $43 a day to house a healthy cat. Since president Jan McHugh-Smith was hired a year ago, she has scaled back or eliminated internationally known behavior and medical services that had saved thousands of animals over the years.

Employees and volunteers were alarmed at the recent closure of the 30-year-old Hearing Dog Program, along with major changes to adoption policies, cutbacks to the Cat Behavior Program, and the loss of the volunteer Affection Eaters program, which might have been able to help Tulane.

The cutbacks and new policies have caused at least seven staffers to quit, as well as an uncertain number of volunteers. Some of them have organized into two groups who are vowing to expose the new policies even if it means that donors, the lifeblood of the nonprofit, stop cutting checks.

Although McHugh-Smith insisted in an interview with me that the SF/SPCA, and she, remained commited to a no-kill goal, the community wasn’t convinced. A series of contentious Animal Welfare Commission hearings followed, with local rescue groups and the organization FixSanFrancisco.org demanding changes at the shelter.

The changes that came about weren’t what those groups had in mind. The expensive veterinary hospital came online during the current economic downturn, and is currently a million bucks in the red. Hours and staff were cut, and the shelter’s relationship with the high-profile Academy of Dog Trainers was terminated.

Another scathing cover story in another Bay Area alternative weekly, entitled “How the San Francisco SPCA Let Us Down,” alleged that SF/SPCA was sucking in all the donor money but letting the local rescue groups do all the work:

At a January 8, 2009 meeting of the Commission of Animal Control and Welfare (ACW) – which advises the Board of Supervisors regarding animal issues in the City – animal care supervisor Eric Zuercher presented some startling statistics: While the SF/SPCA took 122 dogs from (Animal Care and Control) in 2007-08, independent rescues took far more. Grateful Dogs Rescue, which gets 80 percent of its dogs from ACC, took 141 in 2007, and 146 in just the first three quarters of 2008. Rocket Dog Rescue, which, Zuercher stated deals with the toughest cases (pit bulls, medical issues), took 111. Other groups also stepped in – Muttville takes older dogs, Wonderdog takes a lot of small dogs. The 122 taken by the SF/SPCA represents just 14 percent of the total dogs they took in 2008.

Where cats are concerned, the SF/SPCA fairs better, with 73 percent of its cats coming from ACC in 2008, though that is down from 84 percent in 2007. The percentage of cats taken from other shelters jumped from 16 percent in 2007 to 25 percent in 2008.

Toni’s Kitty Rescue saved 200 kittens in just four months, all of which would have been euthanized otherwise because ACC does not adopt out kittens under eight weeks of age (and the SF/SPCA won’t take them). Lana Bajsel’s Give Me Shelter gets 95 percent of its cats and kittens from ACC – they currently have 100 cats in their system on an $80,000-a-year budget, while the SF/SPCA has just 170. Without the rescues, Zuercher concludes, many more animals would have died.

“We would be so greatly diminished without the rescues,” Zuercher says. “They astound me and inspire me with the amount of effort they put into this.”

With McHugh-Smith’s departure, the Board of the SF/SPCA says they’ll be conducting a national search for a new director. Will real change come — once again — to San Francisco?

Kirkland police were called to a veterinary clinic in the city on Oct. 11 after an employee there reported a theft.

The employee told police a woman identifying herself as Molly Keicko entered the clinic claiming to be traveling from Colorado with her dog, Detective Christa Gilland said in court documents. The woman went on to say she’d left her dog’s pain medication at home and needed a refill due to an injury to the dog’s leg.

After staff at the center examined the dog, “Keicko” was issued a prescription for Tramadol — a painkiller used by humans as well as cats, dogs and most pets — but then fled the clinic after saying she needed to go to her car, Gilland said. Clinic staff contacted police as well as the Washington State Veterinary Medical Association, which issued a scam alert to veterinarians statewide.

“There was an immediate and overwhelming response from clinics within King County stating that they had experienced the same ’scam,’” Gilland said in court documents. “One of the clinics reported that a former employee, Danelle Shay, had been terminated for stealing Tramadol, and she had a dog matching the description of the one seen in Kirkland.”

According to court documents, Gilland found that 16 clinics reported nearly identical incidents involving Shay and her dog, Toomie. Workers at 10 clinics identified Shay from a photo montage, according to court documents.

Pet Connection BFF Dr. Patty K touched on the topic of prescribing meds that have “street value”   in a recent post on Dolittler, by the way.

To accomplish the goal this weekend (I hope), I put an ad on Craiglist this morning:

‘98 Plymouth Voyager SE — one owner, low miles – $950

The good: Incredibly low mileage for a 12-year-old van — 90K — dark green exterior, gray cloth interior. Great AC, power windows, nice sound system, newish tires. 20ish mpg. Should be a good transportation car for years. One owner, regular servicing.

The bad: Sagging left front bumper (bolt broke, doesn’t impede driving), electrical short in door, neither interior nor exterior very pretty. This was my “dog car.” The rear bench seats have been stored since 1999 in the garage, so they’re like new. But the rest … well … allergies may be a problem and the fastidious dog-hater will not like this vehicle, possibly even after detailing.

The good or bad: Obama sticker, under which is an anti-Bush sticker. If you’re a Rush-Beck person, the karma on my dogma may be very wrong for you.

Price is $950 dollars firm, cash or registered check . I’m giving a good break off low private sale Edmunds book for you to pay for detailing and to deal with the electrical short.

Seems there are a few potential buyers already, and my brother will be dealing with them this weekend. But I knew I would get a nastygram,  and I was not disappointed. Paraphrasing over the f-bombs, removing the caps and hyper-exclamation pointing, here’s the meat of it:

I wouldn’t sit where your fat ass has been and I wouldn’t let my kids sit where your shitty mutts have been, either. Obama? It figures. Another clueless socialist, but I don’t expect YOU to care about the future of this country. You’re another dog freak who hates children.

Yeah, well … that’s why I put all the details in the ad. To save everyone some time. You’re welcome!

Actually, I’m surprised I got only one such response, but the day is young …

I am a big believer in pet health insurance (even more after I got the very nice check for McKenzie’s recent malady), but fear-mongering? Not cool, dudes.

Especially with everyone already in a near freak-out over anything having to do with any flu, as the excellent science reporter Edie Lau writes for the VIN News Service:

Had the new canine influenza vaccine come out in ordinary times, veterinarians may have had little trouble deciding whether, when and to which owners’ dogs to offer the shot. Clients might easily have grasped that the shot is appropriate for dogs that congregate in places such as boarding kennels and shows, but not necessary for stay-at-home pets.

But times are not ordinary.

With a human pandemic flu in full swing and fresh evidence that the virus in people has passed to pet ferrets and a house cat, flu viruses of all varieties are stoking high anxiety. That’s translated into unusual — some say unwarranted — public interest in the dog flu shot and a heightened sensitivity among clinicians on the subject.

The canine influenza vaccine is not a “core” vaccine, but rather a “lifestyle” immunization, to be used only under certain conditions. Since its release, practitioners have been puzzling over just what conditions warrant it. For instance, they wonder, is it appropriate for a boarding kennel to require the shot in a region where canine influenza is not known to be circulating?

She goes on to write about who should be considering the vaccine for their pets, and why people looking at boarding over the holidays may not feel they have a choice but to vaccinate, since some kennel owners are mandating it:

[University of Florida researcher Dr. Cynda] Crawford [who discovered the virus] said she understands both veterinarian and kennel-owner perspectives on the issue. “As a veterinarian, I would prefer that policies like that be made on evidence,” she said. “At the same time, I have seen a few boarding establishments here in Florida just wiped off the face of the Earth financially (after an influenza outbreak).”

Like boarding establishments, [veterinary] clinics may have an interest in playing it safe, Crawford added. “Now (that) there’s a vaccine, what is your liability if you don’t tell clients about it?” she said. “If I do not tell clients whose dogs are socially active in the community, and they go out and get canine flu, they may come back and say, ‘Why didn’t you tell me there was a vaccine?’ ”

[Dr. Steven] Barta, a Michigan practitioner wondering how to broadcast the availability of the vaccine without inciting panic, ended up preparing a short letter for clients on the subject. It reads in part:

“This vaccine does not prevent the disease but it lessens the severity of the disease. After careful consideration and research we feel that this is an important vaccine to be given to any dogs that fall into the following categories:

• Kenneled dogs or those that visit doggie day care

• Frequent visits to the groomer

• Dogs that play at dog parks

• Out-of-state travelers

“In essence, dogs that receive the Bordetella vaccine are also candidates for the Canine Influenza Vaccine.”

The letter apparently met his goal of being informative without causing a panic. Two and a half weeks after he sent it out, Barta said the demand was “surprisingly low.”

Canine influenza originally was discovered among racing greyhounds in Florida in 2004. Before that, dogs were not known to be susceptible to the flu. The flu subtype, H3N8, evolved from a virus that infects horses.

Crawford said the virus has since reached 29 states and the District of Columbia, with urban areas in Colorado, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Florida particularly hit hard.

Read the rest here. And read Christie’s earlier blog post — from August, please note — here.

I have a dog who was a victim of canine influenza. He got it a massive dog show in Houston as 6- or 7-month-old puppy, probably from dogs brought in from Florida. The Texas A&M vet school didn’t realize what they were dealing with at first, so Woody might have been the first case in Texas — a dubious honor, to be sure. He survived thanks to A&M and is a robust, healthy dog now. Because my dogs do go to places with lots of other dogs, I will be vaccinating them. I do not, however, vaccination them for “kennel cough” because in healthy dogs it’s a minor, self-limiting disease.

But you need to look at the risk/benefit equation for yourself, talk to your veterinarian and make your own decisions — based on science, not fear.

Image: Damn, that’s a good-looking dog! Smart and hard-working, too.

A Senate committee passed legislation on Wednesday that would increase government oversight of the U.S. food supply, which has been battered by a series of high-profile recalls that have soured consumer confidence in the food safety system.

The bill would expand U.S. Food and Drug Administration oversight of the food supply by giving it the power to order recalls, increase inspection rates and require all facilities to have a food safety plan in place.

[....]It has been almost 50 years since oversight of the food supply was significantly overhauled, but momentum to reform the system has grown following high-profile outbreaks involving lettuce, peppers, peanuts and spinach since 2006.

An estimated 76 million people in the United States get sick every year with foodborne illness and 5,000 die, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Senate legislation would require FDA to inspect all food facilities at least once every four years and high-risk plants no less than once a year. Currently, many facilities can go several years without being inspected.

It also would implement traceability for fruits and vegetables, and require the FDA to conduct a pilot study for processed foods.

Read the whole thing here. Tell us whatcha think.

Bugsy took to life as a neutered cat with free food and massage on demand, but becoming “my” cat didn’t change who he was at heart: a pugilistic street cat who still tries to pick fights with one of my other cats. If he gets bored, he jumps on the computer keyboard, paws at me, or just stares until I get up and play with him.

The Western veterinarian and scientist in me sees this as the personality he developed while living on the streets. But there is another way to look at Bugsy, using a system thousands of years old that originated in a very different land than ours.

Animal constitutions

While I remain a critic of many alternative medical approaches including Chinese medicine, when I do find something that works and has at least the potential for a rational scientific basis, I delight in the discovery. One of the most fun and empirically useful of the Chinese medical techniques involves sorting patients into “biopsychotypes.”
Seeing patterns arise out of an individual’s composite biological and psychological characteristics tells a story about who they are inside and out. Often, a resonance becomes apparent between their personality, their inclinations toward certain foods, preferred climates, physical tendencies, and more.

When I learned this approach first as a human physician-acupuncturist, it was striking to watch patterns emerge in my patients based on their appearance and emotional demeanor, their medical and social histories, and their physical manifestations of health or disease.

Now that I am practicing veterinary medicine, too, I apply it not only to my furry patients, but also to the humans who care for them. I note how “types” interface in a household – do they nurture or irritate one another? Medically, it aids in my ability to anticipate medical challenges that my patients may encounter in the future; it may prompt me to probe more deeply and ask about unstated ailments based on biopsychotype expectations.

History of five phases

The ancient Chinese healers called their system the “Five Phases,” because through this philosophical framework, much of what they observed in nature as well as in medicine fell into five general categories. They developed the approach millennia ago as one of several ways to understand and predict natural phenomena.

These laws of “systematic correspondence” described how patterns in nature – the macrocosm – found parallel expressions in us, the microcosm. The simplistic yin and yang idea based on only two complementary influences gave way over time to a broader complexity based on five elements, capable of more precisely corresponding to natural processes like the seasons.

The five categories of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water represented changes these ancient naturalists witnessed over the day, the year, and the life cycle as well as interrelationships between organs, emotions, people, and climate. The model embraces, expects, and accepts metamorphosis.

Much like the personality profiles of modern psychology, Five Phases analysis groups people and animals into constitutional categories based on psychological and physical manifestations. While not yet a scientifically validated means of determining Chinese medical treatments for humans or animals, identifying a predominant phase out of balance in an individual seems to provide clues about what a patient needs to restore homeostasis.

For example, a task-oriented metal-type dog needs a job to do, while the earth-type cat needs a warm lap.

The five elements

Wood types come across as confident and assertive; they typically excel as athletes or pioneers. They enjoy holding leadership positions and thrive in competitive environments.

When unable to direct their goal-focused energies into positive and physically challenging outlets, wood natures become corrupted. They can turn arrogant, reckless, impulsive, and aggressive. Hypertension, headaches, and heartburn can accompany pent-up muscle tension and frustration.

Wood dogs may bully others, no matter the size differential. They make themselves known through their loud and insistent barking.

Don’t get in their way of food, as wood dogs can show strong territorial possessiveness.

Wood dogs have well defined, muscular statures. They are prone to liver and gallbladder disorders, skin and ear infections, doggy odor, and bloodshot eyes.

Bugsy, my pugnacious street cat, is a wood cat. I work to assure him that there’s no need to fight with the other cats, though he needs frequent reminders. Today I caught him twice staring down my other cat, Woobie, while Woobie was trying to sleep. They’re both strong males, but Woobie’s a “water” cat (see below) who backs down and hisses in fear unless he gets pushed past his limit. Then he will fight.

When I took Bugsy in to be neutered at my friends’ practice, we discovered that his ears were teeming with tens of thousands of ear mites, the worst case they’d ever seen. He also had uveitis, an inflammatory eye condition, and his coat was greasy and matted. Bugsy was a typical wood with a hard start in life.

Fire types are charmers. They crave attention and will do whatever it takes to earn yours and win their way into your heart. They passionately plunge into life and seek emotional, physical, and mental stimulation. Their attractive and magnetic personalities make them the life of the party.

Fires can become confused or anxious; they restlessly move about even when sleeping, kicking and running as they dream. Physically, with the heart as the main fire organ, an imbalanced fire type may experience arrhythmias, palpitations, and insomnia. They overheat easily. Jack Russell Terriers often exhibit fire tendencies, performing endless tricks for applause and laughter.

Snowball, a charismatic fire cat, came into my life the day after I had a dream about a white kitten playing on a farm. I received a call from the clinic the next day asking if I had room in my house for a rescued grayish, long-haired stray cat, about two years old; it felt like destiny, and I said, “Of course.”

When I saw him, I fell in love. Once established in our household, Snowy’s zest for life filled the house. But one day, the play he ordinarily immersed himself in so completely made him pant and cough.

The subsequent workup revealed the heritable disease of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy; the cardiologist predicted that he would live another four, maybe six, months. He was a heart-breaker, this formerly neglected feline who became a big, all-white gorgeous boy.

After he was placed on medication, Snowball’s lightning-fast reflexes returned; even after his diagnosis, we were out for a walk one summer evening when he leapt into the air and caught a low-flying bat, much to my dismay.

He lasted two more years, until the dysfunctional heart formed a blood clot that left him paralyzed and purple, but still alive and fighting. Snowball yowled in pain, fighting against his impending but unavoidable departure from life for the entire car ride until I reached the clinic, driving through twenty-five minutes of heavy 5 o’clock traffic.

I used the time to prepare, but nothing readied me for the way our bond moved me physically. As life left his body after the barbiturate overdose, I felt tugged forward. Then his body dropped and he was gone.

The absence of Snowball’s fiery personality left a gap in our household that I couldn’t bear. For the first time ever, I adopted another long-haired cat that next day to fill the void; it worked, thankfully, though it’s not something I casually recommend. Such is the impact of the fire personality.

The earth type is a warm hearth that welcomes you back home.

Earths are solid and sociable, agreeable and sympathetic, attentive and relaxed.

Dubbed the “peacemaker,” earths’ diplomacy helps everyone get along. They care about what others think about them and they love being needed.

Their concern for those around them, however, might ultimately work to their own detriment. Obsessing about others can make them overprotective and overbearing. They may worry themselves sick, ingesting too many cookies for comfort, as they crave sweets and carbohydrates. Their digestive tendencies lead them to chronic diarrhea and potentially diabetes.

The yellow Lab typifies the earth dog, contentedly dreaming of Dairy Queen, watching TV with mom, and hanging out with the family.

As I’ve been writing, Frankie, my earth cat, has been nuzzling my hand, interrupting my typing. He has a plate of cat treats next to my computer mouse (that way I can refill them as needed). He’s been in my lap and off, bumping foreheads now and again, and he has become particularly clingy as I wrote the part about Snowball.

Frankie has an odd habit of eating twigs in the backyard that he later regurgitates onto my carpet.

Frankie is our ambassador. He’s the first one to meet the new rabbit and the dogs from next door. His hunger for cuddles and contact causes him to climb repairmen or other human visitors who stand still for too long. He sleeps next to me under the covers every night.

Metal types are fastidious and operate best within a structured, orderly environment. Not other-focused like an earth, metal creatures exhibit self-control and self-reliance like military or police dogs. They may even appear aloof and distant.

Metals would rather analyze a problem and solve a puzzle than lay on the couch eating cookies. They are clean, calm, and precise. Excessively perfectionist metals can become ritualistic and even obsessive-compulsive. Needing everything just so exacts a toll on one’s constitution in a world filled with uncertainty.

Metal imbalances manifest in the skin, sinuses, lungs, and large intestine. Especially during the dryness of the metal season of autumn, these individuals may experience constipation, dry skin and a dry cough, runny nose, and depression. Some cats with chronic sinusitis or asthma fall into the metal category; their skin flakes and their fur feels dry. Although metals don’t readily bond, the attachments they make are for life, and grief hits them particularly hard.

I have a stray cat who hangs around whom I suspect is a metal. He supposedly has a home, but he wanders the neighborhood, isn’t neutered, and comes around for food and warmth fairly regularly.
Because of his health unknowns, if I do let him in I keep him away from the other cats, especially because he sneezes now and then. He seems otherwise healthy except for a dry coat.

He’s a good cat, but not an attention seeker or show-off. He’s friendly, not fearful, and seems to do best with a regular schedule – when will I leave food out for him, when will I be going out with the other cats so he can come in, etc. Who wouldn’t want some predictability when left out to fend for oneself?

Water types are loners. You’ll find them off on their own, curious and introspective, more comfortable with solitude than in crowds. They prefer to sit and watch from a remote location than join in on a group activity.

When challenged, a water type responds with fear and withdrawal, if not violent outbursts. Some develop phobias.

Water cats may fear other cats, hissing and running to safety or hiding.

With the kidney and bladder representing the water organs, urinary tract disorders can befall water cats. Back pain and arthritis can afflict geriatric waters. The cold weather associated with winter, the water phase season, makes these problems worse. Water cats can exhibit chronic thirst, seeking water in the bathtub or self-serving from the toilet.

Woobie, the water cat I mentioned earlier, hisses and runs from Bugsy, the wood cat. Woobie prefers to stay by himself on the front porch where he can survey the neighborhood goings on.
When Bugsy came to live with us, Woobie began urine-marking my house; the olfactory imprint in certain locations reminds me of his displeasure.

Woobie waits for his bowl of freshly filled drinking water in the bathtub, where he feels safer from the other cats; he has at least three protected sides and a curtain. Sometimes he attempts to drink from the toilet but tends to fall in because he’s a bit heavy. He has arthritis in his back and elbows.

This past summer he developed chylothorax, a buildup of fluid in his lungs, which required a multi-step, highly invasive surgery. Fortunately, my special boy has made a full recovery.

A Family Affair

In addition to evaluating an individual patient’s constitution, complexity enters the equation in terms of the Five Phases dynamics between family members. Who’s the boss? Who’s needy? Who’s withdrawn?
When conflicts arise between individuals, is it because one “type” doesn’t mix well with the other?

Is the human companion a metal who insists on order while the fire bird, dog, or ferret desperately wants attention and will act out in whatever way necessary to get it? Is the earth dog or rabbit starving for intimacy and support from a water caregiver lost in isolation?
When we understand those around us, we can better see why we choose to bring certain mates or animal friends into our lives, and why some match-ups don’t work.

Some people seem to have bad luck over the holidays, and I have traditionally been one of them. I’ve filled the house with smoke from a poorly laid fire in the fireplace just before guests arrived for dinner, and I’ve tripped over a sleeping dog on Christmas morning and ended up in the emergency room (the dog was fine; I went home with a cast).

But that’s nothing compared to the disasters that seem to dog the pets in our family over the years. I’ve spent good parts of many holidays in after-hours veterinary clinics, and a few times those trips were for problems that could have been prevented.

Fortunately, the better part of two decades — and most of my writing career — have passed since my last holiday pet disaster, and I’d like to think it’s because I learned a few things along the way. In the interest of helping your holiday season go easier, I’d like to remind you of what to look out for in the weeks to come.

So, what has Gina learned about animals and the holidays? Find out here.

Does your pet bunny have a head tilt? It’s a common condition in rabbits. From Dr. Marty Becker:

Head-tilting in rabbits is common and can be caused by a variety of diseases. A common name for head tilt is “wry neck,” although the correct medical term is “vestibular disease.”

Rabbits with vestibular disease can have a head position that ranges from a few degrees to 180 degrees off the normal position. They can fall over, circle, have difficulties standing and develop eye injuries because the downward-facing eye is in a position of vulnerability. These pets need to see a veterinarian for proper diagnosis of the causes behind the head tilt and then targeted treatment.

For most rabbits with vestibular disease, the vast majority will recover most of their normal head position and lead normal lives, as long as good nursing, veterinary care and time for recovery are provided. Some rabbits, however, will have a lifelong residual head tilt even if the inner ear disease is cured.

Want more? Read the entire Pet Connection for this week, or download the PDF file exactly the way we send it to our client newspapers!