his Q&A blog is open for all to participate. Feel free to ask your own questions and answer questions posted by others. I know all of you have a wealth of information and experience on healthy living and you are welcome to share it here. 
Pets
Cat Vaccines
At some point we have to board our cats--either at a boarding facility or our vet's (we're leaning toward our vet). We're trying to decide whether or not to have them vaccinated against Feline Leukemia (Felv). It isn't required for indoor cats which ours are, however, boarding, unfortunately, places them at a higher risk because they can get it from bowls that aren't disinfected properly or even hissing due the saliva involved. They wouldn't have any other direct contact, but there could be hissing. Rare problems can arise from these vaccines, so I'm trying to decide if the benefits out weigh the risks. I've done a lot of research, but besides other vaccines which are absolutely required for boarding (and which our cats have), I did not find a lot of info about whether the increased risk of boarding justifies this particular vaccine. Any insight is greatly appreciated, as always.
Readers? Anyone with experience with this?
Electric fences--safe for dogs and people?
We have an adorable Aussiedoodle puppy we need to keep safe and entertained. She is smart and needs diversions. My husband is interested in an electric fence. I hear the dog gets trained and doesn't need the collar. I am concerned with health ramifications for us and the dog. Cancer from collar?? And electro magnetic energy underground for us as well. We are in our 70's and need to guard our brains.:-)
Thank you,
Karen
I don't have any experience with EMFs and electric fences, however, my personal rule of thumb is to stay away from wireless technology whenever possible. While I know wireless fields are practically everywhere in the surrounding environment, I don't use a cordless phone or the wireless keyboard that came with my computer because these have very high electromagnetic fields when your body is in close proximity, as your body must be when using these devices.
I do have a wireless cell phone, but do not use it as my primary phone.
Remember that EMFs decrease exponentially the further you are from the source, so you may have little EMF exposure depending on how close or far you are from the fence, whereas your dog wearing the collar would undoubtably have a large exposure.
nontoxic dog flea/tick prevention
Debra,
Do you or any of your dog-owning readers know of a nontoxic preventive application for fleas/tics on dogs?
I've never had a dog so, readers, what are your recommendations?
Need suggestions for Non-toxic Pet Stain cleaner/Odor Eliminators
I live in a high-rise building which allows dogs. We have lots and lots of friendly dogs here! But Management's response to the invariable "accidents" on the lobby carpets has been to spray air freshener on it to cover up the smell. I have to give credit where it's due, they used to put air freshener powder into the carpets on all 21 floors (aargh!) but after I educated them about the toxins in air fresheners they stopped doing that. Ditto for the toxic stainless steel cleaner they used to use in the elevators (sigh)! They have proven to be open to suggestions, and I understand why they don't want the lobby to smell like dog pee. Instead of just complaining I would like to offer them nontoxic alternatives for cleaning and deodorizing the carpets after these "accidents" One caveat though: I have MCS and I don't want to suggest something and then get sick from it! Thank you:)
Readers, any experience with products to recommend?
How to Make a Cat Tree Safe on a Budget
Hi, Debra! We really would like to purchase a cat tree for our rescue kitties to play on (one that doesn't cost more than about $150), but it seems most of them have faux fur carpet and some type of pressed wood/particleboard that will emit voc's. Would spraying the entire tree with AFM's CarpetSeal do the trick? What about the exposed wood areas (the cubby hole inner walls)--could they be sprayed, too, or maybe painted with a zero voc paint? There is a tree I found that says it meets California consumer safety code 93120.3, Title 17--is this any safer of a choice? I realize that there are some people selling trees made from real wood, etc.; but those are just too expensive at this time. Thank you for all the great work you do!
First, California consumer safety code 93120.3, Title 17 refers to lead paint, as far as I can tell quickly, but you might want to do more research to confirm. This doesn't cover at all any outgassing from carpet or particleboard.
Personally, I wouldn't attempt to seal a cat tree, as cats scratch and even just running around on it would compromise the seal.
If you can't afford to buy one out of good materials, maybe you could make one?
Readers, any suggestions?
Toothpaste for Dogs?
Hi Debra.
Can you recommend something to use to brush my dogs teeth that is natural and would have an enzymatic element to it? If there isn't anything with an enzymatic effect, how about anything natural that would help with tarter beyond just the actual brushing part? Also, do you know of a toothbrushe that is made from natural materials?
Thank you kindly!
Terry
I've never had a dog, so I don't have any experience with this. Readers?
Topical Flea Treatments Harmful to Pets!!!
Being the dog lover that I am, I want to post this article about recent EPA reports regarding the harmful nature of topical pet flea treatments. Here is the link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35914331/ns/health-pet_health/
When you are putting one of these flea treatments on your pet, you are exposing him to pesticides!!! Your vet may tell you it is safe, but here we are many years into doing it, and the EPA is discovering it may be dangerous to their wellbeing. There are safer alternatives, perhaps a bit more effort, but in my opinion there is no amount of effort that is too much for my beloved pets.
Thank you Debra for providing a place for things like this.
Terry
You're welcome. Thank YOU for posting. :-)
Natural Heartworm Prevention for Cats
Our cat of 15 1/2 years died last year and we were heart broken to watch him suffer. I am beginning to be ready for a new kitty but want to provide as healthy an atmosphere as possible. In New York we never used heartworm prevention, but here in Florida all the vets we've spoken to insist it is a must, even though our cats would never go outdoors except on our screened lanai. However, heartworms live all year here. They say mosquitoes could come in on our backs (which is possible) or get into the lanai ( I've never seen one inside the lanai although I've seen other bugs that bite sneak in there.) We don't want to use these products (like Revolution, Advantage etc. ) because they are, I believe, very similar to pesticides. Does anyone know if there are healthy, effective heartworm prevention alternatives? Or do other Florida residents opt out of these? If so, how has it worked over the long haul? Thanks for your help.
Florida readers, what is your experience? We had a cat here in Florida that we brought from California. She died of old age. We didn't do anything for heartworm.
Is Leather Safe
Debra
I want to buy my dog a new leather collar, but can I assume that it is safe in terms of chemicals outgassing or leaching into his skin? I know leather is natural, but do they treat it somehow during the manufacturing process? My dog has immune issues and I worry about just about everything anymore that he comes into contact with.
Thank you! Terry and Dusty
Leather itself is not toxic, as it is simply the skin of an animal. However, it may be treated with various different substances, some of which can be quite toxic.
I would contact the manufacturer and see how the leather used was treated.
I find some leather products to have quite an odor and others to have none at all.
Dog Vitamins
My dog needs a good multivitamin high in iron and fiber. But the one the vet sells is too expensive whilst the one we purchased at another chain store makes me sneeze. I have multiple allergies-food, environmental, contact and chemical! Are there animal vitamins without yeast, wheat, dairy or whatever is causing my sneezing fits in them? Thank you!
Readers?
