Should I be worried about my cat’s sneezes?
Dear Cathy: Our cat, Ms. Annie, usually sleeps at our feet each night. But sometimes in the wee early hours, she will crawl up, get right in our face, and then shake her head and sneeze, which sprays us. Is this normal? It’s almost (but not quite) akin to getting a papal blessing.
— John, Ivins, Utah
Dear John: Normal? No. Normal for Ms. Annie? Perhaps. If she is just sneezing once in the morning and then doesn’t sneeze again throughout the day, it may be related to allergies in some way. If the sneezing is more frequent, however, it could be a sign of worsening allergies or an upper respiratory infection. Sneezing also may be linked to conditions like feline herpes, feline immunodeficiency virus, and sometimes even dental problems. If Ms. Annie is sneezing more frequently or you are concerned about these morning sneezes, take her to the vet to rule out any major health issues.
As for the “papal blessing” you receive each morning, the only way to avoid it is to remove her from the bed as soon as you feel her walking up the bed toward your head.
Dear Cathy: We have a 1 ½-year-old Maltese. He’s very affectionate and cute but does not like to go for walks. If you try to put the leash on him in the house, he either runs away and hides or will bare his teeth and snap. If we can get him in the car, which he likes, we can then get him to walk when he comes out of the car.
Secondly, he barks incessantly at people and dogs when we let him out in the gated courtyard. If I try to get him to come into the house by corralling him, he
will snap at me and try to bite at my shoes.
Last but not least, he will “mark” his territory and pee on the tile floor once or twice a week, always in the same spot and not on the carpet. We have had three different trainers in the last year or so, without much success.
We would really appreciate your advice. He is a very sweet dog who always sleeps with us at night, stays on the couch with us in the evening, and sits on the floor next to us at mealtimes.
— Steve and Caroline, Las Vegas
Dear Steve and Caroline: Dogs have to be trained to walk on leashes. It’s not something that’s natural for them to do. If he will wear a leash after being in the car, go with what works and build from there. Put him in the car before every walk and put a leash on him while giving him treats. Give more treats during the walk to encourage the behavior.
When he gets used to that, start leaving the leash around the house where he can see it. Give him treats if he looks at it and doesn’t run away.
Over the next few days or weeks, move the leash closer to where he sits or sleeps (always giving treats for not running) until he can be next to it without any issues. In time, you should be able to put the leash on him in the house and take him for his walk.
As for the barking, that is always a little more difficult to halt. You can’t stop a dog from barking. They are going to alert you to any and every person or dog that walks by. So, all you can do is block his views to reduce the alerts or thank your dog for alerting you and then asking your dog
to “leave it,” so he knows he did his job and can stand down. Please also work on his recall command so he learns to come when called because that is another way to stop the barking. Use a clicker to reteach your dog to “sit” so he learns that a clicker marks the desired behavior, and a treat will follow. Train him when there are no distractions around, increasing the level of distractions over time.
(If you have to corral him, use a broom to gently guide him.)
Finally, if he is relieving himself on your tile floors, clean the areas with an enzymatic cleaner to remove all traces of biologicals (urine or poop). This should help remove his temptation to mark your floors. If he is still wetting the floors after this cleaning, put pee pads on the floor so you can at least communicate where you want him to pee.