Jill Bowen

Jill Bowen has practiced veterinary medicine in England and Texas and has taught at Texas A&M. She lives with her veterinarian husband and two cats in Blacksburg. If you have a question, please write to her in care of The Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 540, Christiansburg, VA 24068, or send an e-mail to mjbowen@radford.edu

Recent columns

• Invisible fences aren’t best option for every dog
• Wrap pets in protection this holiday season
• Take treats so horse associates you with something good
• Illness or change in environment may cause cat to stop using litter box
• Column archive

Our 2-year-old golden retriever has a problem with stairs. When he was young, he would run at the stairs and then fall, so we used to carry him up and down. He now weighs 80-plus pounds and is too heavy to carry, but he won’t try to climb the stairs.

Many owners would be quite pleased that their dog did not follow them upstairs and often go to great lengths to train a dog to stay downstairs. However, most dogs have mastered the ability to climb stairs by the time they are 6 months old.

Many puppies fall when first trying to negotiate stairs. By carrying your dog up and down the stairs, you unintentionally allowed him to continue to fear stairs. Many puppies can manage going down stairs before conquering the ability to go up stairs.

To teach your dog to climb stairs, stand beside the stairs and place a small treat just out of his reach so he has to step on to the first step to get it. Repeat this step by step very slowly and praising with each step. If the stairs are not carpeted, put a nonskid mat on each step so he does not slip.

Repeat the process in reverse to teach him to come down, but this time facing him. Do not try to teach him to climb the whole flight in one day, but slowly, two or three steps at a time, one day at a time.

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We recently moved across town, and now our cat keeps returning to the old home. We would be happy for the new homeowners to adopt him, but they don’t like cats. How can we get him to stay with us?

When people move, it is important that they keep their cat inside the new home for at least two to three weeks before letting it out under close supervision. In some cases, such as yours, where your cat now knows the way to his old home, it may be necessary to keep him in for as long as three months. Even then he may try to return to his old haunts.

After three to four weeks, try letting the cat out during the day under strict supervision. Start with a comparatively short trip outside and gradually increase the time he is outside until you are happy that he has accepted the new location. This is shown by his settling down and napping in the sun. For the first few trips outside, arrange to do them before feeding time so that he is hungry and keen to return to the new house to be fed.

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Can cats get asthma?

About one in 200 cats have feline asthma that causes coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. A study at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in Edinburgh, Scotland, suggested that some asthmatic cats may be allergic to people, or rather to the things people are and do. Particularly at risk are those cats that spend most or all of their time indoors in close proximity to people. Cigarette smoke, dusty houses, human dandruff, pollen and certain types of cat litter can inflame a cat’s airways and make an asthmatic condition worse.

Research in the U.S. and Australia has linked bacterial mycoplasma infections with asthma in cats and humans. Exchanging regular cat litter for shredded newspaper can help some asthmatic cats.