Pets have been at the center of some surprising, even alarming, news stories this summer. I’m not just talking about the woman who trapped the cat in the garbage bin — though that story draws attention to the indoor vs. outdoor cat question. (Strangely enough, the woman’s mother says her daughter loves cats, but the family is having a hard time, and maybe she just snapped.)

*This one is important: The FDA says Evamist, a hormone spray used by menopausal women, can be harmful to pets who lick it off their owners’ arms or just pick it up on their own skin. It causes enlargement of the nipples and genitals in animals — and also in children, both boys and girls. One dog suffered liver failure. Read how to deal with it, from the FDA.

*Still on the subject of health, scientists have found that dark cats do not produce any more allergen than light-colored ones — yet, people with dark cats are “two to four times as likely to have moderate to severe symptoms”. They’re planning to study this some more.

*Abandoned or escaped alligators were seen wandering the streets of several American cities. The one in Chicago was captured by a volunteer known only as “Alligator Bob” — he’s afraid that, if people knew his last name, he’d soon be up to his neck in unwanted alligators. Imagine how it must be for people who just take in dogs and cats.

*Police who raided a marijuana grow-op near a small town in Canada found over a dozen partly tame black bears guarding the place. The owners had won them over by feeding them dog food. Conservation officers are hoping to get them back to the wild.