EXPERIMENTAL AMGEBIASIS IN KITTENS 197 



part of the day. The cages should be large and roomy and two or 

 more kittens kept together whenever practicable. The access of 

 cockroaches should be prevented by suspending the cages from 

 the ceiling or by some other support. Cleanliness is very important 

 and cannot be overemphasized. On arrival in the laboratory the 

 kittens should be inspected for fleas and other vermin. These 

 may be removed by the application of powdered insecticides such 

 as calcium fluoride, or by thorough washing with soap and water 

 With the latter treatment the room should be warm and the 

 animal quickly dried to prevent the onset of pneumonia. Infections 

 with helminths, coccidia and other intestinal parasites may be 

 detected by microscopic examination of fresh fecal material, and 

 kittens that are heavily infected should not be used. The action of 

 vermifuges such as oil of chenopodium, or carbon tetrachloride 

 is so severe that an animal so treated is unfit for use during the 

 age of susceptibility to amoebiasis. Fresh cows' milk if available 

 is the most desirable food and it should be supplemented with inex- 

 pensive meats. A regular feeding schedule should be adopted 

 and uneaten foods promptly removed. It is a good practice to 

 weigh the kittens every morning before feeding, because loss of 

 weight indicates indisposition which may lead to more serious ill- 

 ness. When the above suggestions are followed infected kittens 

 usually live from four to six weeks instead of from three to 

 nine days as has been so often reported. 



OPERATIVE PROCEDURE 



The method generally followed of inoculating the kittens is by 

 rectal injection. A rubber catheter and a Luer syringe are re- 

 quired. Injury to oneself may be prevented by putting the kitten 

 into a sack of heavy cloth which closes with a drawstring. Hard 

 fecal pellets must not occur in the colon at £he time of this 

 injection. Some investigators give the animal a laxative on the 

 preceding day. If this is done the dose must not be too large as 

 diarrhea may result. A mild irrigation of the colon with a jet of 

 warm water from a vessel supported several feet above the kitten 

 will also eft'ectively remove these pellets. This treatment should 

 precede the inoculation by several hours. As a rule not more than 

 five cubic centimeters of fluid containing amoebae should be inocu- 

 lated. In the article by Boeck and Drbohlav (1925) the reader 

 will find a practicable method of transferring amoebae grown in 



