DISEASES OF CATTLE 95 



and it is this stomack which fills with gas when a cow 

 bloats. 



Cause: Eating green clover or alfalfa; even when a 

 cow is accustomed to this diet, it may cause bloating if 

 wet with dew or rain; cured alfalfa, moldy or frozen 

 mangles will also produce bloating; the above mentioned 

 foods undergo a process of fermentation which causes 

 excessive formation of gas, and death may result very 

 quickly and may be due to rupture of the stomach or the 

 diaphragm (muscle separating the abdominal and lung 

 cavities), but is more often due to suffocation caused 

 by the distension of the stomach which becomes so large 

 that it presses the diaphragm forward against the lungs 

 in such a manner as to stop their movement and the ani- 

 mal smothers. When the cow falls, it indicates that one 

 of these possibilities has occurred and death follows 

 quickly. 



Symptoms: Cattle usually bloat suddenly and with- 

 out warning; the left flank becomes abnormally swollen; 

 back is arched, breathing labored ; sometimes the tongue 

 hangs out and the animal bellows. When rupture or 

 suffocation occurs the animal reels, staggers, and falls, 

 after which nothing more can be done. 



Tkeatment: No time should be lost. Where the 

 stomach is enormously distended with gas so as to cause 

 the animals to stagger and breathe very rapidly, they 

 should be gagged. This can be easily accomplished by 

 taking a piece of wood about two inches in diameter, and 

 eight inches to one foot long, placing it in their mouth 

 and retaining it in that position by tying a string on each 

 end and placing it back of the ears. If this does not give 

 relief immediately, puncture the left flank about five 

 inches downward and forward from the angle of hip bone. 

 However, puncturing should not be resorted to only in 

 cases where death threatens the animal, as abscesses, 

 infection and severe hemorrhage may follow. A very 

 reliable medical treatment for this condition should be 



