639 



on account of climatic conditions, whether they could be profitably 

 bred in this country, except in the extreme Southern States. 



DISEASES OF DOGS AND CATS. 



CANINE DISTEMPER. 



Canine distemper is an infectious and contagious disease, char- 

 acterized by a catarrhal inflammation, individually or collectively, 

 of the various systems and organs of the body. Synonyms. Canine 

 distemper has been variously termed, Epizootic of Dogs, Canine 

 Plague, Canine Glanders, Typhus, Typhoid, Catarrhal Fever and 

 many others. 



Cause. Canine distemper is caused by a micro-organism and 

 according to Bruo Galli Valeric, this micro-organism is a bacillus 

 whose dimensions vary from 1.25 to 2.5 micromillimeters in length 

 and .31 in breadth. This bacillus is found in the lungs, central 

 nervous system, secretions from the nose and eyes and from the 

 pustules of the skin. It gives characteristic cultures in gelatin at 

 eighteen to twenty degrees Centigrade. The inoculation of a cul- 

 ture from the brain, under the skin of a dog five or six months old, 

 has reproduced the disease with its characteristic pulmonary and 

 cerebro-spinal symptoms. As predisposing cause in delicate ani- 

 mals, exposure to wet and cold is the most important, as it tends to 

 weaken the constitution of the animal as well as, in many cases, to 

 set up a simple catarrh first, which renders a much more suitable 

 means of infection by the distemper bacillus. Another is an old 

 prejudice, which is still common, consisting of the withholding of 

 meat in the food of young dogs, as a vegetable diet determines in 

 time a weakening of the organism of the carnivorous animal. Bisch- 

 off and Voit showed in a number of experiments that dogs which 

 were fed exclusively on bread became cachectic, and that cats died. 



Animals Affected. Canine distemper is found in the dog, cat, 

 fox, wolf, hyena, monkey and has been seen in the human family. 

 In the canine species, it exists in a sporadic, enzootic and epizootic 

 state. In large cities, where it exists permanently, the number of 

 cases noticed vary according to the different years ; but, with the ex- 

 ception of simple gastro-intestinal catarrh, it is the most frequent 

 affection of the canine species. 



Symptoms. Owing to the fact that the pathological lesions 

 may be localized in one or more of the various systems of the body, 

 and that each system affected will give rise to its respective, peculiar 

 train of symptoms, it is necessary to classify under separate heads the 

 symptoms produced by each individual seat of lesion, in order to 

 give a comprehensive description of this disease. The symptoms 

 will be taken up as they most commonly present themselves, which 

 are: The symptoms of the beginning, ocular symptoms, or symp- 

 toms of the eye, symptoms of the digestive apparatus, symptoms of 

 the respiratory apparatus, nervous symptoms, symptoms furnished 

 by the skin, and the general symptoms. 



Symptoms of the Beginning. In its initial stage the disease 

 is marked, as a rule, by general phenomena. Depression, a low- 



