Diarrhea 273 



slowly than in horses, and the symptoms are not so 

 well marked. There is abdominal pain, not so severe 

 as in the horse. It is marked by persistent constipation 

 and a rise of temperature to 105° or 106° F. It is 

 usually fatal in cattle. The treatment is the same 

 as for horses, except that the doses for adult cattle 

 should be half as much again. 



DIARRHEA, SCOURING 



Diarrhea is usually an effort of nature to remove 

 some irritant from the bowels. It is one of the most 

 common diseases of domestic animals. There are 

 frequent movements of the bowels, and discharges are 

 more thin and watery than normal, and are often char- 

 acterized by a very disagreeable odor. There may be a 

 severe straining, associated with the passing of a small 

 amount of dung. 



Diarrhea may be caused by bad food, by overfeed- 

 ing, by indigestible food or by a sudden change of food. 

 Bolting the food without thorough mastication, or lack 

 of proper digestive juices, may cause the disease. The 

 presence of bacteria in decomposing food, especially 

 in milk fed to young animals, is a common cause, as 

 well as the overloading of the stomach by infrequent 

 feedings and too large amounts of food given at a 

 time. Some horses are predisposed to diarrhea, espe- 

 cially when driving on the road. Such horses are 

 called "slab-sided" or "washy" by horsemen. Usually 

 their ribs are not well "sprung;" they have not a round, 

 full "barrel." There is a common belief that horses 



