72 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 



At first there is coprostasis; after a day or two 

 defecation is re-established. Improvement may be seen 

 sometimes within a few days; the tail regains its mo- 

 tility, the hind legs come nearer to the body. After 

 a few more days the standing position is attained for 

 a moment or two, but the cow almost immediately 

 collapses again. Several more days, rarely before two 

 whole weeks after the onset of the attack, see the cow 

 get up and stand fairly steady. Complete recovery, 

 with good co-ordination, requires another week or ten 

 days. 



In other instances the cow shows not a particle of 

 improvement, and may remain in the recumbent posi- 

 tion until she is either killed or dies from other causes. 

 This may not occur for three or four weeks. 



The treatment of this condition is not highly satis- 

 factory. In our practice w^e treat the cow for two or 

 three days and if she shows no improvement at the 

 end of that time we advise destruction. If she shows 

 improvement sufficient to arouse reasonable hope of 

 recovery, we continue the treatment a few days 

 longer, or, if the cow continues to improve, until recov- 

 ery is complete. 



The best results in the first few days of the sick- 

 ness come from atropin in half-grain doses, every four 

 hours. On the second or third day we begin with 

 strychnin, a quarter grain of the sulphate four times 

 daily. Massage of the affected parts sometimes 

 hastens recovery. Counter-irritants applied along the 

 spinal column in the lumbar region are also used. 



The treatment is mostly empirical, because the path- 

 ology of the condition is not known. It is therefore 

 doubtful whether any improvement obtained is the 

 result of the treatment or of vis medicatrix natui^ae. 



