88 THE CAT 



cat can reach a grass-plot it immediately eats a 

 quantity of grass, which it swallows and retains 

 until the stomach is irritated, producing vomit- 

 ing, and acting as a laxative to the intestines. 

 This can be considered a natural febrifuge, just 

 as one would give a child or a person a little 

 nitre or a small dose of Rochelle salts at the 

 commencement of an illness. At this time it 

 is well to give cats a small dose of Glauber's 

 salts or of castor-oil, exactly as one would do 

 for a child, or to place a half-teaspoonful of 

 bicarbonate of soda or flowers of sulphur in a 

 saucer of milk, and put it with the cat in a 

 quiet, darkened room. 



The diseases of cats, like those of other ani- 

 mals, are divided into diseases of the respiratory 

 system, which include colds, catarrh, bronchial 

 troubles and other diseases of the lungs ; dis- 

 eases of the digestive system, including those 

 of the stomach, the intestines, and the liver; 

 constitutional diseases, such as fevers, infec- 

 tious distemper, glanders, and eczema ; para- 

 sitic diseases, such as fleas, mange, and worms ; 

 nervous troubles; and local diseases of the 

 eyes, teeth, and claws. 



