360 



THE BOOK OF THE CAT. 



is manipulated, the animal cries or moans from 

 the pain caused. If the pupils are dilated and 

 the expression has an anxious appearance, and 

 emaciation is rapid, a fatal termination may 

 be anticipated. 



The treatment varies according to the cause. 

 If the case is seen in the early stage a tea- to a 

 dessert-spoonful of castor-oil containing i to 2\ 

 minims of liquid extract of opium may be 

 given at once, to clear out any irritating 

 material from the bowels and also to allay 

 pain and irritation ; or morphine in T V to T V 

 grain doses may be injected under the skin 

 every four hours. Bismuth salicylate, in five- 

 grain doses, should be dropped on the tongue 

 about the same time. Starch enemas con- 

 taining liquid extract of opium may also be 

 administered. Boiled milk containing bicar- 

 bonate of soda should be given in small and 

 repeated quantities. 



Turpentine stupes frequently applied to the 

 abdomen are recommended, but, where this is 

 objected to, the floor of the abdomen may be 

 painted with tincture of capsicum, or tincture 

 of iodine, until soreness is produced, the hair 

 being first clipped off. 



In those cases of epizootic nature, isolation 

 is called for. The food and surroundings 

 should be changed, and the catteries and 

 utensils thoroughly cleansed and disinfected. 

 In the chronic form a powder composed of 

 bismuth salicylate 2 to 5 grains, and /3- 

 naphthol i to 2 J- grains, should be shaken on 

 the tongue three times a day. Milk and rice 

 form the best diet. 



Diarrhoea, like vomiting, is not a disease 

 of itself, but an expression of many different 

 affections. It may be salutary or otherwise. 

 It may be due to aperients, irritating or 

 indigestible food, microbes, diseases of the 

 bowels, kidneys, and liver. It frequently 

 results from distemper or gastro-enteritis, 

 tuberculosis, intestinal catarrh, and from lick- 

 ing applications put on the skin in the treat- 

 ment of skin affections. Sour milk, tainted 

 miik or fish, and chills will also induce it. In 

 kittens improper food, especially during hot 

 weather, is a common cause. 



The symptoms are a looseness of the de- 

 jections from the bowels, which are passed 

 several times a day. The stools vary in 

 colour according to the food taken by the 

 animal, or according to the severity of the 

 cause ; they are generally of a very offensive 

 odour, and may contain blood. 



Treatment. If the cause of the diarrhoea is 

 due to irritating food, a dose of castor-oil will 

 be beneficial. When due to catarrh of the 

 bowels, the carbonate, subnitrate, or salicylate 

 of bismuth, in five-grain doses, two or three 

 times a day, is the most appropriate treat- 

 ment. If it is associated with distemper or 

 typhus, the bismuth salts mentioned above, or 

 tannablin or tannigen, in 2\- to 5-grain doses, 

 are suitable. For chronic diarrhoea, 2\ to 5 

 grains of salicylate of bismuth, with i to 5 

 grains of /3-naphthol, given three times a day on 

 the food, is generally followed by recovery. 



Failing this, a mixture composed of dilute 

 sulphuric acid, concentrated infusion of cloves, 

 and concentrated infusion of haematoxylin 

 should be tried. 



When the diarrhcea is due to irritation of 

 the so-called large or posterior bowel, injections 

 containing starch, laudanum, and tannic acid 

 should be used. 



As long as the diarrhcea lasts, no meat or 

 meat infusions should be given, but milk, rice- 

 pudding, bread and milk, and such-like food 

 are suitable. 



Constipation is an impaction of faeces in 

 the hind bowel, and is generally due to weak- 

 ness of this portion of gut, or results from a 

 cleanly animal having no place to evacuate 

 its faeces in. Sometimes it is due to a ball of 

 fur, and occasionally foreign bodies, such as 

 cat's-meat skewers, being swallowed along with 

 the meat by a greedy animal. When due to 

 paralysis of the bowel, which is occasionally 

 seen in young cats, the abdomen becomes 

 distended by the faeces in the bowel. It also 

 occurs as a symptom of spinal paralysis. The 

 non-passage of fasces seen in cats when not 

 well and not taking solid food must not be 

 , confounded with constipation. 



The symptoms, as a rule, are the non- 

 passage of fseces for some time, distension of 

 the abdomen, and impaction of the bowel with 

 fasces which can be felt by manipulating the 

 abdomen. 



Treatment. A dose of castor-oil and an 

 enema of soapy water or glycerine will gener- 

 ally put matters right. If these means do not 

 succeed, massage or kneading of the bowels, 

 by grasping the abdomen with the hand and 

 alternately compressing and relaxing the grasp, 

 will assist to stimulate the intestines to force 

 on their contents. Of course, this only applies 

 when impaction is due to soft material and 

 not hard foreign bodies, which, in this latter 



