THE DISEASES OF CATS, AND THEIR TREATMENT. 



case, should be removed by the fingers or 

 forceps. If any irritation of the mucous 

 membrane, evidenced by frequent straining as 

 if to pass faeces, remains after the bowels have 

 been relieved, an enema of warm salad-oil, 

 containing a few drops of liquid extract of 

 opium, will allay it, and prevent straining. 

 In case of the bowel remaining weakened or 

 paralysed so as to bring about a recurrence of 

 the constipation, pills containing T V grain of the 

 alcoholic extract of nux vomica should be ad- 

 ministered morning, noon, and night after food. 



WORMS, OR INTERNAL ANIMAL PARASITES. 



Cats, like all other animals, are liable to 

 be infested with worms, which may not cause 

 any disturbance, unless in great numbers or 

 when another disease is in existence. 



The Common Round -worm is very preva- 

 lent in young kittens, generally when they are 

 living on milk, upon which these worms thrive. 



Their natural residence in the cat is in the 

 small intestine, but sometimes they wander 

 from here into the stomach, and set up vomit- 

 ing and occasionally convulsions. 



Treatment. The worms should be expelled 

 and the animal fed on nutritious and stimu- 

 lating food, such as raw fish, raw meat, and 

 fresh birds. The milk, to which is added a 

 pinch of salt, should be boiled. The best 

 remedy to expel these worms is santonin 

 given along with or followed by an aperient. 

 The following is a convenient formula : 



Santonin 

 Calomel 



i gram. 

 * 



This powder is to be dropped on the back 

 of the tongue of an adult cat after fasting 

 twelve hours, every other morning, until four 

 doses have been given. Half this quantity is 

 suitable for a cat three or four months old, and 

 a quarter for a kitten of a month to six weeks 

 of age. 



The commonest Tapeworm of the cat is 

 the Teenia elliptica vel felis, with which fifty 

 per cent, or more are affected. It is caused 

 by fleas, lice, and mange-mites which have at 

 some time or another infested the cat. 



They do not seem to cause much harm, 

 even when numbering hundreds. In one case 

 that I encountered the cat was in the pink of 

 condition, and yet I found 700 of these worms. 



It is a delicate tapeworm with joints re- 

 sembling a cucumber in outline. The ripe 

 joints, which are often of a reddish tint, fre- 



quently become detached, and pass with the 

 faeces, on which they are seen. They are 

 generally termed by fanciers maw-worms. 



Treatment. The worms should be expelled, 

 and fleas, lice, or mange-mites destroyed, so as 

 to prevent a recurrence of the trouble. 



Another tapeworm of the cat is the Teenia 

 crassicollis, or broad-necked species. It is 

 seen only in cats that kill and eat rats and 

 mice, in the liver of which the larval form of 

 this parasite resides. 



It is a- big, coarse tapeworm, measuring 

 eighteen to thirty inches in length, and having 

 no well-defined neck. 



Treatment. For the expulsion of tape- 

 worms there are many remedies, the best of 

 which are areca nut, kamala, oil of male fern, 

 pomegranate, and kousso, but as the dose of 

 these in the crude is generally too bulky for 

 the cat, it is advisable to give either of them, 

 with the exception of the male fern, in their 

 alkaloidal form, as : 



Koussein 

 Kamalin 

 Arecoline 

 Pelletierine 



tO 2 



to 2 



to 

 to 



grams. 



Any one of these may be given either in 

 pill or tabloid form, or rubbed up with milk 

 sugar, as a powder on an empty stomach after 

 the animal has fasted at least twelve hours, and 

 repeated every third or fourth morning. A 

 dose of castor-oil or jalap should be given 

 an hour after. The oil of male-fern is best 

 administered in a capsule. Powdered pumpkin 

 seed may be sprinkled on the food, 



DISEASES OF THE KIDNEYS. 



Diseases of the kidneys, such as degener- 

 ation, fatty degeneration, parasitic disease, 

 tuberculosis, cancer, acute and chronic Bright's 

 disease, and calculi are not rare, but, as 

 the space at our command is limited, we 

 only mention them. 



Incontinence, or the involuntary passage 

 of urine, is usually due to weakness of the 

 bladder, brought about by over-distension. 

 It sometimes results from injury to the spine 

 and calculi. 



The treatment that is best suited for this is 

 the administration of T V grain of the alcoholic 

 extract of nux vomica and 1 grain of quinine 

 in a pill three times a day. If there be 

 irritability of the bladder, soda bicarbonate 

 2 grains and extract of henbane -J grain in a 

 pill should be given. 



