THE DISEASES OF CATS, AND THEIR TREATMENT. 



365 



The principal sources of propagation of the 

 infection are cat shows, catteries (especially 

 those belonging to people who exhibit), homes 

 for lost and stray cats, and institutions that 

 take in these animals as boarders. The cat 

 dealer's shop is not free from blame many 

 newly purchased kittens develop distemper a 

 few days after purchase, contracted, no doubt, 

 at the dealer's. Many cases have been traced 

 to the cattery where the female has been sent 

 to stud. Hampers, cages, and persons coming 

 from infected catteries are so many media of 

 contagion. Even if a cat has apparently re- 

 covered from the disease, it may still give off 

 infection and contaminate other cats for a 

 variable but uncertain period. 



Although the disease may be seen at all 

 times of the year, it is most prevalent during 

 spring and autumn, especially if the weather 

 is changeable and wet. 



Moisture of the atmosphere favours the 

 increase of distemper. Wet, following very 

 dry weather, continuous dampness and rain, 

 all predispose an animal to the disease. Where 

 catteries or homes for lost and strays are con- 

 tinuously being washed out and not properly 

 dried, especially in damp weather, before the 

 cats are allowed into the rooms, distemper is 

 very prevalent. 



Where too many cats are crowded into a 

 given space, especially if the place is badly 

 lighted and not very well ventilated, this is 

 favourable for the contamination of the in- 

 mates. 



The mortality varies according to the breed 

 of the animal, its surroundings, and the degree 

 of virulence of the infection. Seasons and 

 periods have also some bearing on it. Common- 

 bred cats allowed to roam out in the open at 

 their will are more likely to recover from the 

 disease, but if confined to cages or in catteries, 

 or in the house, the mortality is quite twenty- 

 five per cent. The long-haired cats are less re- 

 sistant against it, and as many as fifty percent, 

 die. In the Siamese breed of cats, the fatality 

 is as high as ninety out of every hundred. The 

 younger the animals, the greater the death- 

 rate ; yet, on the other hand, if old animals 

 are very fat or anaemic from want of fresh air 

 and exercise, the mortality is just as high. 



Many cats are resistant at one time against 

 the infection, others have it in a mild form, and 

 yet others have it severely ; but this does not 

 always prevent them from having it again at 

 some future period. My experience is that a 



cat may frequently have a recurrence of dis- 

 temper at least two or three times, and then 

 succumb to it. 



One season it may appear as a contagious 

 catarrh, another season as an infectious sore 

 throat, and at other times as a bronchitis or 

 pneumonia, and, lastly, as a contagious gas- 

 tritis or gastro-enteritis. Frequently all these 

 forms may co-exist in a single outbreak, and 

 often a single animal exhibits the whole of 

 these manifestations. For the convenience of 

 descriptiorrf)f-the symptoms of this multiform 

 malady we divide it into five principal forms, 

 as follow : 



1. The Catarrhal, attacking chiefly the 



eyes and nostrils. 



2. The Pharyngeal or Tonsillar, affecting 



the region of the throat. 



3. The Pulmonary or Chest form. 



4. The Abdominal or G '-astro-enteric. 



5. The Cachectic or Wasting. 



The Catarrhal form of distemper is that 

 which is generally seen in the cat, and is the 

 least fatal of any. The first symptoms noticed 

 are a watery discharge from one and some- 

 times both eyes, the lids of which may be 

 partially or completely closed, so as to hide 

 the front of the eye, and a frequent licking of 

 the upper lip and nose as if they were parched 

 and burning. After a day or so the inner 

 lining of the eyelids may be very much red- 

 dened, swollen, and giving rise to a yellow- 

 white or greenish-white thick discharge, which 

 adheres to the lids and seals them together. 

 There may also be shivering fits, a dull open 

 coat, and a great desire for warmth (this being 

 so intense in some cases that the animal fre- 

 quently gets under the grate when a fire is in 

 it). There is sneezing, followed by a snuffling 

 kind of breathing ; the nostrils discharge a 

 thick, ropy, whitish or greenish matter, which 

 clings to their openings, and very often closes 

 them up. When the pharynx or larynx is the 

 seat of catarrh there are frequent fits of cough- 

 ing. The appetite is diminished or absent, but 

 thirst is, as a rule, great. There may also be 

 seen at times vomiting, diarrhoea, or constipa- 

 tion. Emaciation is gradual and slight, or 

 rapid and great, varying according to the 

 severity of the symptoms. 



The breathing is not much altered in the 

 majority of cases, but in a few instances it 

 becomes frequent. The temperature rises 

 a few degrees, but this is variable, and it is 

 sometimes normal. The body and limbs feel 



