ITCH MITES. 303 



CASE burrow, they soon leave these parts and, making for the head, 

 establish themselves about the nose and ears. In its early stage 

 the burrows, when sought for, can be easily seen, but the obstruc- 

 tion, caused by the more numerous hairs, makes them more 

 tortuous and often interrupted. As the mites increase, so do the 

 burrows and the itching, and the cat scratches itself, and tears the 

 skin : then the hairs fall oif, and the parts around the eyes, nose, 

 and ears, become covered with hard crusts spread over and 

 adhering to the suffering parts. The time that the mischief takes 

 to reach this stage varies according to the age, strength, and 

 condition of the cat; as a rule, the young and strong resist 

 longer than the old and feeble. In them, by the twentieth or 

 thirtieth day, it may have spread over the head, ears, nose, 

 shoulders, and even the back and the loins. The crust becomes 

 harder and grey and agglutinated to the hairs ; and under the 

 crusts specimens of the Sarcoptes may be found. By degrees, 

 as the malady progresses and the animal becomes weaker, the 

 skin increases in thickness, becomes hard, stiff, and forms volu- 

 minous folds round the neck. The swelling of the tissues and 

 their inflammation extend to the nostrils, obstruct the respiration, 

 and give the head of the cat that elephantiasian appearance that 

 occurs also in the lion, and is indeed a constant character in 

 cases of itch among feline animals. 



When it has completely covered the head, it extends by 

 degrees over the whole body ; it is then impossible to describe 

 the miserable condition of the poor animal, which the parasites 

 are devouring as if it were a dead carcass — the feebleness is so 

 great that it totters on its limbs, and can scarcely drag itself along. 

 All its skin is a focus of infection, where crusts and entangled 

 hairs form pieces like hideous shells, and which pieces tear off in 

 plates. It is true that they rarely reach this extreme stage, being 

 usually destroyed before the disease passes through all the stages 

 of complication. Still plenty of dead cats that have had the 

 disease bad enough may be seen in the dust carts and on the 



