44 CANINE AND FELINE SURGERY 



When breathing has recouimenced, artificial respiration should 

 he carefully continued until the patient is well out of danger, or, 

 if this precaution is not followed otit, the breathing may again 

 cease and death ensue. *' 



When an animal is recovering, plenty of time should be 

 allowed to elapse before fluid restoratives or foods are ad- 

 ministered forcibly by the mouth, as there is danger of some 

 of the material getting into the trachea and causing choking 

 or pneumonia ; care must also be taken, particularly when 

 dealing with the cat, to avoid being bitten, as sometimes an 

 animal when recovering will involuntarily make a vicious bite 

 at any object near its mouth, and not unclose the teeth until 

 forcibly made to do so. 



Bad omens are to be gathered from relaxation, during the 

 stage of danger, of the sphincters of the bladder and rectum; 

 erection of the hairs of the coat, especially well marked in 

 the cat ; stoppage of the heart, and no sign of returning 

 animation after five minutes' continuous and careful attempt 

 at resuscitation ; stertorous breathing, breathing which be- 

 comes suddenly short and sharp or prolonged and slow — 

 i.e., any sudden deviation from the condition when the patient 

 appeared to be in a satisfactory state. Hope should not be 

 given up for at least ten minutes after respiration has ceased, 

 and, above all, never so long as the heart is beating. In 

 several instances we have observed from two and a half to 

 four minutes to elapse before there was any sign of a return 

 to hfe. 



In case of a fatal termination, a post-mortem examination 

 should always be made where possible, as this often gives a 

 satisfactory explanation of the cause of death. 



