Appendix 



no circumstances wash the cat with carbolic soap, as the tar 

 is just as effective and perfectly safe ; and she should always 

 be thoroughly dried before exposing her to cold or drafts. 



A milder and better way is to get the real Dalmatian insect 

 powder. Buy it if possible at a wholesale drug-store, as 

 that sold in groceries and smaller drug-stores has usually lost 

 its strength. Dust the powder thoroughly into the cat's far, 

 all over its body, legs, and tail, and even the top of its head, 

 but always be careful in these cases not to spill the remedies 

 into the eyes and ears of the cat. After sifting the powder 

 into the cat's fur, put the animal out of doors, that the insects 

 may jump off on to the ground. 



A better way to get rid of fleas is used by a lady in Chicago 

 who owns some of the best cats in America. She has ready 

 a square of cotton batting and a square of cotton cloth ; plac- 

 ing the cat in the centre of the batting, which has been laid 

 over the cloth, she rubs strong spirits of camphor quickly into 

 the fur and then gathers the corners of the batting and cloth 

 tightly around the neck of the animal. She has a fine comb 

 ready and a dish of hot water, for the pests, who detest the 

 camphor, will run to the head of the cat, and must be 

 combed out and plunged into the scalding water. Hun- 

 dreds of them, however, will jump from the cat and 

 lodge in the cotton batting, where their scaly feet stick 

 in the cotton so that they cannot get away. When the 

 fleas cease to run out on to the head of the cat, she judges 

 that they have deserted the cat. The animal is then let out 

 of the batting bag, and the latter carefully carried to the 

 kitchen and deposited in the stove. The scent of the cam- 

 phor clings to the cat for some time and acts as a preventive. 

 A whole cattery may be cleaned out in this way. Sprigs of 



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