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DISEASES OF THE DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



food, and easily digestible substances, as steamed or cracked oats, 

 chopped hay and gruels. In diarrhea cooked wheat or barley flour 

 gruel with milk, or roasted or cracked oats and a little chopped hay 

 may be allowed. The drinking water must not be cold. Walking 

 exercise and good grooming and warm clothing are beneficial in 

 gastric indigestion. Rest is imperative in diarrhea, and warm 

 covering. 



Chronic Indigestion, caused by chronic catarrh of the stom- 

 ach and bowels, is shown by anorexia, pasty, coated tongue, con- 

 stipation and liability to colic, dizziness (stomach staggers), and 

 dulness, when the stomach is chiefly at fault. With involvement of 

 the intestines, there are constipation often alternating with diarrhea, 

 tucked-up or tympanitic belly, malnutrition with staring coat, 

 anemia, and weakness and sweating on slight provocation. Undi- 

 gested food is often present in the feces. Fevei is absent in either 

 form of chronic indigestion. 



Treatment. — The condition of the teeth should be attended 

 to. Feeding, if possible,, should be at three hour intervals, five 

 meals daily, of oats 2 parts; bran, 1 part; and malted barley, 1 

 part ; boiled, scalded or steamed and allowed to stand twelve hours. 

 To this should be added salt and a little green fodder, unless 

 diarrhea is present. Cut hay is also permissible. For drugs we may 

 use either hydrochloric acid or alkalies. 



Not being able to discover the state of the gastric secretion, as 

 is always done in human practice, treatment becomes mere guess- 

 work. However, alkalies are usually more successful. Sodium bi- 

 carbonate and ginger, each gss, with powdered nux vomica, 1 dram, 

 may be given on the feed thrice daily. Carlsbad salts are serviceable 

 when constipation is marked; 1 ounce on the feed 3 times a day. 

 Daily soap-suds enemata are also effective in constipation. With 

 diarrhea, copper sulphate in dram doses on the feed is beneficial, 

 as a tonic and astringent, and may be combined with opium if nec- 

 essary. When the discharges have a putrid odor an intestinal 



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