REPORTS OF CASES. 
115 
REPORTS OF CASES. 
“ Careful observation makes a skillful practitioner , but his skill dies with him. By re¬ 
cording his observations , he adds to the knowledge of his profession, and assists by his facts 
in building up the solid edifice of pathological science .” 
A CASE OF DIPHTHERIA IN A CAT. 
By Roscoe R. Beee, D. V. S., Brooklyn, N. Y. 
Authenticated cases of true diphtheria existing in the cat are 
seldom recorded outside of the laboratory. Having had the good 
fortune to meet the disease in this species, and having fully 
verified the diagnosis by microscopical and inoculation tests, I 
herewith present the facts in the case, without embellishment 
of any kind. 
April 2, 1901, at about 9 A. M., a maltese male cat was 
brought to my office in the arms of a maid, who was accom¬ 
panied by a young lady living in the vicinity. The lady stated 
that the animal had been a pet of the household for more than 
a year, and had been healthy until some three or four days 
previously, when it appeared sick, refusing food and water and 
sitting around in a listless manner. It appeared to get rapidly 
worse, developing a distressing cough, which caused it to gag 
and make efforts at vomiting. The impression of the family 
was that it had attempted to swallow a fish bone, which had 
become lodged in its throat, and it was for the purpose of having 
this foreign body removed that the cat was brought to me. 
The animal was placed upon an operating table, the mouth 
opened, and a speculum used to examine the throat. This 
procedure caused such a fit of spasmodic coughing and gagging 
that shreds of white necrotic membrane were thrown out into 
the fauces, and the animal appeared as about to asphyxiate 
from choking. Suspecting a specific trouble the temperature 
was taken and found to be 105.5 0 F. I informed the lady that 
the animal displayed such grave symptoms of diphtheria that I 
would advise her to have the family physician visit my office 
and witness the post-mortem, when he could, if no other ex¬ 
planatory cause was found, make a culture of the exudate in 
the throat and determine the true nature of the disease. The 
physician, however, did not see fit to accept the invitation, and 
I proceeded to do so upon my own account. Securing a culture 
set from a convenient station [the Board of Health furnishes 
gratuitously these culture sets, and for the convenience of 
physicians deposits them at designated drug stores throughout 
