VETERINARY MEDICINE SERIES No. 13
Edited by D. M. Campbell, D. V. S.

RABBIT AND CAT DISEASES
By
CHARLES GREATLEY SAUNDERS,
V.S.. B.V.Sc. D.S.O.,
Major in Canadian Army Veterinary Corps; Former Professor Canine and Feline Medicine Ontario Veterinary College; Author of "Canine Medicine, and Surgery," "Equine Operative Surgery;" Former Editor Canine Department American Journal of Veterinary Medicine, Etc.

1919

[Note: I have only included Part II, the section applicable to cats.]

INTRODUCTION.

It was also thought appropriate to include in the work a consideration of diseases of the cat, Part II being devoted to some special clinical and therapeutic notes on this subject. Only comparatively recently has the cat come to be regarded as a clinical entity, having formerly been treated along the lines of canine medication. However, clinical experience with the peculiar psychology of the feline animal and its idiosyncrasies in regard to certain drugs led veterinarians who specialized in this branch of veterinary medicine to conclude that what is applicable to the dog is not necessarily suitable for the cat. It is hoped that the discussion of the subject contained in this volume may be of some help to veterinarians who are called upon to treat feline patients.

C. G. Saunders,
London, November, 1919.

Part II

Some Special Clinical and Therapeutic Notes on Diseases of the Cat

Chapter I, General Consideration of the Feline Patient

Chapter II, Choice and Administration of Medicines and Posology

Chapter III, Diseases of the Digestive System
The Lips; The Teeth; Ulcerative Stomatitis; Catarrhal Stomatitis; Acute Pharyngitis; Acute Peripharyngeal Abscesses; Gastritis and Gastroenteritis; Ptomain Poisoning; Foreign Bodies in the Stomach; Parasites of the Alimentary Canal.

Chapter IV, Contagious Diseases
Feline Distemper; Feline Diphtheria; Tuberculosis.

Chapter V, External Parasites and Diseases of the Skin
Pediculosis or Lousiness; Fleas; Mange; Otodectic Mange or Ear Mange; Dermatomycosis.

CHAPTER I - GENERAL CONSIDERATION OF THE FELINE PATIENT

In dealing with feline patients special consideration must be paid to the psychology of these animals far more than is necessary in the equine or canine species. In feline practice, details that are of minor importance in other animals, assume such importance that the patient's recovery may depend altogether upon them. Nauseous drugs, rough handling, a strange place, odors, the presence of dogs or other animals, all have a psychic influence which may result in obstinate refusal of food and a condition of inanition which may lead to a fatal termination quite irrespective of the actual pathological condition.

In cases admitted to veterinary hospitals, nostalgia plays a more important part in the recovery or its failure, than is generally attributed to it. For example, it is well known that
many cats die in hospitals after being subjected to the operation of oophorectomy, hysterectomy or other laparotomies and operations in general without any discoverable lesions, no toxemia, no local or generalized peritoneal inflammation or any other complication of the operation, the only symptoms during the post operative period until death, being obstinate refusal of food, inanition and marasmus.

That these deaths are attributable to nostalgia and to no other cause can be proved by comparing the percentages of mortality following operative procedures carried out at the home of the patient with those carried out among strangers and amid strange surroundings, as in a veterinary hospital. Also by comparing the results of operations performed at the hospital (where they should be) within twenty-four hours of admission with the results of operations when the animal has been allowed to become accustomed to its surroundings by
residence in the hospital for at least a week previous to operation. The results of such an investigation and comparison will not only surprise the practitioner but will convince him that nostalgia plays an important part in the therapy of feline patients.

The cat is often considered by people that have not carefully studied the animal, to be of filthy and unclean habits, and while this may be true of untrained and neglected individuals, it is very far from the truth as regards the average cat. The normal healthy cat is most particular as to its toilette, and any neglect of the details of personal cleanliness is a sign that there is some deviation from the normal - a symptom that may indicate illness.

The fact should also be borne in mind, cats become attached to places and rarely to individuals; they will tolerate people they are accustomed to, allowing them to handle, feed or administer medicine to them without protest, whereas with strangers, they often refuse food, resist handling, and make full use of their natural weapons of defense when submitted to examination for the purpose of arriving at a diagnosis.

The cat when sick has the common characteristic of all felines, that it invariably retires to some secluded place and hides ; this tendency coupled with neglect of the toilette is of great value in arriving at the conclusion that the animal is or is not well.

The old saying that a cat has nine lives is in some ways correct, in others misleading; that the cat must be immune or nearly so to a host of bacterial infections is proved by the fact that, compared with other animals, the bacterial diseases of the cat are few, especially when one takes into consideration the chances of infection that a cat is exposed to, by its wandering habits and garbage can investigations, etc., coupled with the constant cleaning of the coat by licking. The highly strung nervous system and remarkable agility of the feline no doubt enables him to avoid accidents and injuries to which a slower and less agile animal would fall a victim. On the other hand, the injured or sick cat appears to have a remarkably low resistance to invading organisms and succumbs to what in other species are comparatively trivial conditions.

In conclusion, the veterinarian that recognizes and makes allowances for the peculiar psychological complications that accompany feline ailments will be rewarded by a greater measure of success than the one that does not make such allowances.

CHAPTER II - CHOICE AND ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICINES AND POSOLOGY.

It is only comparatively recently that the cat has become regarded as a clinical entity, formerly it was treated on general principles following the line of canine medication, but as feline practice developed it was soon found by veterinarians that specialized in this branch of veterinary medicine, that what is quite applicable to the dog is not necessarily appropriate for the cat. As before mentioned, the peculiar psychology of the cat eliminates many medicinal agents which are commonly used in dog practice. Again closer investigation and clinical experience has shown that the cat possesses idiosyncrasies in regard to certain drugs, notably to all coal tar products, to morphine which causes delirium, to potassium chlorate which produces hemoglobinuria, and to nauseous tasting drugs, castor oil in particular, which although producing no toxic symptoms, in many instances provoke an obstinate anorexia and voluntary starvation if their use is persisted in. Keeping these facts in mind it will be seen that medicines should be administered, in either pill or capsule form if the drug is at all nauseous or in the food if practical where the drug is tasteless or better still where possible by hypodermic injection. Alkaloidal medication is ideal in feline patients owing to the small bulk of the dose, the certainty of action and the ease of administration.

Pill and capsules are best administered by means of a pill gun as by this method the operator
runs no risk of being bitten or the patient of being injured during the process.

Fluids are best avoided where possible; where used they should be given by means of a small syringe, administered slowly and delivered in small quantities at a time well on the back of the tongue. In large cats the cheek may be pouched in the same manner as in the dog but in small cats and kittens this method is not practical, usually resulting in bitten fingers and the loss of the dose. Where it is desirable to administer the medicament in liquid form to large cats the dose should be regulated so as to be of as small a quantity as possible, except, of course, where irritant drugs are used, in which case they must be properly diluted to avoid irritation of the buccal mucous membrane. The medicine being already placed in a teaspoon, syringe or other convenient receptacle, the animal's mouth is closed, either by an assistant holding the jaws closely together or by tying them together with a tape. The index finger of the left hand is then introduced at the corner of the lips and the cheeks pulled outwards to form a pocket, into which the medicine should be poured slowly until the animal has taken the required dose.

Medicines may also be given by the rectum. Rectal medication by means of suppositories is very appropriate.

The choice of medicinal agents for external application is very limited owing to the habit of licking which is normal to all felines. Only those agents that are nontoxic should be employed for external applications unless it is possible to eliminate the chances of their being removed by the tongue. Preparations of coal tars, carbolic acid, iodoform, mercury, etc, must not be used, such agents as chinosol, eusol, chloromin, chlorazene, etc., being substituted for them.

As to dosage, only general directions can be given, the general rule being that if the dose for the horse be regarded as one the dose for a medium sized cat is l/32 or about half the minimum dose for a dog. The proportions in regard to age are adults, six months and upwards, one part; three to six months, one-half part; two to three months, one-fourth part; 20 to 45 days, one-eighth part; 10 to 20 days, one-sixteenth part. If the dose by the mouth be one; the rectal dose is two; the subcutaneous one tenth; the intravenous, one-twenty-fifth to one fiftieth; the intratracheal, one-twentieth.

CHAPTER III - DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM.

The Lips

In common with other animals the cat suffers from wounds and injuries both to the external and internal surfaces of the lips, also from neoplasms, and from diseases of the skin notably favus (see Page 119). These conditions are treated on general principles by suture, excision, and antiseptic treatment as the special condition demands. As before stated special care is necessary in the selection of a non-toxic antiseptic.

The Teeth

The dental formula of the cat is

The carnassial in the upper jaw is a premolar, that in the lower a true molar. The teeth appear in the mouth in from two to three weeks after birth and are shed and replaced by the permanent ones between four and four and a half months. Full dentition is obtained between the sixth and seventh.

Ulcerative Stomatitis

As in other animals, defects and diseases of the teeth are productive of not only local troubles but of digestive, constitutional and nervous phenomena as well. In the cat, however, constitutional symptoms are more severe, loose, decayed or tartar coated teeth producing not only a septic condition in the mouth but a condition of inanition that is persistent until the exciting cause is removed. In old cats the teeth quite frequently become thickly coated with tartar, the gums become infected and often necrotic and the condition known as septic mouth is produced.

Symptoms.- Attention is drawn to the animal's illness by persistent anorexia, fetid breath, or more correctly by the fetor oris, salivation, and a general miserable appearance. Upon examination of the mouth, the teeth are found coated with tartar, the gums spongy, ulcerated, and with necrotic patches. Particles of decaying food may be found between the cheeks and the teeth and one or many of the teeth may be loose.

Treatment.- All loose teeth should be removed and the sound ones cleaned of tartar by scaling. One loose tooth is sufficient both to produce the condition and to maintain it and the majority of cats will undergo voluntary starvation rather than endure the pain of biting on a loose tooth. After removal of the loose teeth and the tartar from the sound ones the mouth should be rinsed with a nontoxic and non-nauseating mouth wash. Hydrogen peroxide, a weak solution of potassium permanganate and Dakin's solution are all suitable agents to employ. The diet should be of soft consistency and of easy mastication. Boiled fish, made into a pulp with milk is generally acceptable, but it may have to be placed in the patient's mouth before it will be eaten.

Catarrhal Stomatitis

This is a simple inflammation of the mucous membrane of the mouth. It occurs in cats, being produced by irritants, foreign bodies, slight accumulations of tartar, etc.

Symptoms. - Disinclination to eat, difficulty in mastication, a slight degree of salivation. Upon examination the mucous membrane of the mouth and tongue is noticed to be whiter than usual with parts denuded of the epithelium. The fact that both simple catarrhal and ulcerative stomatitis occur in feline distemper must always be kept in mind and the existence of that condition not overlooked.

Acute Pharyngitis

Excluding the acute pharyngeal symptoms of cat distemper, and cat diphtheria, acute pharyngitis is as a rule produced only by trauma. Foreign bodies such as fish bones, pins, needles, pieces of stick, straw, grass, etc., are frequent causes. It may also be caused by extension of infection from the buccal cavity.

Symptoms.- Salivation, partial or complete anorexia, tendency to hide away, pawing at the mouth or throat Examination reveals an inflamed condition of the pharynx and usually the foreign body. Sometimes however a careful search must be made before the offending article can be discovered especially if it be a needle.

Treatment. - Prompt removal of the foreign body, the application of an inoffensive astringent antiseptic such as glycerin tannin (tannic acid 1; glycerin 4) is all the treatment required. The patient should be placed on a soft diet and kept quiet for a few days.

Acute Peripharyngeal Abscesses

Acute peripharyngeal abscesses are of fairly frequent occurrence and are due in nearly, every instance to foreign bodies such as needles and fish bones perforating the pharynx and lodging in the peripharyngeal tissues.

Symptoms. - In addition to the symptoms described above, pain and swelling in the affected region, difficult breathing, pain upon manipulation and finally the development of fluctuation in the swelling.

Treatment. - Evacuation of the abscess and appropriate antiseptic after treatment on general principles. The pharynx in old cats is quite often the seat of chronic tubercular abscesses for which no treatment can be recommended (See tuberculosis, page 108).
The diseases and surgical condition affecting the esophagus of the cat in no way differ from the same affections in the dog (for which see Canine Medicine and Surgery).

Gastritis and Gastro-enteritis

These two conditions so generally go together and the differential diagnosis is so surrounded with difficulties and possesses no clinical advantage that they will be described together. Gastro-enteritis occurs in two forms: 1 Acute and 2 Chronic.

Acute Gastro-enteritis. - There is still some considerable contention among the various authorities as to whether this disease exists as a pathological entity, or whether or not all cases can be referred to distemper, with the exception of gastro-enteritis produced by poisons or whether the different varieties are separate entities. Clinically however the following forms of gastro-enteritis are met with and will be discussed under the following headings.

Simple Acute Gastro-Enteritis.

In this form the gastric symptoms predominate over the intestinal, and the nervous phenomena although existent are not so well marked as in the more serious forms.

Etiology.- Unsuitable and irritating food, foreign bodies, fur balls and masses of matted hair which have been licked from the coat when the animal has been making its toilette. Parasites, Ollulanus tricuspis, Ascaris mystax, etc., and irritant medicines.

Symptoms. - Anorexia, vomiting, pain on manipulation of the epigastric region, abdomen may feel full or may be tucked up, pain on pressure, diarrhea fetid, sometimes profuse and streaked with blood. The animal lies upon its belly with elbows on the ground, appears to be dazed and is generally completely indifferent to its surroundings. Refusal of food is persistent, the mouth has a sickly odor and the mucous membrane appears of a dirty white color. The temperature is generally raised two to three degrees but drops to subnormal if the case is going to terminate fatally. Emaciation is rapid, the diarrhea and vomiting become more persistent and finally deep coma sets in in which the patient dies.

Treatment. - Treatment depends to a great extent upon the etiological factor. If due to parasites whose presence can be definitely determined by a microscopical examination of the feces, a dose of calomel gr. 1 combined with a suitable vermifuge, such as oil of chenopodium M. 1 to 2 or santonin gr. 1/2 and chloretone gr. 1 to 2 should be given.

Accumulations of hair may be diagnosed, partly by the anamnesis and partly by the doughy feel of the stomach and intestinal tract and by an examination of the feces. A dose of liquid paraffin followed by one of Calomel will as a rule effect the removal of the offending matter, but in old debilitated animals recourse may have to be had to surgery. In these cases the prognosis should be very guarded.

In cases where the cause cannot be definitely ascertained, the possibility of distemper should not be overlooked but the absence of other symptoms will serve to eliminate this possibility. The contagious form of gastro-enteritis "should also be borne in mind but again that also has distinguishing features.

The general line of treatment to be followed is first of all to eliminate the causative agent, by a mild laxative such as an appropriate dose of calomel (gr. 1) followed by gastric sedatives and gastro-intestinal antiseptics such as chloretone (gr. 1 to 2), bismuth subnitrate, (gr. 5), salol (gr. 2) or formidine (gr.3). The mouth should be washed several times a day with a weak solution of boric acid or hydrogen peroxide and the diet restricted to diluted milk, egg albumin, or beef tea.

Food should not be forced on the patient in the early stages of the disease or until the stomach has quieted down to some extent but food should be given when the vomiting has been more or less controlled. The after treatment consists in a well regulated non-irritant diet such as boiled fish and milk, a little finely scraped raw meat or boiled liver. To keep the bowels in a fairly relaxed condition, should constipation supervene as it sometimes does, sardines and oil should be given if the patient will accept them.

Contagious Gastro-Enteritis.

As before stated the pathological entity of this disease is questioned by some authorities who claim that it is only a phase of feline distemper. However closely these two diseases may be related theoretically the clinical pictures are so different, that in view of the fact that the actual etiological factor of neither has been isolated, it seems to be more practical to separate them, until such times as it is definitely decided to which category they belong.

Since Boucek isolated an ovoid bacillus clearly of the hemorrhagic septicemia type while Investigating an outbreak of what appeared to be contagious gastro-enteritis, further Investigation along that line should be profitable, and at any rate suggests to the clinician the experimental use of hemorrhagic septicemia bacterins when confronted with this formidable and fatal malady.

Etiology. - The causative agent has not yet been definitely determined; but an ultra visible virus and the bacillus of hemorrhagic septicemia both are suspected. In an epizootic of enteritis among young kittens, Phisalix discovered the colon bacillus, which is not surprising, that organism being a normal inhabitant of the intestinal canal.

Occurrence. - Adult cats are mostly affected, but no age is exempt. The disease is extremely contagious and may destroy every cat in a cattery in a very short period of time. It is very often quite difficult to trace the source of infection, but often appears after cat shows and appears to be introduced into the cattery by animals that have been on exhibition. At other times, the first cases will develop with no history whatever that can aid one in tracing, the source of the infection. The mortality is extremely high and every precaution should be taken in the way of isolation and sanitation.

Symptoms. - These develop suddenly and with no premonitory signs. The first symptom as a rule is vomition, or the passage of blood per anus. The first vomit generally contains food, but later a thick slimy bile stained mucus is ejected. At first thirst is excessive and the animal makes attempts to drink, vomiting immediately afterwards; later on the animal will sit over a dish of water or milk in a half dazed manner and make no effort to lap or swallow. There is from the first complete anorexia, all food being absolutely ignored. Diarrhea is persistent, and frequent passages of very fetid and blood stained feces take place. Tenesmus and straining accompany defecation and add materially their quota to the exhaustion which is a prominent feature of the disease. The abdomen is very sensitive to pressure. Manipulation excites moaning and crying. The animal rapidly becomes semi-comatose, dull and indifferent to its surroundings, lying on its belly, elbows on the ground, and remaining immovable. The eyes are half closed and the menbrana nictitans is protruded, half covering the pupil. The coat becomes dull and stary, and soiled with vomit and fecal matter which the animal makes no attempts to remove. The mouth becomes septic and emits a fetid odor, the gums at first ppear spongy, congested and bleed at the slightest provocation. The buccal mucous membrane becomes the seat of ulcerations and necrotic patches in which the tongue is also involved. The necrotic processes extend to the alveoli of the jaws, the teeth become loose, and sequestra form in the bones of the jaw. Emaciation is rapid and the semi-comatose state merges into complete coma, the patient dying unconscious. In the first stages of the affection the temperature runs high, but as toxemia increases declines to normal and then to subnormal as death approaches. The visible mucous membranes are congested, and often icteric. In some cases the necrotic process extends to the posterior nares and there is a slimy blood stained discharge from the nostrils which if not removed excoriates the nares and lips.

In cases less acute the symptoms are somewhat modified and are not so quickly developed and the disease may assume a more or less chronic form, gradually yielding to treatment. The absence of a catarrhal discharge from the nose and eyes and the fact that all the cases in an outbreak show the same type of affection, viz., gastro-enteritis with necrotic stomatitis, serve to differentiate this condition from feline distemper in which disease the catarrhal and pneumonic symptoms predominate, the gastroenteritic symptoms being subordinate when present and in very many cases absent altogether. It should be noted that the virulence in different outbreaks varies very considerably, the disease appearing sometimes in a very mild form and with only comparatively slight disturbance, in others the disease rims a most malignant course with the above described symptoms greatly accentuated. Other complications sometimes arise as might be expected in such a purely toxemic disease, the chief among them being renal and cerebral.

Treatment. - Owing to the fact that the etiological factor is unknown the treatment is entirely symptomatic and based upon general principles, but at the same time directed to reducing the toxemia and eliminating and neutralizing toxins. In the early stages when the thirst is excessive and the power of lapping and swallowing is still in existence, acetozone 1-1000 should be given ad lib. and even later on the mouth and nares may be washed out with the same agent. To control the persistent vomition and relieve pain chloretone gr. 1 to 3 may be given, either in powder dropped on the tongue and washed down with a little water, or in capsules.

Chinosol solution 1 to 1000 used both as a mouth wash and internally gives excellent results, being non-toxic and having the advantage of being acid in reaction thus neutralizing the secretions of (the stomach which in this disease are always alkaline. For the same purpose hydrochloric acid 1-1000 solution may be given every three or four hours in teaspoonful doses. Either the solution of acetozone or chinosol should be given three or four times a day and rectal injections of the same solutions at least twice daily. Dosage of these two agents is immaterial within reasonable limits as both are practically non-toxic and non-irritating in the dilutions named.

To stimulate elimination and also as a systemic stimulant, subcutaneous injections of normal saline solution should be given daily three or four ounces at a time. The mouth must be kept as clean as possible, by being frequently washed out with antiseptic solutions, loose teeth should be removed and necrotic shreds trimmed off.

Until vomition is controlled it is hopeless to try and give nourishment by the mouth and it is not advisable to do so. Rectal feeding has been suggested but seems to do more harm than good, consequently for the first twenty-four hours all food should be withheld, after that albumin, beef tea or beef jelly may be cautiously administered in small quantities, but not persisted in if vomition is occasioned. The patient should be kept clean and free from soiling by gastric or fecal discharges. The lips and nose should also receive attention. The patient should be kept warm and comfortable, being supplied with a hot water bottle if cold and miserable.

Differential Diagnosis - From feline distemper, by the absence of catarrhal and pneumonic symptoms and by the extensive and grave necrotic processes in the mouth. In distemper the stomatitis has a different clinical picture and is much more amenable to treatment.

From simple ulcerative stomatitis, by the absence or mildness of the systemic and gastroenteritic symptoms as compared with contagious gastro-enteritis, and by the sporadic nature of the former affection.

From foreign bodies, obstruction of the bowels, intussusception, etc., by the sporadic nature of those affections, and by digital examination of the abdomen.

From poisoning, by the sporadic nature of those cases, the anamnesis, and from the peracute symptoms peculiar to cases of poisoning. The differential diagnosis from ptomaine poisoning is more difficult except that the latter is non-contagious, and the nature of the vomited matter is different. In ptomaine poisoning vomiting although persistent is not so effective, i. e., the stomach is not emptied so effectually as in contagious gastro-enteritis, and the reaction of the vomited matter at any rate in the early stages of ptomaine poisoning is acid, that of contagious gastro-enteritis is invariably alkaline.

Ptomaine Poisoning

This affection is not of such frequent occurrence as in the dog, because the cat vomits with even greater facility than the dog. Nevertheless cases do occur and are very fatal unless prompt and rational treatment is instituted.

Etiology. - Bacterial toxemia from the ingestion of putrid and decaying food, putrid meat, fish, canned goods, such as salmon, sardines, corn, etc. The bacteriological flora producing the condition are the same as in other animals so no details are necessary in regard to them.

Symptoms. - Vomiting, abdominal pain, bloody and offensive diarrhea, widely dilated pupils, small weak but rapid pulse. The temperature is at first elevated but may later on become subnormal. Very great depression and rapid exhaustion. Sometimes convulsions followed by coma.

Treatment. - To produce emesis and expulsion of the offending material apomorphin in doses varying from 1/30 to l/20 of a grain should be given hypodermically, and followed by two or three ounces of a 1-1000 solution of chinosol ; if this is vomited it should be repeated in half an hour. To clear the intestinal tract calomel one-half to one grain combined with one or two grains of chloretone should be administered. After the purgative has acted bismuth subnitrate five grains may be given to reduce irritability of the intestinal tract. Collapse and depression in the later stages may be combated by the hypodermic administration of atropine sulphate in doses of l/l00th of a grain repeated as required or caffeine l/8th of a grain repeated as needed; the patient should be made comfortable and kept warm, using a hot water bottle if required. The after treatment consists in restricting the diet to easily digestible and non-irritant foods, offered frequently but in very small quantities at a time.

The other conditions and diseases of the digestive canal of cats offer no important differences from those of the dog, with the possible exception of the anal glands. In the dog impaction of these glands is of frequent occurrence, but in the cat rather the exception. The anal glands on the other hand are more frequently the seat of neoplasms in the cat than in the dog.

Foreign Bodies in the Stomach

Although with cats the tendency to swallow objects that are not food is not so common as it is in dogs, the variety of substances which may be swallowed either intentionally or accidentally while at play is so extensive as to prohibit a complete list; but sticks, stones, pins, needles, bones, coins, and corks are among those generally met with.

Symptoms. - In many instances the patient shows no ill effects unless the foreign body either perforates the stomach or, passing on, blocks the intestines. Silver coins may remain in the stomach for years and cause no illness whatever, but copper coins undergo corrosion in the stomach or intestine and in time cause serious illness or death. In the case of pins, hat pins, and needles, their presence in the stomach is often unsuspected until an abscess forms either in the esophageal region, between some of the posterior ribs, or in the flank. The history of the case should be obtained and the habits of the animal inquired into, to determine whether the patient has actually been seen to swallow something, or is in the habit of picking up and swallowing odds and ends. The most prominent symptoms are attempts at vomiting, poor appetite, general dullness and depression, irregularity of the bowels, blood in the feces, general unthriftiness, and emaciation.

An examination with the Roentgen rays makes the diagnosis more positive. A careful digital examination should also be made through the abdominal walls, but this is very often negative.

Treatment. - In the case of small articles such as needles or small nails, the animal should be fed on soft or doughy food in order to inclose the foreign body during its passage along the intestine. Thick porridge is of good service here. An emetic of 1-20 to 1-10 grain of apomorphin often proves effectual in expelling blunt objects. If the emetic is unsuccessful, a cathartic should be administered.

In the case of hat pins, needles, meat skewers, or similar articles, it is better to await developments, since in the course of a few days the point will often work out, causing an abscess. When this is lanced, the foreign body can be grasped and withdrawn; if a hat pin, the head is cut off with wire cutters and allowed to fall back into the stomach; the abscess cavity must be treated antiseptically.

The patient usually makes a rapid recovery. There is some risk of peritonitis, due to these substances perforating the stomach, but it is remarkable how seldom this occurs. As a rule adhesion takes place between the stomach and the peritoneum, thus cutting off the peritoneal cavity from infection. Where large substances, such as stones, marbles, or large nails, have been swallowed, and the diagnosis is positive, gastrotomy should be performed without delay.

The popular dread of powdered glass is founded on a myth. Animals may ingest it without apparent harm.

For a description of symptoms, treatment, etc., of the remaining pathological conditions both medical and surgical of the digestive tract the reader is referred to Canine Medicine and Surgery, pages 55 to 65 inclusive.

Parasites of the Alimentary Canal

Ollulanus tricuspis, a small nematode worm, found in nests in the mucous membrane of the stomach.

Very often the presence of this parasite is unsuspected and discovered only on post mortem examination. Sometimes, however, in severe infestations it produces chronic gastric disturbances, anemia and marasmus. The same parasite is also found in the lung tissue and is often associated with the strongyle synthetocaulus abstrusus, producing broncho-pneumonia. The intermediate stage of this parasite is passed in the musculature of rodents.

Ascaris mystax is also found in the stomach, more especially in kittens, having migrated there from its normal habitat in the small intestines. Sometimes the stomach is completely impacted with this worm, usually with fatal results. Ascarides infestation is far more serious in kittens and in young cats than in adults, producing if at all numerous digestive disturbances, indicated by vomiting, diarrhea or constipation, capricious appetite, anemia, and very often epileptiform convulsions. In extreme cases, the whole of the digestive tract may be blocked up with masses of coiled up and interwoven parasites. The above symptoms, in addition to the discovery of the parasites or their ova in the feces, the pot-bellied appearance of the animal and the doughy feel of the abdomen on palpation, confirm the diagnosis.

Cestodes. - The cestodes infesting the cat are the Taenia crassicollis, Dipylidium felis and Mesocestoides litteratus. The intermediate stage of the T. crassicollis is passed in the liver of rodents; the larval form is known as the Cysticercus fasciolaris. The intermediate host of the Dipylidium felis, the cat louse, or Trichodectes subrostratus, the larval form being the Cryptocystis subrostratus.

The tapeworm Bothriocephalus latus is also occasionally found, the intermediate host being a fish such as pike or perch. The symptoms produced are an unthrifty condition, with disorders of the digestive apparatus, sometimes nervous manifestations such as convulsions and fits. Their presence is definitely established by the discovery of segments or ova in the feces.

Other Intestinal Parasites. - The only other important parasites are the Ankylostomum felis (cati), or hook worm, which inhabits the cecum and, being a blood sucker, produces wasting and anemia, and the Oxyuris compar, or seat worm, which creates rectal and anal irritation.

Taken all together, the symptoms of parasitism are by no means pathognomonic, and the diagnosis should be clinical only by the finding of adults, segments or ova in the feces.

Treatment. - Adult cats should be starved twenty-four hours and given a purgative to clear the alimentary canal and allow the vermicide to gain access to the parasites. The following are useful agents for the removal of ascarides: calomel gr. i, santonin gr. 85, or oil of chenopodium m i-ii, given in two drams of glycerin or liquid paraffin.

Fluid extract of spigelia 5 to 10 minims combined with fluid extract of senna is also very efficacious and safe. For small kittens, after fasting for some hours, syrup of iodid of iron in doses of 10 to 15 minims is a safe and effectual vermicide. If preferred, the syrup of iodid of iron may be given twice daily for three or Jour days, the smallest dose being employed for tapeworms.

Areca nut from one grain up to half a dram and made up in pills with butter gives good results if given to the fasting animal and followed with a purge such as calomel or rhubarb.

Ethereal extract Filix mass in doses of 5 to 10 minims may also be given and is very effective, but some degree of caution is required to regulate the dose on account of its toxicity.

Preference should be given to agents that can be administered in capsule or pill form as, if the drug used is of nauseous taste, the animal may refuse to eat after its administration.

For ankylostomiasis, thymol or oil of chenorpodium should be given and followed by a course of iron tonic to correct the anemia. The syrup of iodid of iron is very suitable here, or if preferred the ordinary five-grain Blaud pill may be substituted for the syrup.

For seat worms, rectal injections of vermicides such as infusion of quassia, solution of sodium chloride, sulphate of iron, etc., should be employed and repeated daily for several days.

CHAPTER IV - CONTAGIOUS DISEASES

Feline Distemper

Distemper is a contagious and infective disease of cats, that occurs either in sporadic or epizootic form. It is chiefly disseminated by means of cat shows, dealers' shops and humane societies' homes for lost and strayed dogs and cats. One attack does not confer immunity; if anything, it rather predisposes to future attacks. Many cats, however, have a natural immunity, and possibly some few may acquire it.

The virulence of the infection varies in different outbreaks, being more intense in districts or countries in which it first makes its appearance or which have been free from it for some time. Wet, damp and cold weather and unhygienic living places are predisposing causes. The period of incubation is relatively long, varying from one to three weeks.

Etiology. - The etiological factor has not yet been determined, although many organisms have been suspected and the general consensus of opinion is that the disease is due to some ultra-visible virus and that the other organisms occurring during the course of the malady are only secondary invaders, but at the same time may be responsible for some of the symptoms which manifest themselves during the progress of the disease. Cats showing no symptoms of the disease and in perfect health may be carriers of the infection. This is especially true of the female, who may infect litter after litter of kittens, although apparently in every way normal herself.

Symptoms. - The symptoms are complex and varying both in individual outbreaks and also in the individual. The disease may attack the respiratory, digestive, or cerebral systems, either singly, consecutively, or simultaneously, and with varying intensity. Thus in some cases the purely catarrhal form, unaccompanied by any other manifestations, may occur ; in others, the symptom complex may occur, or rarely, the digestive tract may be the seat of the main invasion.

Cerebral symptoms are rarer than in the dog, and seldom appear as primary, but generally appear in the later stages of the disease, if at all. The following is a description of a typical case, but it must be remembered that all of these symptoms may be modified or intensified according to the virulence of the infection and the resistance of the patient.

The onset of the disease is usually ushered in with rigors, but these are often unnoticed, as the patient generally seeks to hide at the first feeling of malaise. The animal is dull, feverish, and seeks the warmth of the stove or fire. The temperature at this stage is elevated several degrees, later it falls, and is variable throughout. It may-even, in unfavorable cases, fall to subnormal. The visible mucous membranes are found to be dry, hyperemic and swollen ; there may be coughing, sneezing, and choking.

Later there appears a catarrhal discharge from the nose and eyes, at first watery, but rapidly becoming purulent; the conjunctiva becomes much swollen and may protrude between the eyelids ; the cornea is occasionally the seat of ulcerations, which, however, very seldom cause perforation as in the case of the dog. Very rarely, however, the whole eye becomes attacked with a panophthalmitis and is entirely destroyed (this nearly always occurs in kittens infected at birth or before their eyes have opened).

Salivation is noticed, the saliva being thick, sticky and ropy, ineffectual efforts at swallowing it result in choking noises and often vomition. Upon examination of the mouth the mucous membrane is found to be Congested, swollen and with little points of ulceration dotted over the surface, the pillars of the fauces are swollen and ulcerated and covered with a sticky mucus. The gums are spongy, bleed easily, and are ulcerated around their dental margins. Fetor oris is well marked.

In severe cases, in which the pharyngeal lesions are accentuated, the infection extends up the eustachian tubes, producing purulent otitis, and is usually fatal. Depression is well marked, anorexia complete, but thirst is excessive; vomiting, however, unless the case is complicated with severe gastro-intestinal symptoms, is not very persistent, being chiefly excited by the secretions of the mouth and pharynx. In the absence of. gastro-intestinal complications, constipation is usually present, but may give way to fetid diarrhea if the lower alimentary tract is involved.

In contra-distinction to the distemper of the dog, extension of infection to the bronchi and lungs is comparatively rare, but if such happens the symptoms of bronchitis and pneumonia either separately or associated, as the case may be, make their appearance. The temperature rises, the rate of respiration is accelerated and the usual signs can be detected on auscultation and percussion. Unlike the broncho-pneumonia of the dog, which is the typical pneumdnia of distemper in that animal, the pneumonia of the cat is usually atypical; that is to say, it may appear in the croupous form, the catarrhal, or associated with pleurisy, i.e., pleuro-pneumonia. Pleurisy, in fact, is a common complication to the pneumonia of feline distemper.

Coincident with the foregoing symptoms signifying the involvement of the stomach and intestines, may appear persistent vomition, the frequent passage of fluid and offensive feces, sometimes blood-stained, pain upon abdominal palpation. Emaciation is gradual but steady except in mild cases that can be induced to take nourishment.
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Nervous symptoms such as convulsions, spasms of groups of muscles, or deep coma, may occur.

In some cases the pharyngeal symptoms prevail, the catarrhal and gastro-enteric being subordinate, the latter sometimes completely absent, the former always present, but sometimes much modified; in these the general toxemic symptoms develop very rapidly, the patient lapsing into deep coma ending in death.

Pregnant cats almost invariably abort.

Treatment, - In the absence of exact knowledge of the causative factor all treatment must of necessity be symptomatic and therefore to some extent empirical. From close observation and careful review of the initial symptoms and further course of the disease, the author came to the conclusion a good while ago that the primary infection takes place in the pharynx and tonsils and therefore considers that every effort should be made to disinfect, if possible, the pharyngeal and tonsillar areas. Clinical results when such efforts have been made have shown the efficacy of them, whether or no the hypothesis is correct. To that end, therefore, the nasal chambers, mouth, pharynx and tonsils should be douched with a 1/1,000 solution of chinosol, the solution should be syringed up the nostrils with a small syringe (a fountain pen filler is just the thing), the liquid being forced into the pharynx ; the mouth should then be washed out with some of the same solution and about one to two ounces given as a drench.

This method of treatment should be instituted immediately symptoms appear and should be continued daily until convalescence. In the initial stages of the disease the douchings should be given at least three times a day, but as improvement takes place once daily is sufficient.

Constipation should be corrected with small doses of calomel and the other complications treated as they arise, and according to their nature. The basic principle in the treatment is the disinfection of the alimentary tract. Collapse and exhaustion may be treated with hypodermic injections of normal saline solution, atropin or cafeine.

Diet should be restricted to very small quantities of albumin and water, beef tea or jelly, diluted milk, etc., until the acute stage is passed, when the quantities may be cautiously increased. During convalescence an iron and quinine tonic may be given with advantage and the diet should be of easily digested and highly nutritious aliment.

Throughout the course of the disease the patient should be kept clean and comfortable and the infectivity of the affection should never be lost sight of, every effort being made to prevent the spread of infection to other cats.

Seeing the serious and treacherous nature of this disease and the losses sustained by owners of high-priced cats, it is hoped that more attention will be paid to this disease in the future and that investigations will result in a biologic agent of prophylactic or curative properties that will enable the practitioner to treat it with more confidence than is possible at the present time.

Feline Diphtheria

This is an infective disease of cats characterized by inflammation of the pharynx, with the
formation of false membranes, and profound toxemia. This disease, one of the most fatal that affects cats, the mortality being about ninety percent in some outbreaks, has the characteristics of the diphtheria of human beings, with the exception that the bacillus of Loffler has not been isolated from the lesions. Nevertheless it is probably very closely allied to human diphtheria, as the disease responds favorably to the antitoxin for diphtheria of the human. Some authorities, both medical and veterinary, claim and counterclaim that it is one and the same disease and vice versa. The confusion arises, in the author's opinion, from the fact that the cat, not only can, but does suffer from human diphtheria, the Loffler bacillus being easily demonstrated in such cases, and it is also an accepted fact that the cat may be a carrier of human diphtheria. Whether or not cat and human diphtheria are identical is of little importance to the clinician, but of the gravest import to the public health officer. Acting on the supposition that the disease may be human diphtheria or that cat diphtheria and human diphtheria may be the same, the infected cat should be given no opportunity of spreading infection.

Symptoms. - The disease is ushered in by general malaise, rigors and suspension of appetite. The temperature is raised, and lassitude is well marked. Saliva dribbles from the mouth, which is often held partially open; breathing is partly oral, somewhat labored and accomplished with a wheezing, bubbling sound. A discharge, clear and watery at firsts later becoming of the color of blood serum, exudes from the nostrils and eyes. Sneezing and coughing occur, the cough being painful and repressed.

Upon examination of the throat it is found somewhat painful to outside pressure and the pharyngeal mucous membrane and that of the soft palate is seen to be congested and covered with a diphtheritic membrane. The mouth emits a foul odor and there is often an offensive diarrhea. The disease develops very rapidly, and the animal soon shows signs of a general toxemia, becoming at first semi-comatose, with widely dilated pupils, perfectly indifferent to surroundings, but moaning or crying out if disturbed. In course of time the intoxication becomes more and more profound, the animal finally dying either in deep coma or in convulsions.

Acute cases of diphtheria in cats that terminate fatally run their course in twenty-four hours or less.

Treatment. - At the very onset of /the symptoms a full dose of diphtheria antitoxin should be administered hypodermically. One-grain doses of calomel should then be given and the douching of the nose, mouth and pharynx carried out as advised for distemper. The anti-toxin may be repeated with advantage in twenty-four hours after the first dose and, if necessary, the dose may be increased with perfect safety.

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis in the cat is of far more frequent occurrence than is generally supposed and is of importance from a public health standpoint. The disease may be contracted from the ingestion of tuberculosis milk, which is probably the most frequent source of infection, or from association with tuberculous persons. The possibility of a tuberulous cat infecting children must not be overlooked, as cats are nursed and kissed by the little ones, and often sleep in the same bed with them.

Adult cats are the most frequent sufferers, the disease seldom appearing in kittens, although it is possible, as in children, that infection may take place at an early age and remain latent until adult life is reached. The most frequent seat of the primary lesions is the alimentary canal, from which it may spread to every organ in the body.

The acute miliary, pulmonary and pleuritic tuberculosis so often found in cats is nearly always secondary and very seldom of primary origin.

Symptoms. - Gradual but progressive emaciation, the loss of flesh being particularly well marked over the parietal region and along the back. The eyes become sunken, and if renal tuberculosis is present, amaurotic, or less frequently there is an iritis or choroiditis, and sometimes detachment of the retina. There is a persistent cough and sometimes mucus is coughed up and expelled, but is usually swallowed and so escapes notice.

There may be intermittent diarrhea unless the enlarged mesenteric glands cause partial obstruction of the intestines, in which case there is constipation. The animal loses strength very rapidly, is incapable of any exertion, exhibiting panting and marked distress if made to move quickly.

If the liver is affected or the tubercular mesenteric glands or masses of deposit in the abdominal cavity cause portal obstruction, abdominal ascites occurs. This often takes the form of chylous ascites, the transuded fluid being milky and containing much fat. It should be noted, however, that chylous ascites is not pathognomonic of tuberculosis as it may occur from anything that causes portal obstruction.

The appetite is variable and is usually suspended towards the end, the temperature is fluctuating, rising to 105° F. and falling again to normal. If the lungs and pleura are attacked the ordinary symptoms of pleuro-pneumonia are present and can be recognized by ordinary diagnostic methods. The parotid lymphatic glands are often involved, fistulae forming that discharge a sticky fluid that gums the hair in the region of the throat. The skin of the lips, throat, breast and between the paws is often the seat of ulceration that shows no tendency to heal under the most painstaking treatment, but rather to spread and involve more tissues. Wounds show no tendency to heal, but rather to become necrotic.

Diagnosis. - The suspicions aroused by the above symptoms may be confirmed by the tuberculin test and by the discovery of the bacillus of tuberculosis in the bronchial discharge, in the feces or in the thoracic or abdominal fluids.

The dose of tuberculin is from one to five minims, and is administered hypodermically. The temperature should be taken every hour after injection, as the reaction, if it occurs, reaches its height at about the fifth hour. The ophthalmic test is said to be unreliable, but this is contrary to the author's experience. The intradermal test deserves a trial, as there are many cases in which the temperature reaction cannot be applied or relied on. The enlarged mesenteric glands can be palpated easily through the abdominal walls.

Treatment, needless to say, is not justifiable owing to the risk to human beings.

CHAPTER V - EXTERNAL PARASITES AND DISEASES OF THE SKIN

Pediculosis or Lousiness

Cats are very subject to infestations of lice, and more especially so if debilitated from disease or old age. The lice belong to the phylum Arthropoda, natural order Rhynchota, which comprise the two main families, the Hematopinus and the Trichodectes.

The Hemotopinus are true bloodsuckers, the Trichodectes surface feeders, puncturing the skin and living on the exuded juices. The cat is more commonly affected by invasions of one of the Trichodectes, viz., the Trichodectes subrostratus, but sometimes harbors a Hematopinus, common also to the dog, the Hematopinus piliferus.

Symptoms. - Both varieties produce a dermatitis, which is increased by the animal's efforts at biting, scratching, and rubbing, in the vain attempt to gain surcease from the continued irritation.

The irritation produced deprives the animal of rest and it becomes debilitated, and in extreme cases emaciated. The hair loses its lustre, is stary, becomes full of dandruff, and falls out in patches. The skin becomes the seat of excoriations and sores from the animal's efforts at relieving the irritation, becomes thickened, and there is marked desquamation of the epithelium.

On close examination the nits or ova cases are seen clinging to the hairs. The parasites may be found either with their heads burrowed into the skin or moving about over the surface. The favorite locations of the lice are on the head at the base of the ears, under the chin, on the breast, around the shoulders, along the back and at the root of the tail.

If infested with Hematopinus well marked anemia is added to the clinical picture, and emaciation and prostration may be extreme, the animal passing into a state of marasmus, often ending in death, if relief is not obtained.

Treatment. - In slight cases where clipping is objected to, the coat should be well brushed, all matted masses of hair removed, and as many of the parasites as is possible removed with a fine comb. An infusion of stavesacre 1 to 20 should then be applied and well worked into the hair and skin. The process should be repeated several times.

In young cats or in cases that are debilitated, chinosol 1/500 may be substituted for the infusion of stavesacre, as there is some slight risk of toxic effects from the latter. Nits can be removed from the hair by the application of vinegar or dilute acetic acid.

In all cases the premises should undergo a complete disinfection. To counteract the debility and anemia a full and generous diet and a course of hematinics should be prescribed. In addition to its importance as a skin parasite, the Trichodectes is, as has been before mentioned, the intermediate host of the Dipylidium felis, so that its eradication is of double significance.

Fleas

The fleas belong to the natural order Siphonaptera, of which the Ctenocephalus felis is the flea peculiar to the cat. The Pulex irritans or the flea infesting man, and the Ctenocephalus canis, or the dog flea, are also found at times infesting the cat.

Clinically, all fleas produce the same results, viz., irritation and dermatitis and have a harmful effect on the condition of the animal by interfering with its rest. At the same time, fleas do not produce such bad effects as lice except very occasionally, when the same symptoms as described for lice are noticed.

Treatment. - The same treatment as advised for lice is effectual, or the animal may be dusted well with pyrethrum powder and rolled up in a towel for ten minutes and then well brushed. Spirits of camphor sprinkled on a rough towel in which the cat is rolled is a very cleanly and efficacious way of destroying fleas.

The fleas migrate to the towel, becoming stupefied, and the towel is then plunged into boiling water. This method is recommended for longhaired cats, or cats requiring treatment just previous to a show, as the gloss of the coat is not interfered with.

The Ctenocephalus felis passes the whole of its life history on the cat, thus differing from the C. canis and P. irritans, which pass their larval stages away from their hosts in cracks and crannies in the floor, walls, etc., of the kennel or living quarters.

Mange

The cat suffers from two. forms of mange: (1) Notoedric; (2) Otodectic. The. parasite causing Notoedric mange is the Notoedres minor felis cati (formerly known as the Sarcoptes minor cati) . It belongs to the natural order Acarina, Family, Sarcoptidae.

The Notoedres differ from the Sarcoptes scabiei in that the body is smaller, somewhat more circular, the dorsal spines being replaced by concentric rings, and the fact that the anus is dorsal instead of being terminal. In common with the sarcoptes; the ambulacra terminate in suckers mounted on unjointed pedicles, which leave; the ambulacra ait an angle. Both are burrowing mites. The above description is given, since a positive, diagnosis of mange can be made only upon the discovery and recognition of the parasite.

In order to determine the presence of the parasite it is necessary to get a deep scraping of the skin. This can be done by first of all removing superficial scales and debris and then with a blunt knife scraping the skin until blood oozes. The material thus obtained is now boiled for ten minutes in a ten per cent solution of potassium hydroxid and allowed to settle or is centrifuged. The supernatant fluid is decanted off and the residue transferred to slides and examined microscopically under low magnification.

Symptoms - The symptoms are essentially those of a dermatitis, manifested by irritation, reddening and thickening of the skin, desquamation of epithelium and, loss of hair. The pruritis is intense and the animal inflicts considerable damage to the skin by its persistent rubbing and scratching.

In an advanced case the primary skin.lesions are entirely masked by those resulting from self-inflicted injuries, but if seen in the early stages the skin is seen to be covered with little red papules, somewhat like |lea bites ; these exude a drop of serum and the hairs become matted together. Later patches of skin become bald, covered with scales and very much thickened. Desquamation and piling up of the epithelium are very characteristic of mange in the cat, the skin becoming wrinkled and covered with a thick coating of scabs. The persistent and intense pruritis gives the animal no rest, and it gradually loses in condition, becoming debilitated and sometimes marasmic.

Treatment. - Treatment is difficult and in advanced cases none too satisfactory, especially as the predilection seat of the parasite is the face, nose, lips, around the eyes, chest, legs and claws. From these regions it may, of course, involve the whole body. The hair should be clipped and the scabs removed, as far as possible, by washing with an alkaline solution and soft soap. A five per cent ointment of salicylic acid should then be rubbed in very thoroughly to remove the epithelium, followed by daily inunctions of sulphur ointment, a useful combination being sulphur 1, potassium carbonate 1/2, lanolin 4.

Around the eyes and on the eyelids chinosol solution, l/500, or balsam of Peru, one part, lanolin eight parts, may be used. The inunctions should be repeated every three days and the treatment persisted in until the growth of new hair shows the disease to be controlled. It is often an advantage in protracted cases to change the applications occasionally from oily dressings to watery, and vice versa.

Otodectic Mange or Ear Mange

The parasite causing ear mange is the Otodectes cyhotis felis (cati) and belongs to the Sarcoptidae, being closely related to the other members of the same family, i.e., the chorioptes, differing from it only by the disposition of the ambulacral suckers.

A brief description may be of use and interest. All legs are marginal, male with bilobed
extremity to abdomen, copulatory suckers, ambulacral suckers; in the female, on the first and second pair, on the first, second, and third, pair of legs in the male. The ambulacral suckers are almost sessile, the pedicle being very short. The parasite is considerably larger than the Notoedres and is visible to the naked eye, being easily seen moving about in the debris of the external auditory canal. The predilection seat of this parasite is the ear flap, the external auditory meatus and external auditory canal. It does not wander from these locations.

Symptoms.—The irritation due to the invasion of the parasites sets up an otorrhea of the external auditory canal, manifested by the discharge of a dark colored and offensive exudate, pruritis, ulceration of the ear flap and auditory carial, and the formation of granulation tissue. The patient is continually shaking its head, scratching at the affected ear, or rubbing it along the ground. Manipulation is painful and is resented. Upon examination, the ear flap is seen to be soiled with a dark colored discharge, which collects in the convolutions of the concha, and which issues from the external auditory canal. If looked for carefully, the parasite can usually be seen as a minute speck moving among the debris. In advanced cases the ear flap, meatus and canal may be the seat of ulcerations, in which cases the parts are exceedingly tender, and the discharge is more offensive. In other cases granulations block up the canal and meatus so that an inspection of the interior is impossible. In long-standing and neglected cases, infection may extend to the middle ear and to the meninges, when symptoms of cerebral mischief will develop.

Treatment. - The preliminary step is a complete clean-up of the whole external auditory apparatus, and this is best accomplished by filling the ear with hydrogen peroxid to loosen up accumulations of wax and discharge, followed by the use of a cotton wool swab. After the ear has been freed from all filth it should be well dried and the following lotion poured into the canal and smeared all over the ear flap, taking care to reach all crevices : Beta napthol dram 1, ether drams 3, olive oil drams. 2. The meatus should be plugged with a piece of wool immediately the lotion is poured in to prevent the too rapid evaporation of the ether. The applications should be made daily for three days, when the ear should again be thoroughly cleaned out and filled with an antiseptic dusting, powder, such as formidine, chinosol and boric acid, one in three; methyl-ditannin, bismuth, formic iodid, etc.

If granulations are present, attempts may be made to reduce them by the application of silver nitrate or they may be removed with scissors or scalpel under anesthesia. There is no successful treatment, if cerebral symptoms develop.

Hematoma of the ear flap is a common complication, but its treatment in no way differs from that of the same condition in the dog.

Dermatomycosis

The dermatomyces affecting the cat are Trichophyton, Microsporon, and Achorion, the first two named causing ringworm, the latter favus.

Trichophytosis and microsporosis in no way differ in type from the ringworms affecting other animals. Favus is more particularly peculiar to the cat and therefore it alone will be considered here.

The fungi responsible for the condition are the Achorion quinckeanum and Achorion Schonleinii. The parts commonly affected are the paws, head, forehead, ears, and lips.
Symptoms. - On the parts affected, circular raised patches covered with yellow crusts and varying in size from that of a pin head to that of a five-cent piece, are observed. As the crusts grow older they become gray in color and more powdery. If the crusts are removed, a cup-like depression is seen, the marginal skin being inflamed and indurated.

The lesions spread from the periphery, the hair being destroyed and circular bald patches remain. The lesions under the crusts are at first moist with serum, but this soon dries up, leaving the patch covered with powdery scales. Irritation is not very marked, and there are no constitutional disturbances. The fact that favus is transmissible to the human being should not be lost sight of and the proper precautions must be taken to prevent the spread of the disease.

Treatment. - The hair should be clipped off the affected parts and burned immediately. The crusts should be removed by soaking with a strong solution of carbonate of soda and scraping, and the parts painted with tincture of iodin, a five per cent solution of silver nitrate, or given an inunction of iodin ointment well rubbed in.

The disease is sometimes very obstinate and the treatment should be given daily until a cure is effected. In all cases the antiseptic used should be applied to the surrounding parts around the periphery of the lesions and not only to the lesions themselves.