It is, I consider, both unwise and cruel to tamper with strong drugs, and certainly it is mistaken kindness to force milk, or any other food, down the throat of a cat suffering from sickness. Let the poor animal be as quiet as possible, in a comfortable nest, but not so near a fire as to be hot. Sick animals require air, but are very sensitive to cold or the slightest draught. As the cat is such a remarkably clean animal, it will, whether ill or well, often take a dislike to a favourite resting-place, if it become in the slightest degree foul or tainted.
At the very commencement of the sickness, however, an emetic may do good in clearing the stomach. But it should be administered at the beginning or not at all. I have tried it with good result, and have found simple salt and water most handy: it is harmless, at any rate. It may be mixed in the proportion of about one-fifth part of salt. Sulphate of soda (Glauber’s salt) is sometimes preferred to salt. It must, however, be diluted in a much larger proportion of water, and less than a teaspoonful of the mixture will be as much as should be given. To allay an undue continuance of sickness, arising from irritation, about half a teaspoonful of melted beef-marrow may be found to give relief.
Fits.—The cat is liable to fits of a distressing nature, and they occur in young animals—more generally about the time they attain their full growth—and are more common in male than in female cats. When seized with a delirious fit, the poor animal suddenly appears to go wild, dashes about in a frantic manner, with staring eyes, often darts through a window, open or shut, and then hides in some corner. The symptoms of a convulsive fit are somewhat different. In such a case it utters a cry, with staring eyes, and falls upon its side. The whole body appears stiffened, the limbs struggle convulsively, and the mouth foams. The cat is quite harmless, however, during the fit, and there need be no fear in handling it. But be gentle and quiet with the poor animal. The best way to give relief is to cut a very small slit in the thin part of the ear with a sharp pair of scissors, or to make slight incisions with a lancet; not enough to hurt or disfigure the ear, but just sufficient to draw a few drops of blood. It is well to encourage the bleeding by carefully fomenting the spot with warm water, but be very careful not to let any water enter the ear. If, however, the bleeding is free, there will be no need for the warm-water applications. The loss of only a few drops of blood will afford relief. After the fit the cat will generally be timid and nervous, and should therefore be treated with consideration. Be careful to avoid overfeeding it; in fact, for a short time let its feeding be slightly lowered, if in high condition. The cat will quickly outgrow these fits. Many young toms have one attack, and a she-cat never has a fit after having once littered.
CHAPTER VII.
ON THE DISEASES OF CATS.
(Continued.)
Pneumonia, or Inflammation of the Lungs, is not an uncommon malady in the cat, and the tendency to pulmonary weakness appears to be transmitted from generation to generation, and is certainly more generally met with in cats of foreign origin, as Persian, etc., than in our own native kind. In fact, all the felines are evidently much more liable to lung disease than are the dogs. Nor are the larger forms exempt, for many a majestic lion, or a beautiful leopard in our best-managed zoological collections, has succumbed to this fatal distemper. Exposure to cold and damp, poor feeding, etc., are generally the immediate causes of lung disease in the feline, as in the human subject. The symptoms in pneumonia are a dull, uneasy restlessness; the poor cat looks miserable, as doubtless it feels, and mopes about in a very dejected manner. It is less disposed to lie than it is to squat about. Pneumonia is usually accompanied by pleurisy, and if this complaint is as distressingly painful as I have experienced it to be, I am sure the cat must at times suffer the most acute pain. Inflammation of the lungs, although so generally fatal, may nevertheless be overcome by good nursing under favourable circumstances. It occurs more generally in winter and spring—the most trying time, in our English climate, for both man and beast. Keep the cat indoors, and in a room of comfortable temperature, but not too warm, at, say, not much over 55° Fahr. A troublesome cough distresses the poor cat frequently, and the laborious breathing is manifest by the heaving of the flanks. In the treatment of the disease, apply, in the first instance, a stimulating liniment composed of equal parts of compound camphor liniment of the British Pharmacopœia and soap liniment. Rub it in upon the sides of the chest, and do not spread about more than is necessary, as cats are made miserable by the fur being soiled or tainted. The operation may be repeated the next day if the liniment has not produced tenderness. Administer, internally, the following mixture every four hours, in a dose of ten drops:—Syrup of chloral, forty drops; syrup of squills, forty drops; ipecacuanha wine, ten drops.
As, probably, the cat will not eat, it will be well to keep up its strength by administering beef tea or good milk at intervals.