Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-02-26
THE BITES OF CATS
INSTANCES IN WHICH THEY
HAVE BEEN POISONOUS.
Medical Authorities Show Such
Wounds Have Sometimes Even
Had Fatal Results.

note with surprise that the remarks OF
a visiting physician appearing In The star
suggesting that stray cats be impounded
like unlicensed dogs, and warning the pub
lie against the danger of cats bite. should
have been criticised to the extent of being
declared unworthy OF attention on the
part of well-informed persons" said a
Washington physician this morning to a
Star reporter.
1.-THE humanitarian motives of the mem.
bers of our profession are often miscon-
strued, as In this instance, but ii is MANI
testify wrong for laymen to attempt to
effect ridicule of well-meant advice which
mas substantial value to the public. Emo
tional comments about the CATS place by
the hearthstone are one thing and medical
opinion and authority regarding the danger
to humans from the bite of a cat is an
other The Stars article was correct and
the physicians views may be substantial
by medical authorities too numerous TO
mention.
Thus, as single instance. I have out
lately received communication from DIR.
N q. keirle of Baltimore, director of he
Colege OF Physicians and Surgeons of that
city, department of which is the familiar
ly known Pasteur Institute where many
Eashingtonians have been sent for treat
ment for dog bites. DIR. Keirle is recog-
nized as one of the leading authorities IN
the country on bites of animals ard their
effect upon the human system and he is of
the opinion that the bite of a cat is as
dangerous as that from a dog He also
recalls the death of a lady from a cats
bite in Baltimore
The Medical Authorities.
This was the opinion expressed by the
visiting physician referred to- At the
Pasteur Hospital in Baltimore there have
been treated eighteen patients suffering
from the bite of the cat.
civ
men employed in the car barn on NJ street,
Georgetown, was bitten on the hand by a
stray cat which he was endeavorlng to
drive from the barn. He died from symp-
IONS resembling those of hydrophob.a.
DIR. w. J. Penny, F.R.C.S. assist ant
surgeon of the Bristol, England. General
Hospital, reports The case of a man bitten
in the thumb b. cat, the wound hecoAi-
ing intensely painful, the flesh tense gldz-
ed, dull red and much swollen. 1t required
months treatment before the patient was
well. The same authority reports the case
of woman bitten by her pet eat on the
finger, with like s symptoms and result as
in the first case.
"Dr. Henning in the Medical and Surgical
Reporter recites the case OF the bite of a
cat on the patients forearm. also with like
symptoms In another instance that Of
lady bitten by her pet cat, the virus pro-
duced symptoms like those of hydrophobia,
with complete arrangement of the nervous
system, accompanied by Stammering.
1T was but~a few weeks ago that death
from a. cats bite was reported in the public
prints, and these items of news frequently
appear. The physicians very excellent eau
uonary remarks in The Star anent the cat
were by no means belittled nor his humane
motives assailed by thoughtless criticisms
as may come from lay citizens whose ten
der sympathies are worked upon by an
affection for our fireside companion. 1t is
but fair not to be hasty In condemning the
words of a member of the medical profess
sion as absurd which have as their LANDAU
object the protection of mankind from dis
ease, especially when based upon facts well
supported by the authorities.
Cats a Medium of Contagion
Furthermore, cats are a medium for
conveying in their fur from household to
household the germs Of various conta gfous
and infectious diseases, as has been re-
affirmed and proved by physicians many
times and cats suffer from tuberculosis
in similar degree with other animals they
become additional menace to humans
when SO affected. This fact is especially
potent In the cat this animal comes in
such close contact with the members of the
family to which 1T is attached
my brother physicians statement that
one reads every few days of the death of
individuals from the bite of the cat was
evidently based upon the repeated recur-
rences Of the death of persons from cat
bites, and not upon a matter of hours in {
tervening between such recurring Instances, !
and was, therefore, correct in substance.
I'VE all like the cat, and those Who NAV
come to her defense are inclined to cite in /
stances of cat love- an element having no I
bearing at all upon the menace of a cats
bite to human beings, and no relation at all i
to the physicians words, which had en-
tirely to do with the cat as a source of The
communication Of disease, and as a pest in /
large cities; and, further, his timely and
valuable suggestions referred almost ex-
clusively to the stray or vagrant cat, he !
having made the distinction between such
predatory felines and duly licensed house
hold pets, though the bite of one may DE as
dangerous as the other, as the authorities
show. His words were not at variance with
the facts, and ought to be most seriously
and carefully considered by all sound think
ing persons, as the authorities demon
strate'