Williston graphic. (Williston, Williams County, N.D.) 1895-1919, 1904-09-29
CATS CARRY coNTAo,oN.
Stray Felines Spread Disease in the
= Dense Population Of
Cities. H..

SOurceO OF Danger tOany CITY or tOWn. Inc
evil that it does as carrier of disease has
been MADE subject Of special study
by DR.. A. w. Martin, the health officer
for Gorton, an outlying district of Man
chester, England, reports the New York
Press. He says that the recent great
increase Of diphtheria in London was
due to the disease being conveyed by
aeas from infected animals. He clear
ly shows that pigeons and fowls suffer
from form of diphtheria and are in
tested with tleas. He also shows that
the cats of the neighborhood congregate
wherever there is pigeon cote or
fowl run, and from these facts he de-
duces that the cats bring the infected
f1eas from the birds into the house, and
thus spread the disease. Other diseases
of contagious nature, he says. are
spread in similar ways. One of DR..
Martins experiments with a cat showed
that In four nights it deposited 24S flea
eggs on the spot where it lay in the house,
and he demonstrates that children are
especially liable to contact with diph-
iberia in this manner. He says that a
child under one year of age is nearly al
ways In the cradle, to which the cat
comes and goes at will.
When the child Is from one to two
years old it is frequently crawling on the
floor and on the rug where the cat
sleeps, and from that age till it goes
to school the child is playing with and
nursing the cat The result is that II
the cat has any disease germs about it's
thick fur the child Is almost certain to
get them, and in this way diseases are
spread from one family to another. The
same, he says, is true of pet dogs, but
not to such a large extent. Dr. Mar
tin holds that the enormous increase of
diphtheria in the last few years Is due
to the cat and dog.
AS an evidence of the fear of the
spread Of contagious, diseases by do
nestle animals the authorities of many
cities do all they can to destroy cats
and dogs The American Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,
which has its headquarters in New York,
in the last ten years destroyed 766,S89
dogs and cats. OF this number there
were 250,444 dogs and 516,245 cats.
While some Of the animals destroyed
were not diseased a great percentage
Of them were, and they we're killed for
this reason alone. Lastyear there, were
81 $50 cats and 83,O12 dogs destroyed In
New York. The expense of maintain
ing the shelters or pounds last year was
$5S,247.
John F. Haines, who for Is years has
been the president OF the American So
ciety for the Prevention Of Cruelty to
Animals, and who is probably one Of
the best informed men in the country on
the habits of domesticated animals, says
there is no question in his mind that dogs
and cats do carry diseases of contagious
nature among human beings. ''The cat, -
he says, lis the household pet Of the
tenement, the very place where diseases
are the most likely to spread. This IL
also true of tho dog, but cats are more
numerous, and I believe the most dan
gerous In this respect. They infest the
alleys and the byways Of city. They
prowl at night in the bae1kyards and in
the daytime they are fondled by the
children and 90 from one fiat to another.
The stray cats are a nuisance, and the
house cats are worse, for they are
among the most effective propagators
of infectious diseases. They enter
dwellings where diphtheria, or small
pox, for example, is prevalent, and while
they themselves are exempt from the in
lection they bear it in their fur to the
other houses. Though an infected dwell
ing may be closely guarded from the en-
rance or exit of human beings, moth
Ing can prevent the entrance of the cat
or hinder the spread of disease to other
dwellings by its unperceived agency"