The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-04-11
UNGRATEFUL CAT PATIENTS.
In the Hospital They're Not So Appre-
 ciative as Injured Dogs.

ciative as Injured Dogs.
 The little red ambulance had just re- turned from call. The two Shetland ponies champed their bits and paved the floor; twenty dogs in the boXlike wards parked a welcome to the new arrival. He was lifted tenderly from the soft cushions of the ambulance, carried into the dog hospital, where a broken leg was put in splits. He was bathed and fed and soon was fast asleep in little box ward of his own. The cat and dog hospital, at No. 1917 Grand avenue, Kansas City, Is a new agency in the humane treatment of dumb animals. The building does not present a very attractive appearance, but the patients act as if they had very high opinions of the man in charge, Dr. W. H. Gatchell, says the Kansas City Star.
 The dog and cat ambulance was first used last September, but as the calls became more frequent a motor ambu- lance was ordered to take the place of the ponies. The ambulance now used resembles the ordinary monkey cage seen in circus parades. It has two compartments, a large one for the dogs and a smaller one for the cats. On the box are seats for the drivetr and the emergency surgeon.
 Homeless cats and dogs, unaccus- toned to the call of a mistress or the whistle of a master, are cared for as tenderly as the more fortunate pets. 1t was for the care of the dumb waifs that Dr. Gatchell established the hos- pital and put into commission the only ambulance of it's kind in the west. Wealthy owners of patients are charged a regular hospital fee, but on the books no charges are made for the care of the homeless dogs and cats. The dogs and cats are sold sometimes for enough to pay for their treatment, Visitors very often become attached to a waif and pay the hospital fee.
 Several of the most aristocratic dogs of Kansas City once were patients here," an attendant said 'They were picked up on the streets, half starved and suffering from bruises, but their appearance was changed after short stay and proper attention. Now
  thy persons"
 At present twenty dogs representing many dicerent breeds are being cared for by Dr. Gatchell and his assistants. The wards are arranged In tiers, like prison cells. They are kept clean; new ktraw is put in them every morning, and the water in the little pans is ster- ilzed.
 Sometimes we have forty or fifty patients in the wards" the attendant said. "When the wards on the main floor are filled we send new patients to the reserve wards in the basement.
 "The cats are not so common as the dogs. Generally they are more fortu- rate in getting homes. Most of the cat patients are carried into the office by fashionably dressed women The wo- men always cry at the parting, but the contented purr of the cat usually changes to yowls and cries when the doctor attempts to care for them. Cats are the most ungrateful patients we try to help"
 In the office of the hospital, the wall; of which are lined with shelves filled with bottles and medical appliances, ar Irish terrier, lean greyhound and 2 brown spaniel were lying on the floor They were recuperating. Sharp yell' were heard from an inclosure in ont corner of the room.
 That's Pat in Parlor A." Dr. Cat. chell said "He stole the greyhound's dinner, and was locked up as a pun ishment."