Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 128, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 May 1911 — CALLS CAT MENACE [ARTICLE]

CALLS CAT MENACE

Says Germs Thrive Upon Them and That Fetlne Is More Dangerous Plaything for Small ChiWnji* * Than Red-Hot Poker. *T- Chicago.—Dr. Qbarles B. Reed, writing to the weekly bulletin of the Chisago health department, declares animal pets, particularly the cat, a menace to health. “The principal obstacle to a, general and truthful realization of the dangers connected with the domestic pet,” he sayß, "is found to be the; sentimentalists who are unwilling to_ admit that anything on which theif affections are centered can become in any degree a menace, “The womag who refuses to give ber child a red-hot poker as a toy has no hesitancy in putting into its arms the more dangerous because more insidious plaything—the family cat “Under normal conditions the germs of nearly all the epidemic and local diseases thrive upon the family cat Even where the cat is not Bubject to the disease, it easily spreads the contagion. In the case of diphtheria,'the ■at not only has the disease, but also carries it upon the mucous membranes and in the fur. Influenza is spread broadcast by fur and feet, and Hawlett recently has shown that as & distributor of the bubonic plague, the cat vies.in virulence with the jmnipresent rat. / - "Ringworm and tapeworm are spread in the same way, and pus terms' find easy lodgment in the :hick hair from which the stroking sand quickly conveys them to the luman body. The germs of typhoid ind tuberculosis are similarly distribited. “It will be urged by the cat fancier hat the cat is of value to man, since t keeps the rats reduced to livable ionditions. We are not . disposed to llspute this possibility, but in our spinion the good rat catcher is exxemely rare, so rare that it is a mater of pride and boast when one is bund. /j- ---“ Both cats and rats are undeniable nenaces to human life, and of two svils, why choose them both. The government scientists declare that :he cockroach preys upon and destroys the bedbug, but no one hesitates on this account to destroy as many cockroaches as possible. “These accusations all are valid against the family, oat, but in much sreater force against the midnight prowler, whd devotes himself unrestrainedly to the collection of germs, the reproduction of his kind and to making the night hideous with his noises.” The proper ventilation, lighting and cleanliness of the picture shows and smaller theaters is a new problem the health department has taken up. The sanitary bureau inspectors have found cases where large air intakes in front were tightly closed up inside, or the heating coils in the ducts far too small. ' ? A thorough blowing out of the house between each act has been recommended as a simple, effective and nearly inexpensive sanitary measure. The health situation in Chicago shows little change in either mortality or morbidity figures over last week.