Cats are subject to mineral poisons given them intentionally, or left carelessly lying in corners mixed with food intended for rats, which the cat gets at accidentally. The usual mineral poisons are arsenic or rat-poison. The cat may also be poisoned from verdigris and salts of copper, which form on the surface of improperly cleaned kitchen-utensils left with food standing in them, which the cats eat. Mineral poisons produce irritation of the stomach, violent pain, vomiting, and, if they do not prove fatal, diarrhoea at a later time. Fortunately they do usually produce vomiting, so that the animal gets rid of the excess of poison; and this indicates the treatment, which should be at once an active emetic, consisting of one-half teaspoonful of mustard in a little warm water, or a saturated solution of Glauber's salts in warm water, given in as large quantity as possible, and repeated until violent vomiting is produced. The after-treatment, if the animal is left debilitated, consists of stimulants, with the white of an egg, or a solution of starch, to allay the irritation.

Strychnine poisoning frequently occurs from the same intention or accident by which cats are poisoned with mineral poisons. The symptoms of strychnine poisoning are a characteristic spasm. The cat gives a cry or two, and lies stretched out, with the head and neck thrown back, the hind legs extended rigidly, and the forelegs drawn down by the side of the body. Cases of strychnine poisoning, if recognized at once and treated immediately with large doses of chloral hydrate - especially if the latter can be given by injection with a hypodermic syringe - in a large number of cases can be saved. The chloral can be given in poisonous diseases as high as ten or twenty grains or more the first dose, and ten grains every half-hour.