The so-called stomach-worm, which is found both in the stomach and in the intestines, especially of young cats, is a worm from two to three or four inches in length, about the size of small slate-pencils, pointed at the ends, which are somewhat curved. The tail has two small membranous wings, with twenty-six papillae on each side, of which five are postanal. The female is somewhat longer than the male. This species of ascarides inhabits not only the intestines of the cat, but those of a large number of the savage species of the genus Fells.

a, Male; b, Female; c, Anterior extremity; d, Seen in profile.

Fig. 26. - Ascaris Mystax.

The symptoms of the presence of this worm are only those of intestinal irritation; and even these may not be present, and the diagnosis can then only be made by seeing one of the worms which has been passed. The treatment consists of diet for twenty-four hours, then a good purgative dose of castor-oil. This may be preceded by half an hour by a three-grain dose of santonin, and in large cats five drops of turpentine may be added to the oil.