HYSTERIA IN ANIMALS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 202, 26 August 1899, Page 5 (Supplement)

HYSTERIA IN ANIMALS.

TH*fel : AILMENT NOT PECULIAR TO

HUMAN BEINGS.

That aniridia are subject to attacks of hysteria i_..-^ ch Scove ry only lately made by physicv ns< Y et the tAvo cases recorded in the "^ fturo iogisches Centralblatt," by Dr. H. *%g ier seem t0 i eavQ no doubt about the m^ ter>

The animals that wei^ affected were a cat and a canary res_i,>-. t; j ve jy i Tho cat, which Avas nine months j lea ithy and active, was one' day deepv v .^uten- in the back by a dog and immedYi^ fell down paralysed. When Dr. Hig\<£ flr ;_ t saw it, five or six weeks after the "■M\ lry> it Avalked only with its fore paws, d_^ ging its body and hind limbs. That«l was complete loss of sensation in the. hind paws and in the hinder third of the body, both sides of. the abdomen ana back of the animal being indifferent to • deep punctures with a needle and to hot applications, but it always responded to gentle touching in the front half of the body. The tail was paralysed, but none of the limbs atrophied, as is usual in such cases. Dr. Higier considered that the cat was suffering from an inflammation of the spinal cord, but what occasioned him surprise was the fact that the animal gave no positive signs other than the paralysis. One day the servant girl, being curious to see whether the cat would fall on all fours, as cats usually' do, threw it from the first floor of the house on to the pavement. As a matter or fact it alighted on all fours, immediately ran away and was, contrary to expectation, completely cured of its sensory ana motor paralysis, which had lasted for more than two months. The cat, therefore, really had no lesion of the spinal cord at all and all its symptoms were due to the fright experienced by the bite of the dog. In other words, the' cat was manifestly suffering from an attack of hysteria. Dr. Higier's second case showed itself in a canary whose cage, with the bird in it, was pulled down from the wall by a cat, but Dr. Higier interposed before the cat seized it. The bird lay on the bottom of the cage, stiff as'if dead, but was revived by sprinkling with cold water, after which it was lively, took its food well and showed no abnormality except that from having been a fine singer it became silent. For six weeks the bird never uttered a note, then this condition passed off quite unexpectedly and the canary once more sang very well. Dr. Higier also refers to three cases mentioned by Dr. Tourette in which dogs showed hysterical symptoms.