CASTRATE, _v._ To geld.
Castration is performed in various ways, but in all it expresses the
removal of the testicles: there are methods of rendering the animal
impotent without the actual ablation of these organs; for if by any
other method the secretion of the spermatic glands is prevented, from
which the uncontrollable sexual excitements arise, the end is answered.
Castration by cauterization is the method which has been principally
practised among us; and as it is that taught at our alma mater, we may
naturally suppose it has proved worthy of the patronage it has received.
It is that I always practised, and was successful with it. But this by
no means proves it the best; although good it must be, since I never had
an untoward case in it; and the more, as, when I was called on to
perform it, it was usually on adult horses, mostly on aged ones. Other
plans may be still better: it is my duty, assuming as I do, to be a
teacher, to bring them forward to view, that they may be compared
together. A preliminary observation should be made previously to
castrating, to see that the horse has no hernia or rupture: such cases
have happened; and as in our method we open a direct communication with
the abdomen, when the horse rises it is not improbable that his bowels
protrude until they trail on the floor.
If a colt cannot be enticed with oats, &c., he must be driven into a
corner between two steady horses, where, if a halter cannot be put on,
at least a running hempen noose can be got round his neck; but,
whichever is used, it should be flat, or the struggles, which are often
long and violent, may bruise the neck, and produce abscess or poll evil.
When his exertions have tired him, he may be then led to the operating
spot: here his attention should be engaged while the hobbles are put on,
if possible; if not, a long and strong cart-rope, having its middle
portion formed into a noose sufficiently large to take in the head and
neck, is to be slipped on, with the knotted part applied to the counter
or breast, and the long pendent ends passed backwards between the fore
legs, and, as expressed by Mr. Percivall, ‘extended obliquely backward,
carried round the hind fetlocks within the hollows of the heels, brought
forward again on the outside, passed under the collar rope, and a second
time carried backwards over the outside of all, and extended to its full
length in a direct line behind the animal.’ Thus fettered, Mr. Percivall
says his hind feet may be drawn under him towards the elbows; I have,
however, often found that, at the moment the rope touches the heels, the
colt either kicks and displaces the rope, or altogether displaces
himself; but his attention can generally be engaged by one fore leg
being held up, or by having his ear or muzzle rubbed, or even by the
twitch: if not, the rope may be carried actually around each fetlock,
which then becomes a hobble; and this rope may be gradually tightened:
in this way I have succeeded with very refractory colts; but it requires
very able assistants, and, if possible, the man who has been used to the
individual colt should be present. In either way, as soon as the rope is
fixed, with a man to each end of it, behind the colt, let them, by a
sudden and forcible effort in concert, approximate his hind legs to his
fore, and thus throw him. Before the colt is cast, however, it should be
endeavoured to ascertain that he is free from hernia: with an adult
horse this is even more necessary.
Being satisfied that no hernia exists on either side, proceed to cast
the horse, turning him, not directly on the left side, but principally
inclining that way; and if possible let the croup be very slightly
elevated: it is usual to place him directly flat on the left side, but I
have found the above rather more convenient. Every requisite being at
hand, and as Hurtrel d’Arboval, with his usual minuteness, observes, the
operator, having his scalpel between his teeth, should place himself
behind the horse, as the most convenient way to perform his
manipulations, and firmly grasping the left testicle with his left hand,
and drawing it out so as to render the scrotum tense, he should make an
incision lengthways of the bag, from its anterior to its posterior part,
or, as expressed by Hurtrel d’Arboval, in the direction of the grand
axis of the organ. The incision may be carried at once through the
integuments, the thin dartos expansion, and the vaginal coat of the
testicles, by the dexterous operator, with a sweep of the scalpel: but
with one less _au fait_ at the operation, it will be more prudent to
make the first incision through the scrotum and dartos only, to the
required extent, and then to do the same by the vaginal coat, thus
avoiding to wound the testicle, which would produce violent resistance,
and give unnecessary pain. The testicle, if the opening be sufficiently
large, will now slip out; but the operator must be prepared, at the
moment of so doing, to expect some violent strugglings, more
particularly if he attempts to restrain the contractions of the
cremaster, and by main force to draw out the testicle. Preparatory to
this, therefore, the twitch should be tightened; the attendants,
especially the man at the head, must be on the alert, and the testicle
itself, at the time of this violent retraction of the cremaster, should
be merely held, but not dragged in opposition to the contraction,
otherwise peritonitis itself might be the result from any such violence.
If the clams have been put on over the whole, according to Mr.
Percivall’s method, they will assist in retaining the retracting parts;
but I must again offer a caution, that they be not used with too much
pressure. The resistance having subsided, provided the clams have been
thus employed, they must now be removed; or, if they have not been
previously in use, they must now be taken in hand, and, being wadded
with tow, should be placed loosely on the cord, while time is given to
free the _vas deferens_, or spermatic tube, which is seen continued from
the epididymis, from the grip of the pincers. The Russians, Mr. Goodwin
informs us, cut it through when they operate. Hurtrel d’Arboval does not
note it in the French practice; but humanity is much concerned in its
removal from pressure, from the excess of pain felt when it is included.
It is also necessary, before the final fixing of the clams, to determine
on the part where the division of the cord is to take place. To use Mr.
Percivall’s words, “If it be left too long, it is apt to hang out of the
wound afterwards, and retard the process of union;” indeed, I have known
the end of it swell into a fungous excrescence, which greatly
embarrassed the practitioner to destroy: on the other hand, if it be cut
very short, and the arteries happen to bleed afresh after it has been
relieved from the clams, the operator will find it no easy task to
recover it from the retraction of the cremaster. The natural length of
the cord, which will mainly depend on the degree of the descent of the
gland, will be our best guide in this particular. The place of section
determined on and marked, close the clams sufficiently tight to retain
firm hold of the cord, and to effectually stop the circulation within
it. There are now two modes of making the division; the one is to sever
it with a scalpel, and then to sufficiently sear the end of it so as to
prevent a flow of blood, avoiding, however, to burn it to a cinder, as
is sometimes done. The other, and in some respects the preferable
method, is to employ an edged firing-iron, which is to divide it by
little crucial sawings, so that, when the cord is separated, it shall
not present a uniform divided surface, but ragged edges, which will more
perfectly destroy the mouths of the vessels, and tend to lessen the
chances of hæmorrhage. This done, loosen the clams sufficiently to
observe whether there be any flow of blood; gently wipe the end of the
cord also with the finger, as sometimes an accidental small plug gets
within the vessel, which afterwards is forced out, and therefore had
better be removed by this means and at this time. Retain a hold on the
clams a few minutes longer; and while loosening them gradually,
observing to have an iron in readiness again to touch the end of the
cord, if any blood makes its appearance. Satisfied on this point, sponge
the part with cold water, but by no means dash it over them, as has been
done; neither is any external application necessary, still less any
resin seared on the end of the cord, which can only irritate, and will
never adhere. On the after-treatment much difference of opinion has
existed, and even yet exists. The powerful evidence of accumulated facts
has now convinced veterinarians of both the necessity and propriety of
some motion for the newly-castrated horse as a preventive of local
congestion; such practice is common in most countries but our own, and
seems salutary in all. Hurtrel d’Arboval, thus impressed, recommends the
horse, immediately after the operation, to be led out to walk for an
hour, and it is a general plan in France to walk such horses in hand an
hour night and morning. Mr. Goodwin, in proof of its not being hurtful,
informs us, that whole studs of horses brought to St. Petersburgh to be
operated on, are immediately travelled back a certain portion of the
distance, night and morning, until they arrive at home. I have,
therefore, no hesitation in recommending a moderate degree of motion in
preference to absolute rest, as practised among us: it is a plan which
has long been followed with success among our own cutters; and perhaps
our not adopting it before has arisen from prejudice against whatever
was practised by illiterate persons, without reflecting that, illiterate
as they are, their employers are not all so; and that, unless success
attended their practices, they would cease to be employed.
For the French mode, twitching, &c., _vide_ GOODWIN, BLAINE, &c.
* * * * *
_When a colt is to be gelded._—In the first or second week in June he
should be cut; and when recovered he should be turned out for the
summer.
* * * * *
“I would not operate,” says Mr. Percivall, “during the season of
changing the coat, nor even just prior to that period, from fear of
interrupting the process, or checking it altogether; neither would I
choose frosty or sultry weather: but, above all, it is advisable to
suspend the operation when the flies abound. If the subject have passed
the colt period of age, I would recommend a dose of aperient medicine
before the operation be undertaken, unless he should be already living
on green food.”
* * * * *
Each testicle should be taken out of the scrotum separately, by an
opening sufficiently large, when a ligature should be applied,
moderately tight only, around the spermatic chord, about an inch and a
half beyond its insertion into the testicle; the separation should then
be effected by the scalpel or knife, between the ligature and testis. It
is sometimes performed without the ligature, by making the division of
the chord with a red-hot knife, but the other is the neatest and safest
mode.
* * * * *
The castration of cats is sometimes practised to keep them from
roving, or to increase their size. For this purpose nothing more is
requisite than to make a slight opening on each side the scrotum, to
slip out the two testicles, and draw them away with the fingers. The
rupture alone of the spermatic chord prevents hæmorrhage in them, and
no future inconvenience is felt. It is often found difficult to secure
a cat for this operation; but it may be easily managed in two
ways:—one by putting the head and fore-quarters of the animal into a
boot; the other by rolling his whole body lengthways in several yards
of towelling; but the former is the most secure and simple, for no
animal is more intractable, as a surgical patient, than grimalkin:
though to administer medicines to a pig beats the cat hollow, as an
obstreperous operation.—_Blaine_—_Nimrod_—_Percivall._
CASTRATION, _s._ The act of gelding.
CASTERIL, or CASTREL, _s._ A mean or degenerate kind of hawk.
CAT, _s._ A domestic animal that catches mice.
The cat is a faithless domestic; though gentle and frolicsome when
young, they even then possess an innate cunning, and perverse
disposition, which age increases, and education only serves to conceal.
The form and temperament of the cat’s body perfectly correspond with his
disposition; he is handsome, light, adroit, cleanly, and voluptuous; he
loves ease, and searches out the softest places for rest and repose. The
cat is very amorous. The passion of the female continues nine or ten
days, and commonly happens only twice a year, in the spring and autumn,
but sometimes three and even four times. They go with young 55 or 56
days, and they usually have from four to six at a litter. As the males
are apt to devour their progeny, the females commonly conceal themselves
when they litter, and if suspicious of a discovery, they carry their
young ones away in their mouths and hide them in holes or inaccessible
places. After suckling them a few weeks, the old one takes them mice or
small birds, to accustom them to eat flesh; but by an unaccountable
caprice, these very mothers so tender and careful, become sometimes so
cruel and unnatural, as to devour their offspring themselves.
Cats are without docility, and their scent, which, in the dog is so
eminent a quality, is very indifferent, and therefore they hunt by the
eye only; neither do they properly pursue, but rather lie in wait and
attack the animals by surprise; and after having played with, and
tormented them a long time, they kill them without any necessity, even
when well fed, and in no want of prey to satisfy their appetites.
The most immediate physical cause of their inclination to seize other
animals by surprise, comes from the advantage they receive from the
particular formation of their eyes. The pupil in man, and many other
animals, is capable of a certain degree of contraction and dilation; it
enlarges a little when the light is faint, and contracts when it becomes
too strong; in cats and nocturnal birds, as owls, &c., this contraction
and dilation is so considerable that the pupil, which in the dark is
large and round, becomes in the day long and narrow like a line; and
therefore these animals see better in the night than in the day. There
is a perpetual contraction in the eye of the cat during the day, and it
is only by a great effort that he can see in a strong light, whereas, in
the twilight, the pupil resumes its natural form; he sees perfectly, and
profits from this superiority to know, attack, and surprise his prey.
Cats have less attachment to persons than to houses. When taken to the
distance of a league or two they will return to their former abode of
their own accord. They fear water, cold, and bad smells; they love to be
in the sun, and to lie in warm places; they are very fond of perfumes,
and willingly allow themselves to be taken and caressed by those who
make use of them. They do not come to their full growth in less than
fifteen or eighteen months, but they are capable of engendering before
the end of the first year, and they can procreate all their lives, which
seldom exceeds eight or nine years; they are notwithstanding, very
lively and hardy, and more nervous than most other animals which live
longer.
The wild cat couples with the domestic one, and they consequently form
but one species. It is not uncommon for both males and females to quit
their houses, when they are proud to go into the woods to seek wild
cats, and afterwards return to their former habitations; it is for this
reason that some of our domestic cats so entirely resemble the wild
ones. The greatest difference between them is internally, the intestines
of the domestic cat being longer than those of the wild cat, although
the latter is much the largest and strongest; his lips are also always
black, his ears more stiff, his tail larger, and his colour more
uniform.
In general cats are not, like dogs, subject to degenerate when
transported into warm climates. Their nature is indeed more constant,
and as their domestic state is neither so entire, universal, nor perhaps
so ancient as that of the dog, it is not surprising that they should
have undergone less variation.
* * * * *
Besides this large and ferocious species, the warrens upon the coast
suffer much injury from the common cat becoming wild and burrowing in
the rabbit-holes. They are sometimes surprised and shot in the
sand-banks, or taken in traps; but they are generally too wary to be
approached—and hunting only by night, during the day they sleep in their
dens, and are rarely met abroad.
Some estimate of their numbers may be formed, from the circumstance of
five males having been killed in a herdsman’s outhouse which joined the
warren. They had been attracted there by one of their own species, and
the noise having alarmed the peasant, he guessed the cause, and
cautiously managed to stop the hole by which they gained entrance, with
a _turf-cleave_. Knowing the value of the capture, he kept guard upon
the prisoners till morning, and then despatched information to the
Lodge. My cousin, with his followers, promptly repaired to the place,
and surrounding the barn with guns and greyhounds, bolted the wild cats
successively, until the whole number were despatched. This chassé was
not only novel, but profitable. After the death of their persecutors,
the rabbits increased prodigiously; but fears are entertained that these
destructive animals are become once more abundant in the sand-banks.
* * * * *
Cats are said, when they wash their faces, or when they seem sleepy and
dull, to foretel rain. The same is said of them when they appear
irritable and restless, and play with their tails.—_Buffon_—_Wild
Sports_—_Foster._
CATAPLASM, _s._ A poultice.
CATARACT, _s._ An inspissation of the crystalline humours of the
eye; sometimes a pellicle that hinders the sight.
CATARRH, _s._ A deduction of a sharp serum from the glands about the
head and throat.
CATERPILLAR, _s._ A worm sustained by leaves and fruits.
CATHARTIC, _s._ A medicine to purge downwards.
Cathartics are a most important class of medicines, and of all
cathartics Barbadoes aloes is the best. Cathartics improve digestion and
chylification, by cleansing the intestines and unloading the liver, and
if the animal is afterwards properly fed, will improve his strength and
condition in a remarkable degree. Cathartics are always useful when the
appetite and digestion are bad, and this is known by a voracious or
depraved appetite, both for food and for water; rumbling of the bowels,
and a frequent discharge of wind from the anus. This is the case in a
remarkable degree with broken-winded horses, and generally in such as
have chronic cough, or are crib-biters. They should not be given too
strong or too frequently, as they might thereby weaken instead of
strengthening the digestive organs, and produce the effect they were
intended to remove. Cathartics should always be made with soap, in the
following manner, and then, if given upon an empty stomach, they will be
carried off, and will not be dissolved until they get into the large
bowels, where their effect is intended to be produced: that is carrying
off all the excrementitious matter that may be lodged in them. When
given in this way they never produce sickness or pain in the stomach,
but always operate without pain or danger.