Effects of adding penicillin and aureomycin to the diet of cats.

Slow growth with respiratory and eye infections are the principal obstacles to rearing litters of kittens under laboratory conditions (Scott, 1952 b). Remarkable increases in growth have been produced by the addition of antibiotics to the diet of piglets and chicks (Stokstad & Jukes, 1950). An increase in the appetite of kittens was observed in this laboratory after parenteral injections of therapeutic doses of penicillin G ; it was therefore decided to study the effect of dietary penicillin and aureomycin on the growth of kittens. A preliminary communication has indicated that procaine penicillin potentiates their growth (Dickinson & Scott, 1953).