|
|
Post by &Willow on Apr 17, 2008 20:53:30 GMT -5
Herbs
Borage Leaves
To be chewed and eaten. The plant can be distinguished by its small blue or pink star-shaped flowers and hairy leaves. Great for nursing queens as it helps increase their supply of milk. Also brings down fever.
Burdock Root
A tall-stemmed, sharp-smelling thistle with dark leaves. A medicine cat must dig up the roots, wash off the dirt, and chew them into a pulp, which can be applied to rat bites. Cures infection.
Catmint (also known as catnip)
A delicious-smelling, leafy plant that's hard to find in the wild; often found growing in Twoleg gardesn. Thebest remedy for greencough.
Chervil
A sweet-smelling plant with large, spreading, fernlike leaves and small white flowers .The juice of the leaves can be used for infected wounds, and chewing the roots helps with bellyache.
Cobweb
Spiderwebs can be found all over the forest; be careful not to bring along the spider when you take the web! Medicine cats wrap it around an injury to soak up the blood and keep the wound clean. Stops bleeding.
Coltsfoot
A flowering plant, a bit like a danddelion, with yellow or white flowers. The leaves can be chewed into a pulp, which is eaten to help shortness of breath.
Comfrey
Identifiable by its large leaves and small bell-shaped flowers, which can be pink, white, or purple. The fat black roots of this plant can be chewed into a poultice to mend broken bones or sooth wounds.
Dock
A plant similar to sorrel. The leaf can be chewed up and applied to soothe scratches.
Dried Oak Leaf
Collected in the autumn and stored in a dry place. Stops infection.
Feverfew
A small bush with flowers like daisies. The leaves can be eaten to cool down body temperature, particularly for cats with fever or chills.
Goldenrod
a tall plant with bright yellow flowers. A poultice of this is terrifc for healing wounds.
Honey
A sweet, golden liquid created by bees. Difficult to collect without getting stung, but great for soothing infections or the throats of cats who have breathed smoke.
Horsetail
a tall plant with bristly stems that grows in marshy areas. The leaves can be used to treat infected wounds. Usually chewed up and applied as a poultice.
Juniper Berries
A bush with spiky dark green leaves and purple berries. The berries soothe bellyaches and help cats who are having trouble breathing.
Lavender
A small purple flowering plant. Cures fever.
Marigold
A bright orange or yellow flower that grows low to the ground. The petals or leaves can be chewed into a pupl and applied as a poultice to wounds. Stops infection.
Mouse Bile
A bad-smelling liquid that is the only remedy for ticks. Dab a little moss soaked in a bile on a tick and it'll fall right off. Wash paws thoroughly in running water afterward.
Poppy Seed
Small black seeds shaken from a dried poppy flower, these are fed to cats to help them sleep. Soothes cats suffering from shock and distress. Not recommended for nursing queens.
Stinging Nettle
The spiny green seeds can be administered to a cat who's swalled poison, while the leaves can be appiled to a wound to bring down swelling.
Tansy
A strong-smelling plant with round yellow flowers. Good for curing coughs, but must be eaten in small does. Must not be given to pregnant queens, it causes miscarriages.
Thyme
This herb can be eaten to calm anxiety and frayed nerves.
Watermint
A leafy green plant found in streams or damp earth. Usually chewed in a pulp and then fed to a cat suffering bellyache.
Wild Garlic
Rolling in a patch of wild garlic can help prevent infection, especially for dangerous wounds like rat bites.
Yarrow
A flowering plant whose leaves can be made into a poultice and applied to wounds or scratches to expel poison.
Deathberries
Red berries that can be fatally poisonous to kits and elders. They are NOT a medicine. Known to Twolegs as yew berries.
------
Sicknesses
Smoke Inhalation
SYMPTOMS:
If cats have been exposed to a forest fire or inhaled smoke they will often have a bad cough and a soar throat. Talking and eating may be difficult, and their voice will often be reduced to a rasp.
TREATMENT:
When a cat dies from smoke inhalation it's because the smoke has filled their lungs and suffocated them. When you're dealing with a patient chances are it isn't that serious and they will be suffering from a raw throat and maybe a cough. A bit of honey and poppyseeds will soothe the throat, and you may need to treat for shock. Coughs can be treated with tansy leaves. If a cat has burns and it is available to you, apply water soaked with alder bark.
Ticks and Fleas
Ticks and fleas appear most often in the elder's den when a cat may not be able to groom properly because of failing mobility. It's often another elder or an apprentice who must help them by grooming, but sometimes a tick will be too burrowed in for a cat to get at without risking it just going deeper. In this case, Mousebile soaked moss can be pressed into the fur with the paws to suffocate the little critters and have them fall off. Make sure to wash your paws in a stream when you're done! Mousebile tastes awful.
Bellyache
A cat with a bellyache will complain of a soar feeling in their stomach, which can come from eating too much, sickness, or poisoning. When the pain is mild a medicine cat should use discretion and reassure the patient instead of wasting herbs. However, for a sore stomach can be TREATED with a poultice of chervil, juniper, mallow or watermint. If a cat has not eaten their stomach may be sore, but there is little a medicine cat can do for this if prey is unavailable.
Aching Joints and Bones
SYMPTOMS:
A cat with aching joints may have trouble with full mobility, and will complain of pain at the joints. It's fairly easy to recognize.
TREATMENT:
Wrapping the afflicted area with wetted burdock can help relieve pain and stiffness, and daisy or a ragwort poultice is also a useful herb for treating aching joints.
Fever
SYMPTOMS:
Touch your nose to a cat's pads to check for unusual heat. This indicates a fever.
TREATMENT:
Fevers can be treated effectively with feverfew or borage.
Colds and Whitecough
SYMPTOMS:
A cat with a cold will have a running nose, be very tired and sleep a lot as they recover, and sneeze continuously. Depending on the seriousness they may also have a soar throat and aches. Whitecough has all the above symptoms as well as coughing fits, streaming eyes and may have some shortness of breath, though it will be minor. Both sicknesses have fevers.
TREATMENT:
Borage or feverfew is a good herb to treat a high fever, and a poultice of feverfew can also be applied to relieve headaches from colds. Catmint is also highly effective, but is not recommended for casual use because of it's scarcity. Coltsfoot is good to open up lung passages if a cat has shortness of breath. The best cure for colds is a good amount of rest! Whitecough patients should be isolated from other cats until cured so the sickness does not spread.
Greencough
SYMPTOMS:
Cats with greencough will experience a high fever, running nose, streaming eyes, extreme tiredness, breathing problems and wheezing. It's a respiratory illness, the equivalent of pneumonia in cats, and phlegm develops in the lungs, which creates coughing fits in the body. Cats will be able to do little else then sleep and cough until they get better, or die.
TREATMENT:
Greencough is complex to treat, and symptoms need to be dealt with first. Lavender can bring down chills, while borage is used for quelling a fever. Coltsfoot is good for clearing the lungs and stopping wheezing, as feverfew, juniper berries and nettle roots are. Catmint is an effective medication for the sickness by quelling aches and opening the lungs, but only grows in twoleg gardens, making it hard to come by. Cats must be quarantined before the sickness can spread.
Torn
Most cats will undoubtedly tear a claw in their lifetime. This should not be all that much of a problem -- a cat may limp for a sunrise or two as it heals and there may be a bit of swelling and pain, and if there is bleeding, then cobwebs should be applied, and marigold to prevent infection. Poppyseeds should not be necessary unless the cat is complaining of intense pain.
Thorns
SYMPTOMS:
A cat with a thorn will limp, probably wail about it, and their pads will be swollen. If they don't realize they have a thrown they will lick the pad persistently. An infection can develop when a cat treads on the paw too much or dirt gets into the wound.
TREATMENT:
Pull the thorn out with your teeth -- it will hurt for a second, and then it will be over. The wound may bleed a bit, but it shouldn't be serious enough to demand your supply of cobwebs, just as well have the cat lick their paw carefully to clear out any debris and stop the bleeding. If there is an infection, apply marigold poultice, and if not you may want to apply a mild salve of chamomile to bring down swelling or a different herb to prevent infection.
Cracked Pads
SYMPTOMS:
Cracked pads may appear worn, cracked and bleeding. Debris caught between claws and pads may be visible, and a cat will limp on the tender pads.
TREATMENT:
When individual symptoms are treated, pads will heal on their own. Bleeding, if there is any, can be cleaned and stopped with cobwebs and horsetail poultice if necessary. Cleaning the pads can be done by the cat themselves, or another cat, with a good gentle wash. The washing is very important! The pads will now heal themselves, and if the cracks are deep a but of goldenrod salve will aid in recovery. Make sure the cats stays off their paws until their rested.
Anxiety and Shock
SYMPTOMS:
Anxiety will probably be pretty easy to see -- if it isn't, your cat probably doesn't need TREATMENT. There are different kinds though, but general symptoms include a fast heartbeat, uneasiness, tension, restlessness, need for isolation and possibly exhaustion.
TREATMENT:
There are several herbs in which just the scents aid in calming cats, but you can have the cat eat chamomile and/or thyme for calming the nerves, and poppy seeds to help relax a cat and have them sleep. If they are willing, another cat can sit with them.
Juvenile Kidney Disease
This disease is uncommon, but Mudfur mentioned that his warrior Heavystep had a disease like this. We medicine cats don't have a real name for it, since it's uncommon, but the SYMPTOMS include a young but middle-aged cat suddenly becoming very thirsty, general weakness, and sometimes vomiting and loosing the ability to pass dirt. It can also weaken the pads on the foot and create cracks. There is no TREATMENT a cat with these symptoms will die, although I have heard that crushed beech leaves are useful for this ailment when eaten. Heavystep I'm not sure about -- his must not have been so serious, though he still had to retire do to weakness.
Cataracts and Blindness
There is little you can do for a cat who's eyes are injured so far as that blindness may be an option. I tried my hardest for Longtail in Firestar's Quest but unfortunately eye injuries are sensitive and tricky to deal with. Cobwebs for bleeding, and poppyseeds for pain is often the most you can do -- the rest is up to StarClan, though mallow can help heal ailments if the eyes. Cataracts on the other hand are completely different, and don't usually cause full blindness. They appear among aging cats and are visible by a semi-translucent white covering over the eye. They impair vision, but rarely cause full blindness. They're just a part of your elder's den.
Broken Bones and Fractures
SYMPTOMS:
You'll know if a cat has broken a limb! They often (I certainly did) wail about it, because it's very painful. You also can't walk on a broken limb. If a cat has been hit on the thunderpath or fallen out of a tree you should make sure they're okay.
TREATMENT:
Broken bones are hard to treat, and sometimes, as in my case will never completely heal properly. There are success stories, like mine (or Cinderpaw's?) in Dark River. Jaypaw and Leafpool used long rushes bound to the leg with cobwebs to keep it in place for healing. Comfrey is quite the useful plant in this situation, as it speeds the recovery of all bruises, wounds and breaks, and will also deal with the pain (as will poppyseeds, standard usage rules apply). A poultice of mallow and barley will heal bruises and aid in the recovery of the breaks when applied to the area. Keep that cat in the medicine cat den, and keep them still, or else the rush dressing could loosen and the set would come undone. Once the leg has been healed then make sure they do some stretching exercises to ensure it's good as new.
Rat and Snake Bites
SYMPTOMS:
Well, rat bites are pretty obvious, and the cat will probably come to you first. Infection can include swelling, soreness, stiffness and sometimes pus around the wound. Snake bites on the other hand should be dealt with most urgency! A wound will appear as two small punctures, and symptoms can include intense pain, breathing problems, weakness, vomiting and even death.
TREATMENT:
To ward off infection, treat rat bites with burdock root, which is a natural blood purifier. Even stronger is a ShadowClan secret Yellowfang told me (they tend to deal with lots of rat bites in that Clan) is the use of wild garlic -- your den mates won't thank you for it, but it works even better then burdock to make sure you'll be healed quickly. Tansy can also be used, though it is too mild to be recommended. Snake bites are a bit more difficult of course, and there isn't much you can do for a cat who has been bitten. Chances are, tragic as it may be, they will die.
Queens and Kitting
The birth of kittens is a beautiful and natural thing, and will usually go well and uneventful. However, there are many herbs that are useful in making kitting a less painful and smoother process, including helping queens feed their kits with milk. A queen may request a medicine cat be present for a birthing, and they often are, but a queen can give birth without help.
A queen's belly will slowly grow larger as the kits develop, usually over a two-moon or so period. At the end of which a she-cat will begin to have a sudden drop of body temperate (which can be checked by touching the pads with your nose). As she gets ready to give birth she may begin to purr and breath heavily, and her chest will rise and fall. She will then have to push out the kittens as she gives birth, which (or so the queens tell me) can be painful. Most cats will give birth to two to four kittens, but it is not unusual for a she-cat to only give birth to one. A she-cat will have to lick her kittens at birth to start them breathing and get rid of the filmy sac that covers them at birth.
This should go rather uneventfully! Poppyseeds should never be used on a pregnant queen because the she-cat needs to feel the pain to push out the kittens, but juniper, mallow or thyme is useful to give a queen before kitting to ensure a smooth birth. Feverfew is good to give queens after they've finished kitting, to expel anything left and to ease any pain or bleeding. Mallow and borage can both help a queen to keep a good supply of milk for their kits.
Poisoning and Noxious Substances
SYMPTOMS:
You can tell is a cat is poisoned because they may vomit, salivate, have diluted pupils and even trouble breathing. Depending on the severity, they probably also have a bellyache. If you don't catch it early enough and the poison travels into the body, then StarClan be with the poor soul! They may suffer from convulsions, lack of consciousness, and even death.
TREATMENT:
The best thing you can do for a poisoned cat is to get them to the medicine cat den, pronto! Catch it early and you have a good chance if you can make the cat throw up the poison with yarrow (mallow also works, though to a slower effect), and make sure another cat keeps them warm. I think it's best to educate young kits quick on the dangerous plants though, to avoid the drama of a poisoned kit.
---
Sicknesses found at Warriors Wish
|
|
