Diseases and Injuries

The cats of the clan often fall ill or are injured by various factors and animals in the wild. It's the job of the Physical Medicine Cat to treat them with various herbs and other cures.

## Diseases and Conditions

### Chest Infections

Whitecough and greencough are the most common chest infections known to the Clan cats. Whitecough is the milder form, but if untreated, it can develop into the much more severe greencough. Cats usually catch it during leaf-fall and leaf-bare, and sometimes it develops into large-scale epidemics. It can be fatal for elders and kits, and it has claimed the lives of many cats. It spreads quickly and is highly contagious.

Medicine cats treat it using catmint. If fevers accompany the cough, tansy or borage is used as well.

Whitecough is a mild sickness like a cold. More common than greencough, but can become greencough or even the fatal blackcough. Symptoms include sneezing, coughing, trouble breathing, white phlegm streaming from the nose, and a very high temperature. Valleystar passes away from the illness.

Greencough is a sickness similar to pneumonia that is often rampant among the Clans in leaf-bare. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, pus excreted from the eyes, sneezing, fever, and green phlegm streaming from the nose. The best treatment is Catmint and Feverfew.

A disease by the name of yellowcough infects and has potential to kill many cats, it is curable only by a plant named lungwort. It causes a loss of appetite, fever, difficulty breathing, delirium, and sore throats.

Blackcough is another illness, a very severe form of greencough. Symptoms include difficulty breathing, choking or spitting up phlem and other fluids, sore throats, loss of appetite, fever, delirium, and overall weakness and constant fatigue.

There is redcough, which is an illness where a cat coughs up blood, usually in a large form. This is potentially very fatal, especially for cats who have thinned blood conditions. In their former bordering clan, Littlekit got redcough, and there was little any herbs did to fix it. She coughed up plenty of blood and became incredibly weak, to finally stop and become cured with a plant that has since been lost in the territory move.

A common disease for kits is kitten-cough, an illness spread in the nursery between the kits due to their unsanitary nature. It is usually treated with honey and basic herbs, soothing the kit's throats.

### Poisoning

Poisoning is the ingestion of a substance that causes harm to the body, such as:

* Eating or drinking poisonous substances or plants such as deathberries. Kits are the ones who usually fall victim to this, being curious and unaware of the danger.
* Eating poisoned or rotten prey (known as crow-food) or drinking tainted water.
* Inhaling too much smoke from a fire.
* Being bitten by a venomous animal such as a snake.'

If only a small quantity of poison is ingested, the cat usually just receives a bellyache, but larger amounts can cause death. Physical Medicine Cats treat these bellyaches with yarrow or nettle leaves, while mild bellyaches can be treated with juniper or watermint. If a cat has been severely poisoned (as in eating deathberries) they may become unconscious for a length of time.

### Rat borne infections

The cats sometimes fall victim to infections carried by rats. This can occur when rats are ingested, or when bit by one. Burdock root is used to stop infection from rat bites.

### Loss of sensory perception

A cat may lose their eyesight or hearing due to old age, or from accidents and infections, or birth defects. These conditions usually do not end their career, but may make them more of a risk in battle/hunting/patrolling. Kits that are white with blue eyes have a higher chance of being born deaf.

### Joint Aches

A condition usually associated with elders, the joints gradually degenerating with age, causing pain and difficulty to move. Damp environments can cause the appearance of this condition, so trainees must make sure that the moss they gather for bedding is completely dry. It is usually treated using daisy or ragwort poultices.

### Toothache

A toothache is caused by a cracked tooth, cavities, or an infection in the mouth. Alder bark is used to soothe the pain.

### Fever

Fever is an abnormally high temperature of the body. It is not a disease in itself, but it usually signs the presence of an infection, such as greencough or an infected wound. If needed, it can be treated with feverfew, borage, or lavender.

### Chills

Chills are mostly associated with cold weather or being submerged in cold water for a long period of time. Although this condition is mild and is not a disease, it can claim lives. Kits and elders are more at risk of dying when they get a chill. Licking a cat's fur the wrong way gets the blood flowing again. A poultice of lavender, catmint, and feverfew is also a good remedy.

## Injuries

### Wounds

Wounds are injuries when the skin and the muscles beneath are torn, cut, or punctured. They may put a cat's life in danger due to blood loss, infections, or the damage of the organs. Wounds are the most common injuries, due to the nature of the cats often fighting rival Clans, or enemy animals such as badgers, foxes, or dogs.

Minor wounds heal on their own in no time, but severe wounds must be treated by a Physical Medicine Cat. This treatment includes cleaning it thoroughly with the tongue, stopping the bleeding by pressing cobwebs or moss on it, and applying poultices to prevent infection and help it to heal. Herbs used in the poultices often include goldenrod, marigold, burdock root, or (in the case of rat bites) wild garlic. If the wound becomes infected, chervil or horsetail is used as well. The pain can be eased with poppy seeds or willow bark.

### Sprains

Sprains are injuries to ligaments of a joint, caused by being stretched beyond their normal capacity and possibly torn. It causes severe pain and decreased ability to move the joint. The cat must rest for several days.

### Joint Dislocation

Joint dislocation is the displacement of a bone from its normal joint. Physical Medicine Cats treat this condition by first feeding the patient poppy seeds to make them sleepy so they don't feel it as much, and then forcing the limb back into the joint.

### Cracked Pads

The paw pads may crack while walking long distances on hard surfaces, or due to cold weather. Elders are especially prone to this condition. It is treated with a poultice of coltsfoot or yarrow. Dock leaf poultices are also used to cool cracked pads.

### Broken Bones

A broken bone is usually the result of an accident, such as falling down from a high place, a birth defect, or being hit by a monster. Cats most often break their legs, and while Physical Medicine Cats try to bind the bone with cobwebs, sticks, and moss, the injury usually results in the cat remaining crippled for the rest of their life.

A more severe injury is when a cat breaks their backbone. This results in the cat being unable to feel or move parts of their body. If the break is bad enough the cat will be killed on or shortly after impact. It is possible for a cat to break their back legs, causing them to no longer function and have no control over their bowel movements. To keep these cats alive, they must exercise frequently, to avoid fluid build up in their lungs that would lead to their eventual death.