Moonpaw's Medicine Cat Guide

Ok, so, um, the other day, I went to OCland and a grumpy black cat taught me how to write, so I'm going to write down everything I need to be a good medicine cat!

## Quick Reference

♠ Aching Joints

♠
Very common
in the elders of a clan/tribe.This most commonly known as Arthritis. It is
caused by cold weather, damp nests, and plain old being elderly.

Symptoms: Joints in the
body become stiff and sore. Swelling/inflammation can happen.

Best Treatment: Burdock root & daisy leaves,
nettle leaves & goldenrod.

♠ Torn Claw
♠
In this case
the carotene (the part of the claw that contains blood vessels) of the claw has
been broken or caught on something. This is very common. Given a few days time
this will heal quickly.

Symptoms:
broken layers of carotene, victim limping, swelling, pain, some
bleeding.

Best
Treatment: Marigold, poppy seeds, and
cobwebs.

♠ Sores
♠
Similar to a
bruise. The skin has become raw due to rough activity. It is not a serious
illness/injury, but it is best to get it treated.

Symptoms: Skin is red and raw, cat's in pain and
stiff.

Best
Treatment: Simply give them poppy seeds and rub the tender area with chewed
up comfrey.

♠ Toothache
♠
Toothaches
happen when there is a loose tooth, cavity, or gum disease. This best to be
treated as quickly as possible.

Symptoms: Loose tooth/teeth, hole in teeth/tooth, or
inflammation of the gums. Pain is present.

Best Treatment: For cavities it is best they are
pulled out while cat is restraint, other two you can just give alder
bark/tansey/broom.

♠ Tummy Ache

♠
This is
very common . . . most of all in kits. They just don't know that the crowfood is not for eating!This can happen if a cat has
eaten too much or ate something unpleasant. This can also be a symptom for more
serious illnesses too, so double check the facts.

Symptoms: Aching/Cramping pains in the
stomach.

Best
Treatment: Watermint & Chervil Root, Juniper Berries & Poppy
seeds.

♠ Aches/Pains ♠

This is also
very common. This tends to happen if a cat pushed his/her self too hard in
training/hunting/fighting. It can also happen in elders when they simply tend to
ache - or a day after a big battle.

Symptoms: Sore, stiff, and
reluctant to move or do anything.

Best Treatment: Give them some
poppy seeds and order them a day of bed rest(if the pain is bad
enough).

♠ Thorns

♠
This is also
common. A cat will have anywhere to a single thorn to more then one stuck in the
skin. This very painful!

Best Treatment: Pull the thorn(s) out
immediately!Then treat the wound.

♠ Cuts

♠
Again, very
common. This can happen to kits when they play too hard or an apprentice/warrior
trying too hard as well. It can happen in battle, also.

Best
Treatment: Simply use marigold or garlic after rubbing it down with a dock
leaf. Cover with cobwebs.

♠ Swelling
♠
This happens
all the time with all times of injuries, bruises, and infections.

Symptoms: Inflammation
& pain.

Best
Treatment:Chewed alder bark & goldenrod(juice), nettle leaves &
poppy seeds.

♠ Fever /
Headache ♠
In
this case the cat has fallen ill or suffering from infection or heat stroke or
lack of liquids. They will feel hot and their head will hurt.

Symptoms:

* Headache; pain, can't

stand sunlight and sounds.

* Fever; Sweating, hot,

dizzy.
Best Treatment: Drink plenty of water, nettle leaves &
poppy seeds, borage leaves & willow bark.

♠ Cough
♠
An irritation
of the throat/lungs. Caused commonly by illness. Most commonly gained during
leafbare. (Scroll down for Whitecough, Greencough, and
Blackcough.)

Best Treatment: Honey(for dry throat) & tansy.

♠ Trouble
Sleeping ♠
In this case the cat is stressed, over-worked, having
nightmares, is very depressed, or very ill.

Best Treatment:
Ragwort, poppy seeds, or chervil root.

♠ Low on milk
♠
This happens
only for queens near kitting or have kits.

Best Treatment: Give the queen borage leaves to
increase milk flow.

♠ Asthma /
Trouble breathing ♠
When a cat has asthma or trouble breathing this
can be life threatening. Their breathing becomes rapid and unsteady. This can
also be effected my allergies and kitting.

Symptoms: Rapid and unsteady breaths,
wheezing.
Best
Treatment: It is best to give coltsfoot and/or juniper berries. For kitting
queens give coltsfoot.

♠ Bee / Wasp
sting ♠
This sometimes happens to the younger cats and kittens. This
happens when a bee/wasp is defending itself.

Best Treatment: Remove the bee stingers (if bee)
gingerly as possible without squeezing the venom sack. Nettle leaves & poppy
seeds or dandelion stems (liquid inside) & alder
bark.[/i]

♠ Ticks / Fleas
♠
For this
simply use mouse bile to shoo those pesky bugs out of your
fur.

♠ Rash
♠
A rash
happens when a cat has scratched too much, allergy, or too
hot.

Symptom: Red, tender area.
Best Treatment:
Nettle leaves & poppy seeds, goldenrod juice & burdock
root.

♠ Cracked Paws
♠
This happens when the skin has grown hard or too tender, causing
it to crack and bleed.This is most common in the elders.If not treated infection
can kick in.

Best Treatment: Goldenrod juice and garlic and
cobwebs.

♠ Chill (Cold /
Flu) ♠
This happens the most when a cat falls into the water or it
is freezing cold outside.This illness is minor but can turn into deadly
hypothermia or minor whitecough if not treated.

Symptoms: The
cat will have chills, mild fever, stuffy/runny nose, aches, sneezing, and feel
tired.Best Treatment: Honey(throat), poppy seeds, water & bed rest,
feverfew/lavender.[/i]

♠ Irritated
throat / Smoke Inhalation ♠
A tender/raw, sore throat can be caused by a number of things.
The most common being illness, allergies, or breathing in smoke from a fire.
This illness is very mild.

Symptoms: The throat will be a bit
swollen or red and will be ether dry,itchy,sore, or painful.
Best
Treatment: Give them honey and if they breathed in smoke, give coltsfoot or
juniper berries too.

♠
Aching/Infected eyes ♠
Another
common ailment but happens more often in greenleaf and newleaf. The eyes will be
be try/watery and will have a hard time opening and closing the eyes. In a case
of infection the eyes will be red and the skin tender/swollen and may even
bleed!

Best
Treatment: Celandine and eyebright/garlic/dried oak
leaves.

♠ Bleeding
♠
This happens
when a cat has been wounded.

Best
Treatment: Marigold and cobwebs.

♠ Shock /
Anxiety ♠
This happens when a cat has been badly injured, has a
phobia, or witnessed a stressful/frightening sight. For this the victim must
take extra caution not to do more damage if the cat is injured.

Symptoms: They'll be
unresponsive or very jumpy/timid and fear-scent can be detected some
times.
Best
Treatment: Lavender, thyme leaves, or tansy.

♠ Wound
♠
This can be anywhere from minor to critical.But in any case it
should be treated quickly so not to let infection start.

Best Treatment: Alder bark(chewed) & bay leaves,
garlic & horsetail, or marigold/pot marigold and comfrey root.Apply cobwebs
after.

♠
Infection

♠
This happens when a wound has been left untreated. This is most
common after being bitten by a rat. This best to be treated immediately for it
can be deadly!

Symptoms: Bad stench, pus, pain, raw/tender skin, and
fever(if bad enough).

Best Treatment: Horsetail & chervil leaf juice or
burdock root & marigold.

♠ Juvenile
Kidney Disease

♠ I'm not quite sure if this has ever popped up, but just in case. Medicine cats don't have a set name for this illness. A cat will die from this if it is bad enough.

Symptoms: Dehydration, vomiting, weakness, loss of
ability to pass "dirt", softening of pads causing cracked pads.

Best Treatment: Crushed beech leaves(eaten), no true
cure for this ailment.

♠ Carrionplace
Disease

♠
Out
of all the clans, hose outcasts knows it the best. This happens when the cats get
careless and brings back an infected rat or comes in contact with one with the
ailment. This illness is similar to greencough but is dangerous and it comes
with an unbearable stench!

Symptoms: Troubled breathing, violent
coughing fits, fever, loss of hunger, lack of sleep, exhaustion.

Best
Treatment: Borage, coltsfoot, angelica(only for this illness), juniper
berries, honey, and feverfew.

♠ Poison
♠
This happens
when a cat eats a toxic plant (there are A LOT!) or bitten by a venomous snake. This is to treat quickly or the
cat has a high chance of being dead very, very soon!

Symptoms: Dizziness, aches &
pains,headaches,fever,sweating,loss of consciousnesses.

Best
Treatment: Snakeroot or/and yarrow. If not at paw use another herb that can
expel the toxins.

♠ Broken bones

♠
A injury most
common if hit by a monster or falling from an extreme height or a severe
beating.

Symptoms: Swelling in the area, pain, resistance to
walk/run/move.

Best Treatment: Put the bone back in place then use
the following herbs; poppy seeds & birch bark(moist), broom &
horsetail.Apply a splint after words.

♠ Kittencough
♠
An illness that effects the respiratory system that only kittens
get.

Symptoms: Similar to that of Whitecough.

Best
Treatment: Coltsfoot, garlic,feverfew/lavender, and nettle.

♠ Whitecough
♠
Very similar to the flu and kittencough, a common ailment. It can,
however, turn into ether greencough or deadly blackcough if left
untreated.

Symptoms: Sneezing, coughing, runny nose, feel tired,
and have a slight fever.

Best Treatment: Catnip, feverfew/lavender,
honey, poppy seeds (induces sleep), water, bed rest.

♠ Greencough

♠
This illness is comes when whitecough hasn't been treated soon
enough. It is similar to pneumonia. Very contagious; cats with this MUST be
separated from the other cats. Normally caught during freezing conditions. Can
turn into fatal blackcough!

Symptoms:
Sluggishness,fever,wheezing, and phlegm streaming from nose &
mouth.

Best Treatment: Feverfew/Lavender, catnip/chickweed,and
coltsfoot (ease the breathing)

♠ Blackcough

♠
This illness
is typically fatal and has a high chance of the cat not surviving it. Whitecough or
Greencough can advance to this if not treated. You can try to treat it but if it
is in the late stages nothing can be done. In this case the humane thing is ease
their way to StarClan.

Symptoms: Severe wheezing & coughing,
phlegm streaming from nose, pus or blood expelled somewhere and some way on/out
of the body, sweating, high fever, and weakness/lethargy.

Best
Treatment: Feverfew/Lavender and catnip.

♠ Death Sickness

♠
A very painful, illness that kills the cat slowly.  This illness is worse then blackcough, causing excruciating pain. There is no known
cure. The humane thing is ease their way to StarClan.

♠ Morning
Sickness

♠
This only happens to expecting queens. . . but luckily,
it easy to treat! Certain herbs must be avoided for expecting
queens.

Symptoms: They will experience flu/cold like symptoms to
a degree.

Best Treatment: Allow her to rest and have water. Give her
poppy seeds, avoid juniper berries and use raspberry or nettle leaves
instead.

♠ Sprains /
Twisted paws / ankles ♠

In this case the cat has but too much stress
on the joints or has tripped or become stuck for a time. This injury is very
minor.

Symptoms: Swelling, painful to touch and move, can't put
pressure on it.

Best Treatment: Stay off the injury and apply
nettle leaves and give poppy seeds.

♠ Hypothermia
♠
This most common in leaf-bare but it can happen at any time. This
illness is caused most commonly when a cat is soaking wet and stays in the cold
too long. This ailment happens when the body can't/struggles to keep a steady
temperature. There are 4 stages: Impending, mild, moderate, &
severe.

Symptoms: Sluggishness, drowsiness, fatigue, stumbling,
thickening of speech, amnesia, irrationality, hallucinations, lack of
perceptual in any place, blueness in skin, enlargement of pupils, decrease in
heart and respiration rates, state of near unconsciousness, insensibility,
shivering, poor coordination.
Severe Symptoms: Poor speech, disorientation,
decrease in shivering followed by rigidity of muscles, blueness of skin,
weak/irragular pulse.

Best Treatment: Get the cat's body warm at
all costs but be careful not to do it too fast. Keep the victim out of the wind
and cold and place in a pre-warmed nest and have other cats sleep around him/her
to give warmth. The rest is in StarClan's paws.

## Herbs

### Blackberry Leaves

You chew these into a pulp and it eases the swelling of bee stings

### Borage Leaves

Usually chewed by nursing queens, it produces more milk. It also eases fevers.

### Burdock Root

It is chewed into a pulp and eases the pain of a rat bite.

### Burnet

It is a traveling herb. It keeps a cat's strength up.

### Catchweed

They pull the burrs off and put them where the poultice is and it stops the poultice from rubbing off.

### Catmint

It is eaten to cure greencough or whitecough, two commom sicknesses.

### Calendine

The juices are squeezed into the eye to soothe the effects of a damaged eyes.

### Chamomile

It is eaten to strengthen the heart or sooothe the mind, they also put in traveling herbs to give a cat strength.

### Chervil

The juices are chewed out of the root or leaves. It is used for bellyache or infected wounds. It can also be used in kitting.

### Cob Nuts

It is made into an ointment, the reason being is still unknown.

### Cobweb

Put on the wound and is used to stop or slow the bleeding of a wound, it can also be used to bind broken bones.

### Coltsfoot

The leaves are chewed into a poultice and are used to ease breathing and can also be used to treat cracked pads.

### Comfrey Root

The roots are chewed into a poultice and can be used for a variety of things including- repairing broken bones, soothing wounds, wrenched claws, used for itching, and for inflammation and stiff joints.

### Daisy Leaf

It is chewed into a paste and used for aching joints, and as a traveling herb.

## Dandelion

Leaves chewed for a painkiller and the white paste in the stem soothes bee stings.

### Dock

Soothes scratches and sore pads, though can sting when applied.

### Fennel

The stalks are broken and the juice is squeezed into the mouth and it eases hip pain.

### Feverfew

It is eaten to chill fever and to ease aches, mostly headaches.

### Goldenrod

It is chewed into a poultice and is good for healing wounds.

### Heather Flower

It is mixed into herbal mixtures, it makes swallowing easier and sweetens the mixture.

### Honey

It is eaten or is soaked in moss and given, it soothes infections, smoke damaged or sore throats, and it helps cats swallow other herbal mixtures.

### Horsetail

It is chewed into a poultice and applied to wounds, it is used to stop infection.

### Juniper Berries

The berries are chewed and eaten, they help bellyache, give strength, soothes troubles breathing, and helps calm cats down.

### Lavender

This herb can hide the scent of death, used in vigils for leaders, it also cures fever or chills.

### Marigold

The petals and leaves are chewed into a poultice the juice can be used as well. It stops infection, stops bleeding, and is used for inflammation and stiff joints.

### Mint

It is rubbed on the dead body to hide the scent of death.

### Mouse Bile

This is extracted from the mouse and used to kill ticks. It smells bad but wild garlic can hide this scent.

### Oak Leaf

It is dried, it stops infection from setting in.

### Parsely

This is eaten to stop a queen from producing milk, it also cures bellyache.

### Poppy Seed

It is chewed on to put a cat to sleep, ease shock or distress, it eases pain and is not recommended for nursing queens.

### Ragwort Leaf

They are crushed and chewed on and can be mixed with juniper berries, they keep a cat's strength up and help aching joints.

### Ragweed

This gives cats extra strength and energy.

### Raspberry Leaf

It is a painkiller, stops bleeding and could possibly stop bleeding during a kitting.

### Rush

It is used for broken bones, it keeps a broken limb in place.

### Sorrel

It is eaten as a traveling herb, which means it most likely keeps a cat's strength up or keeps them from getting hungry.

### Stinging Nettle

They are either swallowed for a cat who has eaten poison, for it enduces vomiting and for swelling, it is chewed into a poultice to put on wounds, and mixed with comfrey it can help heal broken bones.

### Tansy

It is eaten but only in small doses, it cures coughs and helps prevent greencough, soothes sore throats, and is used to cure wounds and poison.

### Tormentil

It is chewed and then put on the wound, the roots are good for all wounds and extracting poison.

### Thyme

Leaves are chewed on to called anxiety, nervousness, and cats who are in shock.

### Traveling Herbs

They consist of sorrel, daisy, chamomile, and burnet, cats must eat before traveling long distances because it keeps up strength and keeps them from getting hungry.

### Watermint

Chewed into a pulp and then eaten, it eases suffering from a bellyache, can also hide the scent of death.

### Wild Garlic

You must roll in it, it prevents infection, especially from a rat bite.

### Yarrow

The leaves are chewed into a poultice and either eaten or spread on a wound. Yarrow extracts poison from wounds and will make a cat vomit up toxins. And ointment will help soften and heal cracked pads.

## Poison (Only use on evil cats)

### Deathberries/Yew Berries/ Night Seeds

Kills a cat within a minute after consumed.

### Holly Berries

It is unknown what they do only that they are poisonous, they may either kill you or make you sick.

### Nightshade

They are poisonous and sometimes they are used to put a cat out of its misery

### Water Hemlock

Causes writhing and foaming at the mouth.