BROKEN BONES.
Description: a bone broken.
Symptoms: immense pain where the suspected broken bone is.
Treatment: lay one, or two sticks next to the broken leg, bind the leg with sticks using cobwebs, give poppy seeds, and if a cat is bleeding where the bone was broken, use marigold. If you have a broken skull, there isn't much you can do.
BROKEN SPINE.
Description: where a cat's back is broken.
Symptoms: lack of ability to move hind area, lack of feeling in hind area.
Treatment: a broken spine cannot be treated, the cat will be paralyzed for the rest of their life. Make sure to figure out exercises for the cat to stay strong, (Fetching own prey, walks, helping around camp, etc.) Have cat yowl, or scream to help keep lungs clear.
BURNS.
First Degree/Sunburns:
Description: Typically just irritates the cat but it's easily helped.
Symptoms: mild inflammation, red skin, swelling, mild fever, peeling skin, rash, physical sensitivity, and itchiness.
Second Degree Burns.
Description: Well, we're not sure how to describe it other than the symptoms below. It'll hurt, and it won't be pretty much.
Symptoms: Red, white, or splotchy skin, physical sensitivity, fever, moderate inflammation, blistering, swelling, infection, and possible scarring, burnt fur.
Third Degree Burns.
Description: It's not pretty. The symptoms below have a decent idea for you.
Symptoms: skin appears waxy or leathery, physical numbness, difficulty breathing, smoke inhalation poisoning, physical sensitivity, inflammation, blistering, swelling, infection, fever, itchiness, and highly possible scaring. Patchy fur, or burned-off fur.
Treatments:
Poultice
Comfrey, dock.
Comfrey.
Dock.
Clean the cat's fur, and if the burn is severe enough, you may need to remove the dead skin. Apply a poultice and let the cat rest. Offer poppyseed for pain (or give) and no warrior duties. Regularly administer water and check burns.
CONCUSSION.
Description: When one hits the head hard.
Symptoms: headache, or "pressure" in the head, lack of verbal ability, dizziness, blurry vision, bothered by light or noise, feeling sluggish, just not "feeling right" or "feeling down"
Treatment: do not let the cat sleep on the first (and maybe on the second day), and don't give poppy seeds too soon. Want the cat to stay awake.
CRACKED PAW PADS.
Description: The color depends on the severity, but often red or deep pink inside the cracks, unnaturally there. Paw pads may crack when walking long distances on hard surfaces, such as stone, or due to cold weather. Elders commonly get this.
Symptoms: Soreness, pain, inability to walk easily, most likely more complaining or less feeling in paws.
Treatment:
Yarrow.
Apply a poultice with cobwebs overtop and administer poppy seeds if the pain persists. Should they be infected, refer to infected wounds and change as needed to the cat's injury.
CUTS IN THE EYE.
Description: When a cat's eye is scratched or injured.
Symptoms: pain in the eye. (go to medicine den and have medicine cat check eye)
Treatment:
Clean the eye/eyes. (wet moss and dap eye)
Trickle celandine juice onto/into the eye.
If eye pain is severe enough, give poppy seeds.
No warrior duties until mostly healed. Cats do not need to stay in a medicine den.
DEEP WOUNDS.
Description: Afflicted most likely during battles, or accidents. Depending on how deep, you'll see muscle, skin, etc.
Symptoms: extreme pain, heavy bleeding, panting, often unconsciousness, and shock.
Treatment:
Poultice
Marigold, horsetail, dock, goldenrod, thyme
Marigold, goldenrod, thyme
Marigold, horsetail, thyme
Marigold, thyme
Horsetail, tyme
Stop bleeding before moving!! (use cobwebs). Keep warm and still in a fresh nest and apply a poultice once the bleeding has stopped. Check for infection regularly and you might have to force feed/water if the cat is in a come
Depending on the severity, typically two weeks to one moon recovery time.
DISLOCATION.
Description: A bone, ligament, limb, etc. is out of place and needs to be placed back.
Symptoms: Ligament is out of place, pain, swelling, cat may whimper/moan (tails can be dislocated.
Treatment:
Ingestible herbs
Poppy seeds
Give the cat a poppy seed, have the cat bite on a stick, hug the dislocated joint, and move it until you hear a pop, give another poppy seed. Have the cat rest for 1-2 days and check back for a few more afterward. Be mindful to make sure nothing is torn or damaged.
3-4 days recovery time.
DROWNING.
Description: Panicking only causes more oxygen consumption. If the cat stays underwater, carbon dioxide will accumulate in the blood, and since that makes you want to breathe, it will make you breathe in water.
Symptoms: The first reaction is to cough or swallow the water, which only makes it ingest more. The throat will try to keep water away from the lungs and usually goes into the stomach.
Lack of oxygen may make the cat unconscious, and the throat will relax, allowing water in the lungs. Lots of cats who almost drowned say that there was no beat, no melody, just a feeling of peace as you floated in the water.
After death, the body rises to the surface and floats. Other than fur being waterlogged and seeing them panicking in the water, there's not much else to go off of.
Treatment:
If the cat is saved before being unconscious, it will most likely throw up and cough up lots of water. If not, they can't be saved unless you know cat CPR. Afterward, it's up to you to decide the rest of the treatment process based on your knowledge and the severity.
Ingestible Herbs;
Use honey to help the cat eat or something similar, moss to help dry the cat, and poppy seeds a few days after initial drowning.
FROSTBITE.
Description: When a cat is outside in the cold for too long, or wet in the cold for too long, it slowly freezes certain parts of their body, most commonly limbs.
Symptoms: numbness in affected limbs or general body, shivering, muscle spasms, slowing heart and breathing, blackening limbs, nerve damage, and similar to hypothermia, if a cat lacks shivering or abruptly feels warmth in their limb, it may be too late.
Treatment:
If the severity is harsh and the limb is beyond help, you may need to remove it. Poppy seeds, a soft nest, and constant companionship for warmth, and comfort is the best you could do. If it's not particularly sever, the cat may come back from it or can keep the limb, even if it's not very usable.
HYPOTHERMIA.
Description:
Symptoms: Shivering (in bad cases lack of shivering), cat feels cold, can become unconscious, low heart rate, fast breathing/panting. (Frostbite could occur as well. Refer to above).
Treatment: Must act quickly!
Dry the cat (assuming they fell in the water).
Place in a warm dry nest.
Snuggle (to share warmth, duh).
You can cover them with dry moss, but be mindful to warm them slowly. Thrusting them from severe cold to hot, even just warm, may cause more damage than help.
4-7 days of healing time.
(Note: should the cat abruptly feel warm and happy, there is nothing more you can do other than remain near for comfort. Nearing death, they will hallucinate that they're fine and warm.)
HURTING/ACHING/STIFF JOINTS.
Description: When a cat has an old injury acting up or gets older it wears down their movements, causing their joints (wrists, etc.) to hurt, ache, or get stiff.
Symptoms: stiff when walking, grunts when moving, panting, reluctance to move
Treatment:
Apply poultice
Ragwort leaves, juniper berries (recommended)
Comfrey, dock, ragwort
Ragwort
Apply poultice where needed, if a warrior continues with duties (most won't want to rest anyways) inform the deputy to have them on simpler ones that will still stretch out joints.
Extremely varying recovery time, many times it doesn't go away.
(Note: most often found in older cats, those who've had joint injuries, or queens.)
POISON.
Description: When toxic, or deadly is put in your body. (can come from eating poisonous herbs, etc.)
Symptoms: The most common symptom is a bellyache.
Treatment: have the cat eat and swallow yarrow, if this is done fast enough cat may throw up the poison.
RAT BITES.
Description: bites from rats.
Symptoms: two holes wherever you were bitten, pain in the area.
Treatment: first, have the cat roll in wild garlic, this helps to stop infections. chew burdock root to a poultice and apply to rat bite, if it does get infected use chervil or horsetail, poppy seeds can help with pain.
SCRAPED PAW PADS.
Description: Raw, most likely red and tender on the paw pads, sometimes in angry scratch-like lines or completely scrapped off in sections.
Symptoms: Bleeding, soreness, aching, limping, paw pain.
Treatment:
Rub paw pads
Dock
Soak afflicted cats' paws in cold water and have them rub paw pads on dock leaves as needed.
2-4 days recovery time.
SCRATCHES.
Description: Often just a thin line, though it can be bleeding it's also sometimes just a line of irritated welts or skin.
Symptoms: Slight-moderate pain, bleeding, cat may be limping
Treatment:
Apply poultice
Marigold, dock (I prefer horsetail but marigold works as well, so would goldenrod)
Horsetail, dock
Marigold
Horsetail
Goldenrod
Have the cat lick the cut clean and apply one of the poultices/chewed herbs on/in the wound. Keep poultices stable with cobwebs (for fidgety cats), have cat rest for a few days, then light warrior duties until healed.
4-9 days recovery time.
SMOKE INHALATION.
Description: sort of obvious but caused by inhaling smoke. Can be mild or severe, depending on whether they inhaled a few breaths or continuously inhaled it. It can cause shock, as well as permanent breathing problems.
Symptoms: coughing, wheezing, causes asphyxiation, irritation or swelling of nostrils and throat, shortness of breath, sore throat, nausea/vomiting, hoarseness, eyes reddening, headache, confusion, coma, fainting, seizures, muscle spasms.
Treatment:
Ingestible herbs
Coltsfoot
Honey
Administer water through the throat (can soak moss to do so) and if the cat is unconscious force the water down as needed. Keep them somewhere somewhat open with clean air, no stuffy den but rather one with a large opening, should shelter be needed. Watch closely as needed.
7 days to 1 moon, more if they overexert (which raises the chances of permanent problems).
SNAKEBITES.
Non-Venomous.
Description: two small holes wherever the pain radiates, though other than an ache of sorts there shouldn't be more than that pain.
Symptoms: pain, two small holes in cat's skin, claiming to have been bitten by a snake.
Treatment:
Apply poultice
Yarrow
Create a poultice and rub it into the wound, then offer poppy seed (it's okay if the cat refuses though advise them against doing so). Watch the cat closely for a few days, if signs of infection occur act accordingly.
3-6 days, honestly just until the bite goes away
Venomous.
Description: similar to non-venomous, but in this case if left untreated or unnoticed it will result in death.
Symptoms: bleeding, pain in the affected area, swelling, inflammation, redness, bruises, sweating, fast heart rate, nausea, dizziness, and possible infection. In young, old or weak cats, the bite can cause a coma or heart palpitations.
Treatment:
Herbs
Snakeroot.
Yarrow.
You can heat a stone however you're able, place it on the bite, and hold it there. It will help to bring the venom up, then place the stone in water to clear it on the venom. Repeat as needed. Have the cat remain in the den from duties until further notice.
4 sunhighs to 2 moons recovery time, or death.
SPRAINS.
Description: When a cat twists their paw just wrong or lands on their hindlegs not quite right, it can sometimes result in sprains. Also occurs heavily in battles, traveling, etc.
Symptoms: Pain, heavy limping, the cat may whimper or moan, shock is possible, and panting sometimes occurs.
Treatment:
Apply poultice, ingest herbs
Poppy seeds
Comfrey (not needed just speeds healing)
If using comfrey apply a poultice, and for bad sprains create a brace (stick against ligament, wrapped in cobwebs). Offer poppy seed (some cats will not want), though if severe, bring the cat to the medicine den to refrain them from injuring themselves more (also for fidgety/playful cats)
9-24 days recovery time, may vary.
WOUND INFECTION.
Description: occurs when a wound of any kind (deep or merely a scratch) is left untreated due to inability to do so or the cat refusing to see their medic (mouse-brains).
Symptoms: At first, the wound will look swollen and red, can ooze pus, and will become more painful. The red area might feel warm, and cats are more likely to get the infection if a foreign body is in the wound(bits of grass, dirt, etc), if the object that caused it was dirty, if it's large or deep, if it was a bite, or if the cat has diabetes.
However, if left untreated, the infection will spread and the cat might have a fever. If that isn't enough, it may spread through the cat's blood and cause cellulitis, a bacterial skin infection that can be fatal.
Treatment:
Ingestible herbs
Poppy seeds.
Poultice
Marigold
Cover with cobwebs and have cat off duties for as long as needed, and check wounds regularly as well as replace the poultice and cobwebs. Administer poppy seeds as needed.
½ a moon to even 3 moons.
(Note: This is if the infection is not on its way to deadly, though if that occurs do what you believe is best for the cat.)
WRENCHED/PULLED MUSCLE.
Description: When one or more muscles in a cat's body is strained too much or used too quickly, resulting in a sore, tight, and sometimes extremely painful result.
Symptoms: Much pain, swelling, panting, yowling, screeching, shaking, and shock can occur, such as tenderness, aching, and muscle spasms.
Treatment:
Ingestible herbs
Poppy Seeds, thyme
Poppy Seeds
Thyme, chamomile
Bring cats to the medicine den, pull them from duties, and have them rest until better.
7 days - 1 moon recovery time.