Before the recipe goes out of my head completely, I have to write it down, and since it works really effectively really quickly, I have to share it.
In a nutshell, my husband noticed my younger cat, Sage, had a mysterious lump on her back, near her shoulder blade. It was in the spot where our older kitty, Luna, Queen of the Abode, will “take down” Sage. It’s not a behavior that’s as common as it was when Sage first came to live with us, but on occasion –especially now with the winter and all the windows locked up and less overall activity– Luna does grab Sage at the base of the neck and gives a bite. Even in the past, breaking skin was very rare. But, they are cats and things happen.
So I grabbed my handy dandy Dr.Kidd’s Guide to Herbal Cat Careby, you guessed it, Dr. Kidd and looked up skin ailments. This is an excellent book to have, but not one for folks unfamiliar with herbal remedies. There are a lot of herbs, as an herbalist, I just don’t feel comfortable using on my girls. And there’s one of my own go-to herbs that Dr.
Kidd seems to have ignored: rosemary. But, still, the information he presents is indispensable. Initially, when grabbing the book, I thought Sage had a cyst– but there was a central point that didn’t seem “normal” for a cyst. When I reread the chapter and Dr. Kidd’s description of abscesses, I realized that’s what I was dealing with. So, using several of his recommended herbs, I concocted a tea. As with another of my go-to guides for home Kitteh Care, The New Natural Catby Anitra Frazier, several of the instructions by both Kidd and Frazier in each of their books, instructions for kitty guardians to deal with kitty issues is just not possible with most cats. Dr. Kidd details using poultices and packing the abscess with herbs. Frazier has similar instructions, including holding
compresses on the location. Seriously? What cat will allow you to do that? I have very well behaved, unfussy kitties who allow me to clip their nails, and do all sorts of mommy things when they need it. In the past, I’ve tried using compresses– saturating a cotton swab or a piece of terry cloth with a solution and holding it onto the problem area. But, even with my calm kitties, this posed problems because I couldn’t hold it on for more than 10 or 15 seconds when the cat was awake. Maybe a minute when she was sleeping, if I was lucky.
So what to do? And with an abscess that could, if not treated, require medical attention?
While flipping through the book, I noticed one recommendation that I hadn’t thought of before: using a spray bottle to spray on the area. Dr. Kidd recommended making a strong tea and spritzing the area. It wasn’t for the abscess but another skin issue, but I thought I’d try this. If I saw no results in the next 24-36 hours, I’d take Sage to the vet. The nasty snowstorm happening outside really made my mind up for me because had it not been a polar vortex of snow, and had my husband not been getting ready to leave for work, we would have taken her to the vet. An abscess is very serious business.
Before using the remedy, I did a careful inspection of Sage from top to tail. She wasn’t dehydrated. If you’re not sure how to check, gently take hold of the skin just beneath the scruff of your cat’s neck, pull up, and release. If the skin bounces back immediately, your kitty isn’t dehydrated. If the skin seems to stick or in any way seems stiff, then you’re dealing with dehydration at some level. Sage didn’t seem to have any swollen areas and the site at the lump wasn’t raw, it wasn’t red, and the skin around it wasn’t horribly inflamed. It seemed like a relatively new injury. So I made the tea (recipe below), put it in a spray bottle, and over a 14 hour period, sprayed the area about 4-5 times. By the last application, I noticed the abscess seems to be drying out, any redness is gone, and it’s reduced in size by almost half.
Once I made the tea, before I used it on Sage, I tried it on myself to see if it would sting, itch, or have any adverse reactions. I wanted to make sure it was safe for her, even though the herbs themselves are safe.
As I’ve posted before, I have had lifelong skin issues, especially cystic acne. I’ve had a real bitch of a time with my fluctuating hormones, and most OTC treatments do nothing for the condition, make it worse, or reactivate my eczema. Homemade remedies seem to help, but they can be slow. Especially as I get older, my skin doesn’t heal as quickly as it used to and I’ve noticed that I’m more prone to infections and scarring. So, I used the spray on a problem spot that I’ve been nursing for the last 3 weeks, a spot that’s been healing but at a monumental snail’s pace. I used the spray twice over the course of maybe 6 hours before I noticed marked improvement, so– since I was pulling another all-nighter writing til 5am– I used it twice more before bed. For the first time in weeks I can see my skin is healing and the area isn’t dry or itchy. Inside of 3 days, the spot was completely healed.
As far as Sage, I used the spray for about 2 and a half days. I may have used it too much because the area dried out to the point that it reminded me of cradle cap on an infant. I stopped the herbal spray, applied a small amount of coconut oil and the next day, all the scaling skin had fallen off. The area seemed a little red, so a small dab of vaseline was enough. Inside of 4 days the abscess was completely healed. As I said before, an abscess is dangerous business. Had we not been under a massive 2 day snowstorm with another day of digging out, I would have taken her to the vet immediately– especially if the area showed any signs of inflammation or she had signs of a fever, dehydration, et cetera.
The Recipe:
Into a pint sized ball jar place the following herbs, loose:
-
-
2 tbsp calendula
-
1 tsp mullein
-
1 tsp rosemary
-
½ tsp thyme
-
¼ tsp oregano
Add freshly boiled water and cap the jar loosely so the steam doesn’t escape. Allow to steep for at least 1 hour or until the jar is cool enough to handle, but still warm.
Strain using a muslin tea strainer to get all the fine particles out of the tea. Fill a small cosmetic spray bottle. I have a 2 ounce glass bottle with a fine mist atomizer. You want the spray to be evenly and widely distributed. The remaining tea I placed in a container and shoved in the freezer for later use.
There are no preservatives in this mixture, so discard after 2-3 days. When not using the spray, refrigerate.
I found that the thawed batch from the freezer was just as effective as the fresh batch. Don’t overuse this because it can be drying. After application, use a simple moisturizer like jojoba oil or a small dab of castor oil. After the first day using the spray on myself, I noticed that the problem areas were healing but were a bit dry, hence the oil application.
Source:
http://www.green-and-growing.com/2015/03/skin-healing-spray-for-kitties-and.html
Please Help Support BeforeitsNews by trying our Natural Health Products below!
Order by Phone at 888-809-8385 or online at https://mitocopper.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomic.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomics.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Humic & Fulvic Trace Minerals Complex - Nature's most important supplement! Vivid Dreams again!
HNEX HydroNano EXtracellular Water - Improve immune system health and reduce inflammation.
Ultimate Clinical Potency Curcumin - Natural pain relief, reduce inflammation and so much more.
MitoCopper - Bioavailable Copper destroys pathogens and gives you more energy. (See Blood Video)
Oxy Powder - Natural Colon Cleanser! Cleans out toxic buildup with oxygen!
Nascent Iodine - Promotes detoxification, mental focus and thyroid health.
Smart Meter Cover - Reduces Smart Meter radiation by 96%! (See Video).
