Diseases and injuries

Cats living in the wild often fall victims to a number of diseases and injuries. It is the job of the Clan's medicine cat to treat these conditions.

Whitecough and Greencough
Both are chest infections, caused by bacteria. Whitecough is a mild form, but if untreated, it can develop in the much more severe greencough. Cats usually catch it during leaf-fall and leaf-bare, and sometimes it develops into large-scale epidemics. The disease claimed the lives of several cats, including Bluestar, Firestar (both lose a life), Snowstar (loses last life), Poppydawn, Featherwhisker, Brightwhisker, Lizardstripe, Heavystep, Molepaw.

Medicine cats treat it using catmint. An ancient ThunderClan medicine cat, Cloudspots, found out that this was the best remedy. If fevers accompany the cough, tansy or borage is used as well.

Poisoning
Poisoning is the ingestion of a substance that causes harm to the body, such as: ]]
 * Eating or drinking poisonous substances. Usually kits do this, being curious and unaware of the danger. Examples include Sorrelkit and Cloudkit eating (or attempting to eat) deathberries, or Dawnflower's kits and some RiverClan cats drinking a foul-smelling liquid that later causes Tumblekit's and Ivytail's death
 * Eating poisoned prey, such as when several WindClan cats and Dappletail of ThunderClan die after eating rabbits poisoned by Twolegs in Moonrise. In Bluestar's Prophecy, Rosepaw, Sweetpaw and Bluefur all share a bad mouse and get sick. Sweetpaw dies from this, but Bluefur and Rosepaw survive.
 * Eating crow-food or drinking tainted water, as like in Starlight when Mothwing accidentally brought back tainted water to the elders
 * Inhaling too much smoke from a fire, that made Halftail, Patchpelt, and Yellowfang die in Rising Storm and made Bluestar so weak that she couldn't attend the [[Gathering|Gathering
 * Being bitten by a venomous animal, such as when Honeyfern died after a snake had bitten her, and Adderkit after an adder had bitten him.

If only a small quantity of poison is ingested, the cat mostly receives a bellyache, but larger amounts can cause the death of the cat, as listed above. Medicine cats treat it with yarrow or nettle leaves. Mild bellyaches are treated with juniper or watermint.

Rat-Borne Infections
The cats sometimes fall victims to infections carried by rats, although they do not have a specific name for it. An ancient ShadowClan medicine cat, Pebbleheart, realized that rats were a source of disease. As ShadowClan cats sometimes ate food from the Carrionplace in The Forest, they were prone to catch this disease. It claimed the lives of Pebbleheart, Nightstar and Cinderfur, among others. Burdock root is used to stop infection from rat bites.

Blindness and Deafness
A cat may lose his or her eyesight or hearing due to old age (One-eye), accidents and infections (Longtail), or birth defects (Jayfeather and Snowkit). These conditions usually end their career as a warrior, as they cannot hunt or fight efficiently, and must retire as elders. Kits born with defects usually die young (such as Snowkit and Dappletail's unnamed kit), except if they have special skills compensating it (like in Jayfeather's case).

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 apprentices 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 (Poppypaw) or an infected wound. If needed, it can be treated with feverfew, borage or lavender.

Cracked Pads
The paw pads may crack while walking long distances on hard surfaces (such as Firestar and Sandstorm in Firestar's Quest and Purdy in Sunrise), or due to cold weather. Elders are especially prone to this condition. It is treated with a poultice of coltsfoot or yarrow.

Other Diseases
Several other diseases were mentioned in the books, however, the cats do not have names for it. Examples include the conditions of Pebblefur (a painful lump in the stomach, most likely a tumor), or Tawnyspots.

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. In The Darkest Hour, Tigerstar loses all of his nine lives due to a single wound.

Minor wounds heal on their own in no time, but severe wounds must be treated by a medicine cat. This treatment includes cleaning it thoroughly with the tongue, stopping the bleeding with cobwebs, and applying poultices to prevent infection and help it to heal. Herbs used 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. In Moonrise, Mousefur gets a dislocated shoulder after fighting Twolegs. In Twilight, Rainwhisker's shoulder is dislocated in the fight with the badgers. Medicine cats treat this condition by first feeding the patient poppy seeds to make them sleepy, and then pulling the limb until the bone gets back into its joint.

Broken Bones
A broken bone is usually the result of an accident, such as falling down from a high place, or being hit by a monster. Cats most often break their legs, and while medicine cats try to bind the bone with cobwebs, the injury usually results in the cat remaining crippled for the rest of his or her life (ex. Cinderpelt). The only cat known to fully recover after breaking a leg was Cinderheart.

A more severe injury is when a cat breaks his or her backbone (such as Briarlight in Fading Echoes, or Wildfur), this resulting in the cat being unable to feel or move parts of his or her body. If the break is bad enough the cat will be killed on or shortly after impact.