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A medicine cat's main job is to heal their fellow Clanmates from their wounds. They have many ways of doing so, mostly through herbs and berries throughout the medicine cat of their Clan's store. It has been noted by Erin Hunter that these remedies should never be used on pet cats, and that sick pets should be seen to by a vet instead.[1]
Eases the pain of aching joints.[41] It is also a travelling herb.[18]
In Sunrise, Jayfeather brings a daisy leaf to Mousefur to smell, thinking it might be the mystery herb that Leafpool mixed in with the tansy. Also, in The Fourth Apprentice, Jayfeather gives Dustpelt some daisy leaves for his back pain.[42]
Dandelion
Dandelion
Description:
Common yellow-flowered plant with long, hollow stems. After flowering is finished, the flower transforms a sphere made out of hundreds of smaller white florets with seed heads at the bottom that connect to the flower head.
Location:
Almost everywhere.
Usage:
The white liquid is thought to be applied to bee stings. Leaves can be chewed.[43]
Effect:
Thought to soothe and heal bee stings. Its leaves can also be chewed to act like a painkiller.[43]
Dock
Dock
Description:
Common, large-leafed plant with a tangy smell[44] and taste.[45]
Location:
Doesn't grow well in mountains, best in leafy areas.[46]
Usage:
Chewed up and applied to scratches. Similar to sorrel.[47]
Effect:
Soothes scratches,[48] though can sting when being applied.[49] Soothes sore pads.[50]
In Twilight, Mothwing fetched it for Tumblekit to vomit on.[51]
Extracted from the mouse. The only remedy for ticks, mouse bile is foul smelling, and is stored in moss. When dabbed on a tick, the tick falls off. Smell can be masked by wild garlic, or by washing paws in running water. If accidentally swallowed, can leave a horrible taste in mouth for days. Medicine cats always have to remember to wash their paws in a body of water, such as a creek or stream, after using mouse bile.[33]
Oak Leaf
Dried Oak Leaf
Description:
Round, cartoon-like ruffled leaves.
Location:
All over the forest floor and collected in leaf-fall.[33]
Calms nervousness, anxiety, and cats who are in shock.[108]
Traveling Herbs
Traveling Herbs consists of sorrel, daisy, chamomile and burnet. Used to give a cat more energy and strength, and it keeps the cat from getting hungry for a long time.[18]
Its leaves are chewed into a poultice that can be given to cats or applied to a wound depending on the situation.[127]
Effect:
Extracts poison from wounds. Will make a cat vomit up toxins.[120] The ointment will soften and help heal cracked pads.[127]
Yarrow is used on Sorrelkit by Cinderpelt when Darkstripe feeds her deathberries, and is also used by Mothwing to help poisoned cats when RiverClan is poisoned.
Yarrow is also used when Cherrypaw and Mousewhisker accidentally eat Water Hemlock, and the yarrow is swallowed by both Cherrypaw and Mousewhisker to vomit the poison.
They can easily cause paralysis and heart failure[132]
They are often mistaken for poppy seeds because they look extremely similar. They are known to be a dangerous medicine. They are mentioned when Yellowfang scolds Cinderpelt and says, "You're a dangerous medicine cat! You could kill a cat by confusing foxglove seeds and poppy seeds!".[132]
Holly Berries
Holly Berries
Description:
Plant with spiny leaves that produces red berries with no medicinal value.[133]
Location:
Forests.
Usage:
Unknown
Effect:
Unknown
Holly berries, while not as dangerous as deathberries, are still a danger to kits. They make an appearance in Twilight, after Leafpool talks to Crowfeather; Sorreltail finds her hiding in a holly bush. Leafpool says she is looking for berries and Sorreltail asks, "Aren't they poisonous?".
Deadly Nightshade
Deadly Nightshade
Description:
A small shrub with faintly scented, bell-shaped flowers that are purple tinged with green in colour. Berries are shiny and black when ripe.
Location:
Moist, shady places. Often grows in places where the soils are rich in limestone.
Mentioned in Forest of Secrets when Fireheart and Cinderpaw are with Cloudkit. Cloudkit almost eats some deathberries, but is quickly stopped by Cinderpaw. When Cloudkit runs off and calls them to see what he found, she jokes in response that "Maybe it's deadly nightshade this time".
Water Hemlock
Water Hemlock
Description:
Green or white flowers with petals in umbrella-shaped clusters
Water Hemlock is the most poisonous plant in the Clan territories after deathberries.[90] Water Hemlock is used by Mousewhisker and Cherrypaw who mistake it for parsley, and the two collapse and start convulsing violently. Yarrow is used to help them afterward. [source?]