Our furry children's health matters too!

Today's blog is about my cats and their health, because we have had 2 unwell cats in the last week and they are foremost in my mind right now!

If you know anything at all about me, you'll know that I am a cat lover of NOTE. We have 6 cats (read "children") who deign to live with us. They are all so precious in their own ways and I love them to death. All of them are "rescues" who needed a forever home and, because of that, they all have their little emotional issues and idiosyncrasies;)

When I met GLM, I had 3 cats. 2 of them had been around for years. They were 10 years old. Sebastian was completely "mommy-fuss", having been far too small when his cat mom died. He latched onto me at the tender age of about 3 weeks and has not been prepared to let go since.

Yes, I know I'm gorgeous!

Gypsey Girl must have had something too awful for words happen to her before we found her, because she refused to come out from under the bed for about 6 months and, to this day, will only come to you on HER terms. She's very skittish but so desperate for love and the most loving cat you'll ever know, when she's not feeling threatened.

Love me, love me, say that you love me!

Blue just sort of ended up staying with me permanently, by default. She was probably about 5 at the time, and had a foot missing and all sorts of emotional issues that came with living on the street for years, minus a foot, never mind the trauma she experienced actually LOSING her foot.

I know I need to go on a diet but, hey, YOU try exercise with a foot missing!

Poor GLM had no idea what she was getting into when I called her up one day to tell her I'd seen a picture of kittens who needed a home, and I DESPERATELY wanted to take at least one of them and we couldn't let them get put down could we?! She immediately agreed (we'd only been dating a couple of months at this stage) and Baileigh, the hell on wheels cat, came to live with us. Boy was she hard work;) She's never quite come to realise that she was actually rescued from the side of that highway and that there is no reason to STILL keep fighting! She is a very insecure cat with attitude and she gives it 24/7/365. She wears a tag on her collar that says, "Bad to the bone" and it is SO apt;) But she fits right in to our crazy little furry family!

Seriously?! You just expect me to look and NOT touch!? It's a BIRD for crying out loud!

Then, 5 months ago, friends of ours ended up fostering 4 kittens over christmas. They HAD found a home, but the dogs in that home saw the kittens as meals and so the kittens ended up back with our friends. They were very familiar with old "soft touch" Mel and so showed me photos and told me stories about all their little antics and my heart went "squish" and I begged GLM to let me take just one! Bless her, she so didn't want to let me down and I know she didn't want them to be put down, but I could see the panic in her eyes at the thought of FIVE cats in our house, especially after Baileigh! She eventually said, "Let's see if they find them a home and take it from there."

And so I waited and longed and waited and longed. Eventually, our friends told us that they would have to take them to a shelter the following day and I looked at GLM pleadingly and I saw the resigned look on her face;) Off we went to fetch our baby. I was all smiles and excitement:) We had already kind of decided on the one we would take. She was the spitting image of my cat I'd had growing up and I thought it was a sign that she was the one. But, when we arrived, one of the other kittens came running straight to me and into my arms and stayed there for ages cuddling. My heart literally melted... but she wasn't my chosen one so I eventually put her down and tried to bond with the one we were supposed to be taking home. She simply refused to notice me! She was far too busy playing with her siblings and everything else in sight and, try as I might, I just struggled to bond with her. I could tell that she was another Baileigh and I knew two Baileigh's were going to be more than GLM could take! I kept glancing at the little one who had cuddled me as we arrived and trying NOT to feel like my heart had already chosen.

The problem was, our friends had already taken ONE of the kittens. That left 3 kittens homeless and 2 of them were identical twins. They did EVERYTHING together and were pretty much inseparable. Separating them just seemed cruel. If we took the one I was planning on taking, that would still leave the twins without a home. If we took the twins, our friends were willing to keep the other ONE. They couldn't take TWO more, but they could take ONE more at a push. They already had 3 dogs and 4 cats! When we were about to leave I was just feeling like things were all wrong because one of the twins had already won my heart, but we could only take ONE kitten and I just didn't want to traumatise them by separating them. I knew they would end up in a shelter the following day. I should have been feeling good about giving at least ONE a home but I just felt terrible for the others.

And then, my AMAZING GLM uttered the most magical words, "Maybe we should just take the twins? That way EVERYONE has a home?"I just looked at her with my mouth hanging open. I didn't expect it because she had been so adamant that we could only get ONE more! What I hadn't realised was that my softhearted wife was going through all the emotions that I was going through! Love that woman;) So Molly and Toby came home with us...

This is how we sleep every night. Right on top of each other cos we are inseparable!

And then there were SIX! It's not as chaotic as you would think actually. Cat's are pretty independent. The only time you see everyone is at meal time. Other than that, they all sleep around the house or garden the rest of the time. We lock them in the house at night so that they don't harras the neighbours but our teenager, Baileigh, has figured out how to open our windows so she is frequently out galavanting when we unlock the cat flap the next morning. SHE'S actually the original bacardi cat;)

Now that you know our little family, let me get down to the reason I decided to post this blog! You all know my aversion to doctors but you probably didn't know that that extended to vets. Don't get me wrong, I think there are a lot of good vets out there doing what they think is best. I just don't believe in medication and I also don't believe in feeding animals processed food but that's for another blog! Our cats are seldom sick but recently, Blue got an eye infection. I suddenly noticed that her left eye was closed and watering a lot. I don't know where she got it from, or how, because she NEVER leaves the house. She feels very vulnerable with only 3 legs and so she stays inside all day. She's never been sick before so this baffled me.

I made a weak saline solution and wiped her eye several times during the day. The next day it looked worse! This time I turned to my herbs. Calendula (or marigold) is very soothing for skin infections and irritations and so is chamomile. It's very gentle as well so I knew it wouldn't make her eye worse and I was hopeful it would make it better! Fortunately I had both herbs in my cupboard so I brewed up a small mug of tea! The tricky part was holding her down but I managed to do it! Then I placed a cotton round in the warm tea and pressed it onto her eye and held it there as long as possible. This is actually called a compress and it helps to draw out the infection while the herbs soothe and heal. I couldn't hold it on for very long. My arm is COVERED in scratches as a result;) But I did it three times a day for two days much to her disgust!

Today, when I walked into the room to check on her, both eyes stared widely back at me, looking perfectly healthy:)

And what beautiful eyes they are!

There are few things more satisfying than being able to help your cat heal without having to take her to a vet and get her pumped full of chemicals. The herbs worked so well and, while she didn't exactly enjoy getting a wet eye, she didn't have to go through the trauma of a trip to the vet, in the car, which would have terrified her.

So this blog is a little continuation of yesterday's blog all about herbs and the healing power of herbs. Proof that you DON'T need to spend a fortune and traumatise your animals in the process. You can use the same treatments on them that you would on you and they WORK. And you keep their little systems clean of chemicals and that does them the world of good, the same as us. We are all trying to do the best that we can, and I know that sense of panic when your baby is sick. You feel terribly helpless. But don't underestimate their ability to heal the same as we do.

We DO have another sick baby at home right now and, after a few days, I gave in and took her to my holistic vet. She is the equivalent of a homeopath in the animal world and she doesn't believe in chemicals either. She is also, fortunately, only 10 minutes drive from our place! All very good things!

My little Gypsey Girl is on homeopathic meds and we are watching this space and hoping that all comes right without the need to traumatise her more. I will keep you in the loop as things progress!

That is it for today. Tomorrow is my real food friday feast and I have a goodie for you:)