#-secondary epilepsy. I tried to avoid putting too many terms into it.

[bonefall]

Herb Guide for Warrior Cats: Epilepsy

Requested by an Anon!

A guide to providing treatment to a Warrior Cat OC with epilepsy. Still requires a bit of a leap in logic as nothing can replace our friend phenobarbital, BUT, if you would like herbs and strategies for managing a Warrior’s epilepsy, this guide is for you.

I researched herbs historically used for epilepsy, chose plants growing wild in a ‘common’ clan biome (temperate Europe and North America), and removed things that a cat could not use. Because of the nature of epilepsy, I also delved into some other treatments and strategies your medics can use!

So, keep in mind, this guide is written for a Clan doctor treating an epileptic cat. NOT from the perspective of a patient who has it.

I would recommend doing extra research into first-hand accounts of what it’s like to live with epilepsy when creating your patient character.

Disclaimer Time! I tried to filter out as much ‘quackery’ as possible, but remember that I am not a vet nor do I have formal training in pharmacognacy. You are also not a vet. This is for fake battle cats. LOOK AT ME. YOU WILL NOT USE THIS ON YOURSELF OR A REAL ANIMAL.

Below the cut is:

What is epilepsy?

Diagnostics

Non-herbal treatments

Managing the different types of seizures

Preventative herbs

What is epilepsy?

‘Epilepsy‘ is the broad term for dozens of different disorders, resulting in recurring epileptic seizures. A warrior could be born with it, develop it over time, or get it after recovering from brain injury (stroke, infection, head trauma, etc).

Epilepsy also varies wildly, and can be so mild it’s hard to detect, or so severe it could put the cat in too much danger to do warrior duties at all. For most cases, however, the warrior would still be able to do normal tasks* as long as they don’t hunt or patrol alone.

* = Head injury and stress from fighting can worsen epilepsy. Going on battle patrols is a risk the warrior must be made aware of.

Diagnostics

So before anything else, your medic will want to identify what triggers the seizures, if anything. There isn’t always an identifiable trigger such as a flashing light/quickly moving object, but seizures can be made worse by stress, lack of sleep, or hunger. Taking note of the warrior’s state preceding a seizure would be extremely helpful for treatment.

Does Wheatwhisker seem to have more seizures when she’s doing certain activities? When she has one, did she sleep well the night before? What has she been eating lately? She may be able to feel it coming-- including sudden intense emotion, an oncoming headache, hot or cold sensations, so on.

Like dogs, cats can detect oncoming seizures. A good medicine cat would take note of all the behavior before its onset to reduce their frequency.

NON-herbal treatments

Once correlation and causes have been identified, the medicine cat should have some lifestyle changes to suggest.

For example, Wheatwhisker has more seizures when she is tired, so the medic prevents her from going on dawn patrol. They’re sometimes triggered by the fluttering of bird wings, so she’s been told to hunt small mammals instead.

A change in diet can also reduce the frequency of seizures. Fatty foods specifically, such as red meat, eggs, and large fish. Trout and carp would be the two easiest* things for a warrior to hunt on a regular basis-- though if the given Clan can’t catch those, it may be worth it to consider trade with another group.

* = If your warriors can cook with fire, fat drippings can be cooked back into the epileptic warrior’s meals. This would make the special diet much easier to prepare than always catching specific prey.

Managing the Different Types of Seizures

Generally there are three types of seizures- ones localized to a specific body part, ones that may seem like “daydreaming”, and ones that cause the well-known convulsions. Less severe seizures are more common.

Seizures do not usually cause pain on their own, except for fatigue in the muscle or headaches. Injury is sometimes caused by external forces, such as slamming against something during a convulsion, falls, tongue biting, or hitting sharp objects.

After any seizure, nausea or a headache may develop-- feverfew will soothe headaches, mallow or fennel will soothe stomachaches. Even if the Epileptic warrior does not take regular medication, the cannabis and valerian root mentioned in the ‘preventative herbs‘ section can be taken on occasion to help the warrior relax post-seizure.

-Localized

One part of the body (leg, head) seizes or convulses. Can usually be self-managed by the warrior, loss of conscious is uncommon. Rest in a quiet area would be the best treatment afterwards. If the muscle fatigue is bad, kneading the limb will help.

-Daydream

The warrior will seem suddenly ‘absent,‘ like they’ve left their body, for typically less than 15 seconds. They may simply wobble and stare ahead (even pausing mid-sentence), or seem to ‘faint‘ and fall over, but in any case they will not remember the seizure. Prevent them from falling on something dangerous, if this seems likely.

In many cases the warrior will just be able to keep going about their day in a few minutes, or even immediately. If not, just like before, let them rest in a quiet area.

-Convulsions

A panicked cat may make convulsions worse by fearfully running around as a seizure starts-- if a warrior MUST be prevented from doing this, it’s VERY important that they are not completely pinned or restrained. JUST kept laying down. Do NOT attempt to stop the convulsions themselves.

Such a circumstance will be extremely rare in a Warrior Cat setting, where the cats are capable of reasoning like a human. There may be a situation where an epileptic cat needs to be brought out of harm’s way-- that’s fine.

Clear the area of anything sharp or hard that the convulsing warrior could hurt themselves on, like stones, or brambles. Roll them onto their side, if they aren’t already. Lastly, cushion their head with something soft, like moss, if possible.

After the seizure is over, the warrior will probably be disoriented and confused. Don’t overwhelm them or offer food or water until they’re fully alert again. Once they do, they might have partial paralysis, nausea, muscle soreness, a bitten tongue, or any variety of symptoms. Just like before, bring them to a quiet area to rest.

If your warriors wear restrictive accessories, such as belts or collars, the medicine cat will remove or loosen them during a seizure if possible.

-what NOT to do

There’s some harmful ideas out there you may have encountered, so here’s some things to keep in mind your medics would NOT do to treat a cat having convulsions:

They would NOT pin them down (this even happened in the books once yikes) Why: This could cause injury to both the restrained, and the restrainer.

They would NOT put anything in their mouth Why: Could damage their teeth or jaw, it does not prevent them from biting their tongue. (also; while tongue biting is common, it is a total myth that an epileptic will choke on/swallow it)

They would NOT start firing out questions as soon as the seizure is over Why: The warrior will likely be disoriented, and not in a state to answer properly. Give them a minute.

Preventative Herbs

Once a seizure is happening, it will have to play out. Warrior cats do not have the medical capability to stop one once started. The anticonvulsant herbs here will help to reduce the frequency and severity of seizures... but they can’t eliminate them entirely.

Anticonvulsants will need to be taken on a regular basis. Stopping these suddenly will cause dangerous side effects; if the warrior’s epilepsy isn’t severe, or herbs are a scarcity for your Clan, it may not be the best choice to medicate them.

Chamomile

Common, and naturalized all over the world. In high doses, this herb will poison a cat. Careful preparation is required to make it safe for the epileptic warrior-- it needs to be steeped in water, like tea*. The leaves should not be eaten.

* = If your cats don’t have fire to brew tea, that’s fine, it can be soaked cold.

This herb also has a side effect of drowsiness. It may make the warrior lethargic and less responsive.

Cannabis

Cannabis is a golden herb for a thousand reasons, it can be made into rope, paper, cloth, oil... but, the thing of note here is CBD oil. Cannabis grows wild all over the world, but ESPECIALLY in North America-based Clans (where it’s called Ditchweed)

Ditchweed has high CBD content, and low THC content. This makes it safe for your warriors (and also prevents them from getting high). Your cats will NOT smoke it, which will damage their sensitive respiratory systems, they will eat it like a standard herb.

Because cannabis is a depressant, this treatment is best for warriors not involved in active tasks. Epileptic warriors that prefer calm, camp-related activities will use this herb. Den-building, tunnel digging, helping the medics, crafting if your Clan makes accessories, so on.

Valerian Root

Known as a sleep aid in humans, Valerian has VERY interesting effects on cats; this is the only Epilepsy treatment that can avoid lethargy entirely. However, in contrast to cannabis, valerian will mostly be found in Europe-based Clans.

(with both, however, it is possible to find each in the other continent.)

Valerian Root has catnip-like effects, perking a warrior up and often filling them with energy. There are some cats for whom this herb will act like cannabis, calming them down, but if there’s a choice, the Epileptic warriors who enjoy active tasks will prefer this herb. Hunting, fighting, patrolling, so on.