DIY: Harvest Herbs for Your Pet's Health
(Page 2 of 3)
January/February 2000
By Randy Kidd
Catnip (Nepeta cataria) and valerian (Valeriana officinalis) are relaxing and sedating to all critters, but cats are especially susceptible to their actions. (For cats, the calming and sedative actions come after the intense initial euphoria.) These plants are easy to grow, unless your neighborhood happens to have one or two voracious plant-eating cats roaming the area. In that case, you may either position chicken wire screens over the plants for protection or grow these herbs indoors in pots to keep them safe.
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Oats (Avena sativa) is one of my favorite nervous system tonics. It’s palatable for almost all animals, it is beneficial to the nervous system, and it’s easy to grow. When we plant oats, we harvest the still-green oat heads (when the seeds are “milky”) for herbal use, and then we till the rest of plant under as mulch.
Don’t rule out weeds, either
In nearly everyone’s yard, there’s a whole medicine chest of herbs free for the picking. I’ve learned to use many of the weeds from my backyard, neighborhood fields, and roadsides for the animals in my clinic.
Following is a short list of the most common herbal weeds I prescribe for my critter patients almost every day. I use these herbs because they are safe and effective and, best of all, because they’re free. Be sure to use a good book for identifying these plants, such as [RANDY: DO YOU HAVE A SUGGESTION?]. If you believe that living things might be affected by electrical currents, don’t pick under power lines. If you prefer, these herbs can also be grown in your garden.
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale). Dandelion root is the best medicine I’ve found to help treat a tomcat’s cystitis. It’s a potent diuretic containing naturally occurring potassium, a valuable electrolyte that can be depleted by the use of other diuretics. Dandelion root is also a fine liver tonic, and its anti-inflammatory actions can help arthritic problems.
Plantain (Plantago major or Plantago minor). I’ve not found anything better than plantain for drawing stuff out of wounds—be it splinters, pus in abscesses, or the irritating poisons from stinging insects. Although I haven’t used it much for diarrhea or coughs, its astringent and expectorant qualities make it a good choice to use internally for these.
Cleavers (Galium aparine). Cleavers may be the very best of the herbal lymphatic system tonics, making it an ideal herb for a wide range of critter problems. I add it to my herbal prescriptions whenever I’m treating swollen glands, dry skin conditions, or infections. Cleavers’ diuretic actions makes it a good addition for treating a cat’s cystitis or bladder problems. In addition, it has a long tradition of being used to treat tumors—perhaps from its ability to support the lymphatic system. So, while I never rely on herbs alone to treat cancer in pets, I will add cleavers to my overall therapeutic regime.