One of us developed a small rash - that itched madly - along the upper arm, right where it can be easily scratched. Not good, because scratching is bad and almost autonomic.
Not being fond of fond of prescription ointments and unguents, the decision was made to try a simple, old-fashioned remedy. Oil of cloves. Soothing, cooling, cocaine for cats.
Our two bengals went berserk. Something to behold, though once is quite enough. Maybe we should have known. Some years ago we discovered that the scent of throat lozenges, the ones with eucalyptus oil, could cause them to go from sleepy cats to bottle-tailed crazies in seconds.
That was nothing compared to what the scent of oil of cloves accomplished. Instant mayhem. Instant fluffy tails. Instant battle of the nine lives (eighteen actually, they were both high as kites).
Rubbing alcohol removed the oil, no telling what it did for the rash, and the cats came down eventually.
Catnip is for wusses. Real pusses go for clove oil.
They were a lot quieter today.
That must have been a sight...
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that about oil of cloves, but then I've never used it. My cats do freak out over Bengay ointment.
Cloves, Eucalyptus, Bengay... wow, I had no idea. We had catnip in our herb garden. We were popular with the neighborhood felines for a while there.
ReplyDeleteThere has to be a good (fiction)story in there. wonder what your vet would have to say about it?
~jon
@Laura A sight it was. I'll make sure our cats stay away from Bengay ointment too (cats with substance abuse problems?) :)
ReplyDelete@Jon I imagine there is a story here somewhere. Perhaps I should enlist the help of the cat from the Small Bright Creature stories.
Thanks to both of you for stopping by and commenting.
When I had a garden I would often go out and find stoned cats lolling about in it. I would give them some water and after a while shoo them out. Stoned cats are nothing compared to drunk squirrels though. I never used pesticides, but sometimes in the early spring I would put out shallow pans of beer for slug control. Seeing a young squirrel after he's lapped up a pan of beer is a sight indeed. Giggling just remembering it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the story.
:0)
Karen, drunk squirrels. The mind, it boggles!
ReplyDeleteThanks for making me grin - although, why the stoned cats? Were you, like Jon, supplying the local feline population's requirement for catnip?