so like i was saying

cats are jerks.  I gave both of the cats baths on Tuesday.  Lucille hates every second of it.  It honestly sounds like she's saying "NO" the whole time.  Yes, that's all caps and bold for a reason...  Strat doesn't like it but once he takes his position in the sink, he looks like he's at the spa.  He's pretty chill for his bath.  Then there was Tuesday.  I did Lucille first because she's sometimes hard to catch.  That went fine.  Then I got Strat into the water.  He wasn't having it and bit me!  He BIT me!  Yes, the arse hole bit me and I'm not talking about the little nips he's done in the past.  I immediately told him he can bite or do whatever but I would win.  So he got a bath.  The bite was a first.  I ran it under the water.  There was a little blood but it stung more than anything.

I took a picture of it right after and sent it to Eric, just to show him what a jerk his cat can be.

Tuesday afternoon

I figured the bruise would fade out.  And it did.  I noticed while I was up at the church how hot and sore it was.  It faded out, swelled up, got really hot and formed a bump underneath.    None of that sounded like the wound was heading in the right direction.

Wednesday afternoon

Thursday it was still red and sore and that lump wasn't helping.  I thought about what I could do and remembered all the Young Living oils I have.  Thieves.  That's it.  I've read how Thieves kills germs and infections so I put some on.

It was about the same on Thursday.  Still sore but maybe not as red, maybe.

Thursday afternoon

That's when I started researching cat bites and how dangerous they are.  This really didn't sound like what I wanted to hear.  I told Cosme about the danger of cat bites and described all the symptoms of infection.  Yeah, yeah, this was far from looking infected but my plan was to nip this issue in the bud.  I came home and put more Thieves on.

Cosme and I were convinced to call a doctor this morning but I was determined to try extra oils just to see.  Here is the latest picture after Thursday's dose of Thieves and then another this morning.

Friday morning

I woke up this morning and it is barely noticeable.  The redness is almost gone, it hardly hurts and the lump is almost down to nothing.

I'm not saying I just cured a horribly infected cat bite, I'm just saying I could tell this was not going to end well if it kept going the way it was.  The bite itself didn't look gross (yet) but the skin around it was way too red, puffy and hot for my liking.  So I guess this can go down in history as the week I used Thieves oil to prevent Cat Scratch Fever.  (Which, fever is one of the infection symptoms and while I didn't have fever, I woke up yesterday not feeling 100% and it lasted all day... just saying)

 Now, any cats need bathing?

let me fill you in

on the backstory here.  Years ago I was a miserable county employee.  After working there for several years, I got a dry patch of skin on the top of my foot that itched like crazy.  I tried every ointment I came across.  I went to a dermatologist and that was a waste of time money.  (I can't call it a waste of time because it got me out of several hours of work.)  Everyone I talked to said it resembled psoriasis.  I researched it and that's definitely what it sounded like.  During this time I also started having stomach issues.  I won't go into to too much detail but it sounded a lot like IBS.  I went to a few doctors and started taking acidophilus.  That helped some of the issues but there were still others I couldn't fix.  Along with these two ailments, I would also get a TON of canker sores.  That wasn't too uncommon because I've always gotten those.  But, those few years, I got them ALL THE TIME.  At one point I had seven in my mouth at once.  I also tried everything for those, from gels to old wives tale remedies.  I even went so far as to collect cigarette ashes from my friend and pack those on them.  It didn't work.  A few years after it all started, and a couple of years after I quit my job, everything went away.  I'd still get the occasional canker sore and stomach issue but for the most part, everything was good.  Although I usually joke and say it's all because I'm allergic to work, I'm pretty sure it was triggered by stress and anxiety. 

Lately, it seems like little symptoms have started coming back here and there.  This time though, I'm taking a different route.  Young Living Essential Oils are my weapon of choice. 

On Sunday I woke up with a canker sore and another one coming along.  By the end of the day, that second one hurt like a big dog.  After doing some researching and putting all my past symptoms together and reading that those all happen to be symptoms of certain things dealing with immune system issues, I first though of Thieves oil.  I brushed my teeth before bed with my Thieves toothpaste and guess what.  Where canker sores usually stick around for a week or so, mine were practically gone.  Seriously.  They lasted one day.  One day!  I also remembered some capsules I bought but never took.  So yesterday morning I started on the Inner Defense supplement.

I'm excited to see how all this plays out.  I'm also feeling pretty optimistic.