Herbs for pets

HERBS FOR PETS

Herbs are not just beneficial for human's health. Nurturing these plants will give you a home-grown medicine chest for your animals, right in your back yard.

CREDIT: Text: Jane Griffiths. Photographs: Jane Griffiths and Keith Knowlton

TANSY

With its bright yellow button flowers, tansy is an excellent insect repellent. It grows in most soils and likes full sun and well-drained soil. It’s a bushy, straggly plant and can be invasive. Keep it in check by cutting it back and pulling out the new growth around the edges of the plant. In cold areas, it will die back during winter but in spring it will shoot up. 

Uses: Its pungent leaves deter many insects. Dry and infuse in water to make a fly spray or use as a flea powder. Fresh leaves in hens' bedding prevents mites.   

TURMERIC

This is a beautiful herb to add to your garden, with long, strappy green leaves and exotically beautiful flowers. Choose a fertile spot in dappled shade and in spring, bury a fresh root with one end just below the surface and the other about 10cm deep. Water well until the first shoots appear. It’s a tropical plant that likes warmth and humidity and will thrive in subtropical parts of the country. However, it happily grows in areas with mild frosts. Although its leaves die back in winter, if you mulch well with compost, it will bounce back in spring.  

Uses: Turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory, working quickly to reduce painful joint swelling, especially in old dogs and horses. Give them a teaspoon of powdered turmeric every day with their food. Mixing it with a little oil and black pepper increases the absorption rate.

CATNIP

As its name suggests, catnip is a herb that cats find irresistible. It’s a member of the mint family and grows easily from seed, seedlings or propagated from cuttings in spring. Regular trimming maintains its shape and the trimmings make good anti-insect mulch.

Uses: Most cats love eating catnip as it has a “feelgood” effect on them. It’s also an effective insect repellent and can be used as flea powder.  

AFRICAN WORMWOOD

With grey-green leaves, this plant is a strong insect repellent. It grows easily from seedlings or cuttings. It likes full sun and, once established, it becomes a large, bushy and drought-resistant plant. It needs little more than an occasional cutting back and can grow up to 2m tall. In early spring, cut it back by two thirds to encourage new growth. 

Uses: Few insects can withstand its strong-smelling leaves. It makes an effective anti-flea powder and can be used as a wash when bathing dogs. Use as a fly-spray and in hens’ bedding to repel mites.

PARSLEY

Parsely takes ages to germinate and is easier grown from seedlings. It likes fertile soil, full sun and plenty of regular moisture. It prefers being planted in groups with other parsley or companions like lettuce or spinach.

Uses: Parsley is an excellent cleansing herb for dogs and cats. A parsley infusion helps keep cats’ urinary tracts healthy. (Don’t overdo it — add one teaspoon of the infusion to their food per day for a week and then take a break for two weeks.) 

Herbal flea powder for dogs 

• 1 tablespoon each dried: rosemary, African wormwood, catnip, tansy and fennel leaves
• ½ cup corn flour

Crush the leaves to a powder using a pestle and mortar. Mix with corn flour. Keep in an airtight container. 

CAUTION 

Cats and dogs are both carnivores. However, dogs are more omnivorous than cats and can digest a far wider range of plants, hence are more suitable candidates for herbal medicines. Caution is needed when giving herbs to cats, as many of them are potentially toxic and can even result in death. 

• Jane's Delicious A-Z of Herbs. Jane Griffiths. Sunbird Publishers www.janesdeliciousshop.co.za