There are some things you expect to find in a veterinary clinic: bandages, medications, stethoscopes.
Cabbage probably isn’t one of them.
But recently, one of the cats in our care needed exactly that — which is how a donated cabbage became part of her care plan.
So… why cabbage?
One of our cats, Other Mother, has been healing from inflammation involving her mammary tissue. For cats experiencing mammary inflammation, including conditions such as mastitis, cool cabbage leaves can be used as a type of compress to help relieve swelling, pain and discomfort.
And when you think about it, a cabbage leaf is actually pretty well suited for the job. It’s cool, soft and flexible, and its large leaves can gently conform to the body much more easily than an ice pack.
Veterinary guidance for feline mastitis specifically lists cabbage-leaf compresses as one option for supportive care. The leaves can be placed against the affected mammary gland and held in place with a bandage or fitted shirt for a period of time before being removed.
Of course, the cabbage isn’t treating the underlying cause by itself. Depending on what is causing the inflammation, a cat may also need medications, antibiotics, pain management or other veterinary treatment. Think of the cabbage as one tool used to make the patient more comfortable while her body heals.
Is there something special in cabbage?
Maybe — but the answer is surprisingly complicated.
Cabbage contains plant compounds that have been studied for potential anti-inflammatory properties, but research hasn’t definitively shown that cabbage has a unique medicinal effect when placed on inflamed tissue.
It may be much simpler than that: a cabbage leaf makes a really good cold compress.
Unlike a rigid ice pack, a cabbage leaf naturally curves and molds around the body. It stays cool, covers a relatively large area and doesn’t put much pressure on tender tissue.
Sometimes the low-tech solution really is a vegetable.
And humans do this, too!
Yep.
Chilled cabbage leaves have long been used by breastfeeding people experiencing breast engorgement, when breast tissue becomes swollen, firm and painful.
Some studies have found that cabbage leaves can help reduce pain and firmness, while others suggest they work about as well as other cooling methods.
In other words, science hasn’t entirely settled whether cabbage has special powers or whether it simply happens to be a very comfortable cold compress.
Either way, it has earned itself a surprisingly legitimate place in supportive care.
From garden to patient
A big thank you to the Kiuna Community Gardeners, who donated the cabbage Other Mother needed for her care — along with plenty of fresh, tasty snacks for our bunnies and other small animals.
It’s a wonderful reminder that supporting animals can take all kinds of forms, and sometimes something grown in a garden can become part of an animal’s healing.
Sometimes helping an animal requires sophisticated veterinary medicine.
And sometimes it requires a cabbage.
