In a densely forested wilderness, a cat suffering from a cataract experiences a milky white or pale blue clouding of the lens, a permanent opacity primarily triggered by a territorial battle injury (such as a claw scratch), a sharp thorn puncture, or the natural hardening of the lens fibers from advanced age. Because surgical options like phacoemulsification are impossible without human intervention, a forest healer can only address the symptoms; they crush the brittle stems and fuzzy leaves of the four-petaled, golden-yellow celandine flower to trickle its natural juice directly into the eye via a wet ball of moss to soothe severe tissue inflammation and ease surface irritation. For the intense, throbbing head pain that accompanies sudden ocular trauma, the cat is given poppy seeds to eat as a natural sedative. Since these primitive remedies cannot dissolve the cataract's structural proteins, the animal's depth perception is completely destroyed, making it impossible to hunt fast canopy prey or hold territory in combat; consequently, the feline must either adapt to the dense undergrowth by relying entirely on auditory and scent tracking, or permanently retire to a protected communal den to be fed and cared for by their peers as an elder.
