We're all seniors here
Jaeger and Eartha went in for their checkups yesterday. They will be 14 (72) and 11 (60) respectively this year and it's been four years since their last visit. They started a new food regimen (Hill's Prescription Diet c/d Multicare Stress Urinary Care) around that time and both have lost around a pound since then but the vet didn't seem too worried.
Eartha's hitch in her giddy-up is not a broken bone, dislocation, or hip dysplasia, thankfully. More than likely she damaged a ligament or tendon, similar to a meniscus tear in us, and will be favoring that back right leg from now on. Poor baby. She was so traumatized by the entire ordeal that she peed over everything and everyone at the vet and then pooped her way up the stairs once she was home and free of the carrier. She avoided me for the rest of the night but let me love her this morning.
Jaeger has a skin allergy and is licking himself excessively. He has scabs all over his hind quarters and under his neck. He also has a small lump/nodule on his thyroid. His blood work will come back in a few days and I'm crossing my fingers that it's all good. The vet is concerned that he has lost weight despite his voracious appetite - he eats twice as much as Eartha and is constantly on the hunt for food. The skin issues started when we added a new cat (Squish) to our household and the vet hopes/thinks it will abate after she moves out at the end of March.
Happy that I made them strictly indoor cats back in 2020 despite how they may feel about it. I feel less anxious knowing they are safe at home. $425 doesn't seem that bad for peace of mind that they are both in good health. After losing Ziggy in 2014, I am steeling myself for their loss.
UPDATE: The vet called and all Jaeger's bloodwork came back normal. No thyroid, kidney, liver issues. Huzzah!