Teh vet?! WTF Mama? DO NOT WANT!

After some work at the office and a visit to MHRC to talk to some subcontractors, I picked up Guy from his office and made it home about two hours early. Maddy and Hazel were delighted--Mama's home! Maybe we'll get fed early!

Nuh-uh.

After some petting and treats and watching Mama do some yoga in the floor, we were unceremoniously scooped up and tossed in our carriers. Off to the vet we went for our yearly checkup. Which we did not appreciate.

However, the news was mostly good with a slight chance of age-related illnesses. Hazel gained half a pound, which now makes her a healthy 9.0 lbs. Which is odd, considering that Maddy pushes her out of the way of food on a regular basis, and that she will frequently turn her wee tabby nose up to treats in the evening. Her eyes looked a tiny bit cloudy in the center, which is common among cats her age (she'll be 10 in the spring, as will Maddy). So, she's probably lost a little central vision and relies more on her peripheral vision, something that also happens in older people. The vet proclaimed her otherwise healthy, the vet tech took her in back for a blood draw and a urine sample. "Good luck with that," I said. "Urine from Hazel is like blood from a turnip--you're not gettin' it."

Maddy was next for an exam, extracted with a certain amount of force from her soft-sided cage that made the scene look like a National Guardsman grabbing Elian Gonzales out of a closet. Miraculously, she lost over half a pound to make her 11.8 lbs, a weight she hasn't seen since she was only a couple of years old. Oddly enough, it was this year that I decided to start feeding her a little bit more at dinner each night. It occurred to me that my cat had been on a diet for four years, and if you only live 15 or 16 years, that's a mighty long time to be on a diet. She complains less now, and she's even lost a little. Good news all around. Blood and urine tests weren't needed, since she had some done in August when she came in limping and was prescribed Cosequin, which is glucosamine for cats and dogs.

The vet tech returned with Hazel. "You were right; no urine out of this one," she said. The vet then gave me some non-absorbent pellets for "litter" and a vial and asked that I lock Hazel in a room with some water and a small "litter pan" of the pellets and get a sample for them. Kidneys are often what kills a cat, especially in Maddy and Hazel's age range, and it was a good idea to have a test done. So, we have to lock Hazel in our bathroom tomorrow until she whizzes in a pie pan.

Good luck with that.