I finally got Nanki-Poo to the vet about the lump on his jaw. He switched
routines today and spent the morning inside, going out about noon. I had
hopes of his coming back in before the 2:00 appointment time, but he wasn't
in by 1:30, and then the gardener arrived. I figured he'd lay low at the
neighbors' until the gardener left, so I called and cancelled the
appointment, asking if I could bring him in when I found him and wait for an
opening. At 2:00, while the gardener was working, he came in. I called the
vet's office and the receptionist said the vet had just started an
ultrasound, so it would be quite a wait. I decided to shut him in my bedroom
for half an hour, and then take him. We had to wait quite a while, but she
gave him a thorough examination when we did see her.

She said it's a lymph node, and the swelling could be caused by a number of
things, including infection or cancer. She also said his thyroid is enlarged
and he has some gingivitis. She took him in the back room and took blood and
urine, and aspirated the lymph node. She gave him a dose of worming
medication, with another dose to be given in two weeks. She also gave me an
antibiotic to give him twice a day. She said he was dehydrated so she also
gave him subcutaneous fluid. Cha-ching!

I'll post again when I get the results of the tests.