Poor Simcha-le

Our kitty has a heart condition. :(

We found out when we took him in for a routine teeth cleaning, and the vet found a heart murmur and told us he didn't feel comfortable putting him under anaesthesia. He referred Simcha to a specialty vet, and this past Friday he had an echocardiogram (ultrasound on his heart). And would you believe, our beautiful friendly muscular two-year old cat has a genetic disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy? It's fatal without treatment, and there is no cure, but we can keep it at bay by giving him a pill every day for the rest of his life. Jonathan and I are a little worried, but Simcha seems to be acting the same so far (except for breathing through his mouth when he gets scared, which we know isn't normal for cats). Medication-wise we can crush the pill and put in a little bit of yogurt and have him eat it that way, instead of force-feeding him. Then we give him a baby aspirin every three days to thin out blood clots. But who knows, maybe he'll look forward to the yogurt and think it's a treat. He doesn't act like he's in any pain or anything, so I'm hopeful that he'll be able to live a long, normal life. Is there such a thing as r'fua shleima for cats?

In other medical news, the weight in my front is starting to affect my back, so I've been seeing a chiropractor. The man does a combination of traditional chiro work plus some kind of magic with pressure points - after he cracks my back he'll lay his fingers on my shoulder, my head, wherever, and then BOOM I can feel my hip or pelvis relax. I think I'm in love.