Four screens carry nearly all of the Bombay's health risk, and they start at different ages: echo at 12 months then every 12, face and bite in year one, weight and glucose from 2 years, mouth every 6 months. Heart disease kills young cats; gingivitis takes years to cost a tooth.
1. The echo, from 12 months, then every 12
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a thickened left ventricle with no pressure load to explain it. Four numbers decide the next step. Maximal diastolic wall thickness: under 5.0 mm normal, 5.0 to 5.9 mm a grey zone that earns a recheck in 6 months, 6.0 mm or more the usual echocardiographic definition. Left atrium to aorta ratio (LA/Ao): 1.5 or below normal, 1.5 to 1.7 equivocal, above 1.7 a dilating atrium. Then systolic anterior motion (SAM), and any outflow gradient, where 30 mmHg changes anaesthesia planning.
Skip the DNA swab as a substitute: validated HCM tests target the Maine Coon and Ragdoll MYBPC3 variants, so a clear result says nothing about a Bombay. Use one operator where you can, since 0.5 to 1 mm of variation reads as progression. A murmur means scan early: within 4 weeks at grade 1 to 2, within 7 days at grade 3.
2. Year one: face, nostrils, tooth alignment
The Bombay craniofacial shape is shorter than a domestic shorthair's, with shallower orbits, and that shape produces 3 problems before 12 months. Tear overflow from a narrow nasolacrimal duct stains the inner corner; discharge past 14 days needs a flush. Thirty adult teeth in a shortened jaw overlap and trap plaque at the gum line. The upper incisors should sit just ahead of the lower ones, and a level bite at 7 months is a feeding problem.
At 4 months check for retained deciduous canines, which can push the adult tooth out of line for life; at 7 months count the 30 permanent teeth. Skull and dental radiographs only for a retained or displaced tooth, 90 to 160 dollars. With a murmur, add chest films: a vertebral heart score (VHS) above about 9.3 plus a large left atrium goes to echo, not to the next dental.
3. Weight and glucose: the 5% line
Score body condition 1 to 9 at every visit and put the number on a weight trend chart; 5 is the target and 7 is where the plan changes. A 5% loss in 30 days means the vet within 72 hours; a 10% gain in 90 days means re-measuring the portion. A 4.5 kg cat at 5.0 kg has gained 11% on one extra 20 g pouch.
Measure water instead of eyeballing the bowl: 45 to 60 mL per kg per day, so 200 to 270 mL at 4.5 kg. Above 45 mL/kg for 3 days, with more litter clumps, buys a urinalysis and a glucose. Cats stress-hyperglycaemise, so one 150 to 250 mg/dL reading proves little, and fructosamine separates stress from diabetes; above 300 mg/dL with heavy drinking and 4 weeks of weight loss is a same-day visit. Urine ketones are the one home strip worth keeping, because trace or more is an emergency.
4. The mouth: a 6-month clock
Plaque re-forms within 24 to 48 hours of a missed brushing, and in a shortened jaw gingivitis starts at the crowded lower incisors and the upper fourth premolar. Brush daily with a pet enzymatic paste: 3 sessions a week is the floor, 7 holds the gum line. Every Sunday look at the gum 1 mm above the upper canine; a red rim along 2 or more teeth, or bleeding under a cotton bud, is early gingivitis, and probing depth above about 1 mm means films, not toothpaste.
Book a dental check every 6 months from 12 months, and a scale and polish under anaesthesia once tartar crosses the gum line. Before any anaesthetic, ask for the heart listen and, if a murmur was ever noted, an echo. Scaling with films runs 300 to 700 dollars.
5. The screening calendar on one page
| Age | Echo per year | Urine + BP per year | Weight logs per month | Dental check (months apart) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 months | 0 | 0 | 1 | deciduous tooth check, 1 visit |
| 7 months | 0 | 0 | 1 | 30 teeth counted, bite checked |
| 12 months | 1 (baseline) | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 2 to 4 years | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 5 to 8 years | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 9 years and up | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
6. Four signals you can see at home
- Sleeping respiratory rate. Count chest rises for 30 seconds while the cat is asleep, twice a week. 30 per minute is the ceiling; one reading at 40, or 3 at 30 or more, ends the waiting.
- Water in 24 hours. Measure what you pour and what is left; above 45 mL/kg a day for 3 days is a number for the vet.
- Jump refusal. Clearing a 60 cm counter one week and hesitating at 30 cm the next, for 3 days, needs the hind limbs examined: weakness there can be a clot.
- The gum 1 mm above the upper canine. Pink and tight is fine; a red rim, breath that changed in 2 weeks, or dropped food means a mouth exam within 7 days.
7. Hour-level thresholds: when the calendar is irrelevant
| What you see | Number that matters | Act within |
|---|---|---|
| Open-mouth breathing at rest | any duration | 0 to 1 hour, emergency clinic |
| Sleeping respiratory rate | 40+ once, or 30+ three times | 2 hours if 40+, else 24 hours |
| Back legs dragging, pads cold | 1 limb or both | 30 minutes |
| No food eaten, overweight cat | 24 hours | 4 to 6 hours |
| Urine ketones on a strip | trace or more | 2 to 4 hours |
| Glucose above 300 mg/dL with heavy drinking | 300 mg/dL | 12 hours |
| Weight down 5% in 30 days | 5% | 72 hours |
| Gum bleeding on contact | 2+ teeth | 7 days |
8. What the programme costs
| Item | USD | CNY |
|---|---|---|
| Exam and history | 60 to 90 | 100 to 300 |
| Echocardiogram with report | 220 to 450 | 600 to 1,200 |
| Chest or dental radiographs | 90 to 160 | 200 to 450 |
| Urinalysis, glucose and fructosamine | 60 to 120 | 150 to 350 |
| Scale and polish with anaesthesia | 300 to 700 | 800 to 2,000 |
| Year one total | 400 to 800 | 1,000 to 2,500 |
9. Five steps for this month
- Book the 12-month echo and the urinalysis in one visit.
- Start a 30-second sleeping respiratory rate log tonight, on the fridge.
- Weigh the cat, write the number, set a monthly reminder.
- Ask for wall thickness, LA/Ao and SAM in the discharge note, then photograph it.
- Set the next dental check 6 months out, and brush from today.
Nothing here diagnoses a cat: HCM is confirmed on ultrasound, diabetes on a curve with fructosamine, gingivitis on a probe. The calendar exists so the first abnormal number arrives while something can still be done.
Terms mentioned in this article
Frequently asked
When should a Bombay first have an echocardiogram?
At 12 months, unless a murmur is heard earlier. The first scan is a baseline: wall thickness under 5 mm, LA/Ao under 1.5, and a note on SAM. Repeat every 12 months, because a single normal scan in a young cat says little about the next 3 years.
Does a clear HCM DNA test mean the heart is fine?
No. The validated feline HCM tests cover the Maine Coon and Ragdoll MYBPC3 variants, and the Bombay has no confirmed equivalent, so a clear panel is not a clearance. Only the echocardiogram measures the wall and the atrium, and it is the test that changes the plan.
How much does the yearly Bombay screen cost?
Roughly 400 to 800 dollars in the US or 1,000 to 2,500 CNY in China for the first year, covering an exam, an echo, urinalysis with glucose and a dental check. Scaling under anaesthesia is extra, at 300 to 700 dollars, and each extraction adds 40 to 120.