A Colorpoint Shorthair needs 3 clocks, and the one owners skip is the eye: 1 DNA swab for the rdAc variant any time after 4 weeks, a dilated retinal exam at 12 months and every 12 months after, and a monthly 2-minute dark-room test at home. Add the echo from 12 months and a chest film the first time the cat coughs, and the program is complete. The order matters. Retinal degeneration here runs early and quietly, and a cat that is already bumping walls has lost most of the retina it will never get back.
Blindness in this line starts in the dark
Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) kills photoreceptors from the periphery inward, so the first loss is night vision and the last is the central bright-light picture. A cat compensates with whiskers, memory, and furniture that never moves, which is why owners report nothing until 80 percent of the retina is gone. In the rdAc form the course runs in months: many affected cats are functionally blind between 2 and 5 years. There is no treatment and no reversal. Screening buys a name for what is happening and a house that stops rearranging the furniture.
1 swab, and what 2 copies mean
The rdAc test is a cheek swab, 80 to 200 dollars, results in 10 to 21 days, and it can be run from 4 weeks of age. Two copies means the cat is expected to develop PRA; 1 copy means carrier, with normal vision; 0 copies means clear. Carriers matter only for breeding. A clear result does not cover other retinal genes, so the eye exam stays on the calendar even with a clean swab. Buy the test once and keep the certificate: a second lab will charge the same 80 to 200 for the same answer.
The 10-minute exam that finds it earlier
A veterinarian dilates both pupils with tropicamide, waits 20 to 30 minutes, and looks at the tapetum with an indirect lens. Early changes are a duller reflection, narrowed retinal vessels, and a pale disc; late changes are obvious to anyone. Cost 40 to 90 dollars as part of a visit. If the picture is equivocal, an electroretinogram under sedation, 400 to 800 dollars, measures electrical response before the retina looks abnormal. Breeding cats: examine at 12 months and again before each litter, not once in a lifetime.
At home: 4 tests that cost nothing
- Drop a crumpled paper ball in a dim hallway with the lights off; a cat with early PRA walks past it.
- Watch the pupils in a bright room; pupils that stay wide at 40 lux of daylight suggest a retina that cannot register light.
- Move 1 chair 30 cm and see whether the cat bumps it in the first 48 hours.
- Listen for night yowling; a cat that cannot see in the dark calls more after lights out.
Breathing: asthma or heart, and the 3-test split
Coughing in this line is usually blamed on a hairball, and hairballs do not produce a 20-second crouched cough with the neck extended. Feline asthma is reported more often in Siamese-related cats; no published rate exists, so evidence is limited. It shares the symptom that matters most with heart disease: fast breathing at rest. The split takes 3 tests. A chest film at 120 to 300 dollars shows the tram-line bronchi of asthma and the big left atrium of heart disease. An echo at 220 to 450 dollars settles the heart. A bronchial wash, 400 to 900 dollars, is the tiebreaker when the film is clean and the cough continues past 3 weeks. Treating asthma with a steroid before the heart is measured is the mistake to avoid: steroids worsen fluid retention in a failing heart. Once asthma is confirmed, the film repeats every 12 months, and urinalysis joins at 12 months, every 12, at 40 to 90 dollars; specific gravity 1.035 to 1.060 is the number to watch.
Inhaler math
A metered-dose inhaler with a cat spacer is the standard route: 1 puff twice daily, 10 to 12 breaths per puff, face wiped after each dose. Fluticasone is the inhaled steroid class, by veterinary prescription only. Most cats need 2 to 4 weeks before cough frequency drops, and a cat still coughing daily at week 4 needs the dose reviewed, not a second drug. Oral prednisolone, by prescription, bridges the first 14 to 28 days. A spacer costs 40 to 90 dollars, 1 inhaler 60 to 140.
4 signals, and the hour table
Count breathing while the cat sleeps, over 30 seconds, then double it. Under 30 is normal, above 40 is a same-day problem. Four signals earn a same-week call: a cough over 20 seconds, a resting rate above 30 on 3 nights running, a pupil that no longer narrows in daylight, and a cat that stops jumping on the bed it used for 2 years.
| Signal | Window (hours) | Action | Cost (USD) | Cost (CNY) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open-mouth breathing, grey tongue | 0 | Emergency room now | 300 to 900 | 2,160 to 6,480 |
| Sleeping rate above 40 per minute | 1 | Call, arrive within the hour | 150 to 400 | 1,080 to 2,880 |
| Cough running past 60 seconds | 2 | Same-day exam and oxygen | 200 to 500 | 1,440 to 3,600 |
| Pupils stay wide in daylight | 48 | Book an eye exam this week | 40 to 90 | 290 to 650 |
| Bumping walls, no night vision | 24 | Same-day eye exam | 90 to 180 | 650 to 1,300 |
| Resting rate 30 to 40, 2 nights running | 12 | Call within 12 hours | 120 to 300 | 860 to 2,160 |
Two rows carry a 0-hour window. Open-mouth breathing and a blue or grey tongue are emergencies in any cat, and in this breed they can be asthma, heart failure, or both at once.
The year in dollars
Annual exam with bloodwork 180 to 350; echo 220 to 450; eye exam 40 to 90 when bundled, 90 to 180 alone; urinalysis 40 to 90; DNA 80 to 200 once. A calm year is 480 to 900 dollars. An asthma year adds a chest film at 120 to 300, a spacer at 40 to 90, and 2 to 4 inhalers at 60 to 140 each, so 700 to 1,400. Insurance that covers a chronic inhaler usually runs 30 to 55 dollars a month for this breed, and asthma diagnosed before the policy starts is typically excluded for 12 months or permanently.
5 steps this month
- Order the rdAc swab and book the 12-month eye exam in the same call.
- Do the dark-hallway test tonight and write down what happened.
- Count sleeping breaths 3 nights running; the highest number is the baseline.
- Photograph the cat's eyes in daylight once a month; pupil size is easy to compare in pictures.
- If the cat coughs, film it on a phone for 20 seconds; that clip is worth more than a description in the exam room. The cardiac protocol is detailed in the Oriental Shorthair screen and the weight baseline in the American Shorthair screen.
A cat on an inhaler that improves for 6 weeks and then worsens usually has a trigger back in the house, not a drug that failed: scent diffusers, dusty litter, smoke. The breed quiz covers the rest of the family tree.
Terms mentioned in this article
Frequently asked
Can a DNA test tell me whether my cat will go blind?
The rdAc cheek swab, 80 to 200 dollars with results in 10 to 21 days, detects the variant behind the early-onset retinal degeneration seen in Siamese-related lines. Two copies means the cat is expected to develop it, 1 copy means a carrier with normal vision, and 0 copies is clear. A clear result does not cover other retinal genes, so the dilated eye exam at 12 months and every 12 months after stays on the calendar.
How is asthma separated from heart disease in this breed?
Three tests in order. A chest film at 120 to 300 dollars shows both the tram-line bronchi of asthma and an enlarged left atrium. An echo at 220 to 450 dollars settles the heart. A bronchial wash at 400 to 900 dollars is the tiebreaker when the film is clean and the cough lasts past 3 weeks. Never start a steroid before the heart is measured, because steroids worsen fluid retention in a failing heart.
What does an inhaler cost and how is it given?
A spacer made for cats costs 40 to 90 dollars and 1 inhaler 60 to 140, with most cats on 1 puff twice daily for life. Give 1 puff into the chamber, hold the mask on for 10 to 12 breaths, then wipe the face with a damp cloth. Fluticasone is the inhaled steroid class, by veterinary prescription only, and most cats need 2 to 4 weeks before cough frequency drops.