Three lines cover a Javanese: an echocardiogram for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a liver and urine panel that watches for hepatic amyloidosis, and a dilated fundus exam for progressive retinal atrophy (PRA). Start the heart and urine lines at 12 months, check the retina at 8 to 10 weeks, and repeat the eye exam every 12 months from age 3. Breed-specific evidence is limited, so treat each interval as a default your cardiologist can shorten, not as a guarantee.
Screen schedule: 5 tests across 5 age bands
The columns do not move together, which is why a table beats a list. Echo and urine run annually from 12 months, the DNA panel runs once, X-ray follows the murmur, and the eye exam follows the retina.
| Age | Echo | HCM DNA | Chest X-ray | Urine + UPC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 to 10 weeks | 0 | 1, optional | 0 | 0 |
| 12 months | 1 | 0, already run | 1, baseline | 1, baseline |
| 24 months | 1 | 0 | if murmur grade 2 of 6 | 1 |
| 2 to 7 years | 1 per 12 months | 0 | 1 per 24 months | 1 per 12 months |
| 8 years and up | 1 per 6 to 12 months | 0 | 1 per 12 months | 1 per 6 months |
Read that as 3 fixed points and 2 recurring ones: 12 months for the first echo, 24 months for the second, 1 DNA panel for life, then an echo every 12 months and a urine protein-to-creatinine ratio (UPC) at every one of those visits.
Heart: the echo and 3 numbers
HCM thickens the left ventricular wall with no pressure load to explain it. A Javanese is screened, never cleared, because 1 normal scan at 12 months predicts little. Ask for 3 numbers in the written report. Wall thickness in diastole: under 5 mm is normal, 5 to 5.9 mm is a grey zone with a recheck in 6 months, and 6 mm or more meets the standard definition. Left atrium to aorta ratio: 1.5 or below is fine, 1.5 to 1.7 is equivocal, and above 1.7 means the atrium is dilating, which changes the plan within 7 days. Systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve (SAM) points to a different drug class and often a louder murmur.
The DNA panel is weaker than owners expect. Commercial tests cover the Maine Coon variant (MYBPC3 A31P) and the Ragdoll variant (MYBPC3 R820W). No Javanese-specific variant has been established, so the report returns those 2 markers plus variants of unknown significance. Run it once, at the 12 month visit, for 60 to 200 dollars and 10 to 21 days of waiting. A positive supports an echo every 12 months for life; a negative does not clear the cat. Two plans worth reading next: the Turkish Van screen and the breed quiz.
Add a chest X-ray when a murmur reaches grade 2 of 6. Read the vertebral heart score: 7.5 is typical for a cat, and above 8.0 raises suspicion of enlargement. NT-proBNP, 50 to 120 dollars, supports the echo but never replaces it.
Liver: amyloidosis has no clean test
Hepatic amyloidosis means protein deposits inside the liver, and the organ turns fragile rather than simply inflamed. No blood test confirms it in a living cat. The workup is indirect: a liver panel (ALT, ALP, bile acids), a coagulation panel (PT and PTT), abdominal ultrasound for liver size, texture and free fluid, and a UPC, because protein loss often shows up before jaundice does. Biopsy is the only confirmation, and in a fragile liver it carries a bleeding risk many clinicians decline to take.
Frequency: liver panel and abdominal ultrasound every 12 months from 12 months, every 6 months after age 7, and within 72 hours of any 10 percent weight loss. Run 1 baseline coagulation panel at the 12 month visit so an emergency has something to compare against.
Eyes: PRA and the 8 week exam
PRA is a slow retinal degeneration that starts in dim light. First signs are a wide pupil in a bright room, eyeshine that looks too bright, and a cat that hesitates on the stairs after dusk. A dilated fundus exam takes 15 to 20 minutes with tropicamide and costs 60 to 140 dollars; book the first at 8 to 10 weeks, then every 12 months from age 3. Electroretinography (ERG) catches loss before the retina looks abnormal, costs 150 to 350 dollars at a specialty clinic, and is worth 1 run if a sibling is affected. Panels cover rdAc in Abyssinians and PRA-b in Bengals; no validated Javanese marker exists, so the exam is the test.
The 4 signals to log at home
Resting respiratory rate is the best home number for heart failure. Count chest movements for 30 seconds while the cat sleeps, multiply by 2, write it down. Under 30 breaths a minute is normal, 30 to 39 repeated on 2 separate days earns a call, and 40 or more at rest is an emergency. The other 3: food intake in grams rather than scoops, weight on the same scale at the same hour, and a 10 second note on night behaviour, because a cat that stops jumping onto the bed at dusk is showing you the retina, not laziness.
When to call, by the hour
Grade the sign, not the mood. This table turns an observation into a deadline.
| Sign | Threshold | Call within | First move |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleeping respiratory rate | 40 or more, or 30 to 39 twice in 24 hours | 2 hours | 30 second video, then drive in |
| Open-mouth breathing at rest | any episode past 60 seconds | 0, now | carrier, no scruffing, cool car |
| Hind legs weak, pads cold | any episode, 1 is enough | 1 hour | treat as a clot until cleared |
| Yellow gums or yellow sclera | any colour change | 6 hours | no food change, bring urine sample |
| Belly swelling plus poor appetite | 2 cm girth in 30 days | 12 hours | weigh, measure girth, call |
| Bumping into furniture after dusk | 2 episodes in 7 days | 7 days | book a dilated fundus exam |
What the first 2 years cost
Prices below are US clinic ranges and mainland China ranges, converted at roughly 7.2 CNY per dollar. Specialty centers run at the top of each band.
| Item | USD | CNY |
|---|---|---|
| Echocardiogram | 220 to 450 | 1,600 to 3,300 |
| HCM DNA panel, once | 60 to 200 | 430 to 1,450 |
| Chest X-ray | 90 to 180 | 650 to 1,300 |
| Urine plus UPC | 45 to 120 | 320 to 870 |
| Liver panel plus abdominal ultrasound | 180 to 420 | 1,300 to 3,000 |
| Dilated eye exam | 60 to 140 | 430 to 1,000 |
| Year 1 total, all 6 | 655 to 1,510 | 4,700 to 10,900 |
Year 2 is lighter only if nothing moves: 1 echo, 1 urine, 1 liver panel lands near 445 to 990 dollars. Insurance that excludes breed-linked screening is common, so read the exclusion list before the first scan, not after a claim is denied. Prescription items, including a beta blocker or a diuretic if HCM is confirmed, come only from a veterinarian who has seen the echo.
Five steps for this month
- Book the 12 month echo and ask for wall thickness, LA/Ao and SAM in writing.
- Add the HCM panel to that same visit; do not repeat it later.
- Photograph the retina at 8 to 10 weeks, or at the next visit if the kitten is older.
- Start a urine log: UPC, specific gravity, date, 3 columns, 1 line each visit.
- Count the sleeping respiratory rate twice this week and keep both numbers.
Terms mentioned in this article
Frequently asked
How often should a Javanese have an echocardiogram?
A first scan at 12 months, a second at 24 months, then every 12 months through adult life and every 6 to 12 months after age 8. If the wall measures 5 to 5.9 mm, the recheck moves to 6 months, and a positive HCM panel keeps the cat on a 12 month rhythm for life.
Can a blood test diagnose hepatic amyloidosis in a cat?
No blood test confirms it while the cat is alive. The practical workup is a liver panel, a coagulation panel, an abdominal ultrasound and a urine protein-to-creatinine ratio, repeated every 12 months and within 72 hours of a 10 percent weight loss. Biopsy is the only confirmation and carries a bleeding risk in a fragile liver.
What is the earliest sign of progressive retinal atrophy at home?
Hesitation in dim light, usually after dusk: the cat stops jumping onto the bed, misjudges a chair leg, or keeps a wide pupil in a bright room. Book a dilated fundus exam within 7 days of 2 such episodes. A single normal exam at 8 weeks does not rule out later degeneration, so repeat it every 12 months from age 3.