Mekong Bobtails need a cough workup before a heart workup, a dental exam every 6 months from 12 months of age, and a yearly echocardiogram from 12 months. Published health data for the breed is close to absent, so the schedule below is built from what feline medicine does for asthma, HCM and periodontitis in general; evidence is limited and no breed-specific DNA test exists for any of the three.
Why the airway comes first
A cat that coughs 3 or 4 times a week for 2 months is usually treated for hairballs, and by the time someone takes a radiograph the bronchial pattern is established. Asthma and HCM also imitate each other: both produce a cough, both produce exercise intolerance, and both can show a resting respiratory rate between 30 and 40. The order matters because a steroid trial, by vet prescription, given to a cat with undiagnosed heart failure can push it into pulmonary edema within 24 to 48 hours. Do the imaging and the echo before the first injection, not after the second relapse.
Asthma: what to image and when
Two-view thoracic radiographs at the first cough, not after 3 months of syrup. A bronchial or peribronchial pattern supports asthma but does not confirm it, and a normal film does not exclude it, since airway disease can run without visible change; one clean radiograph at 12 months does not close the file. Bronchoalveolar lavage is the confirmatory step and is worth doing once if the cough persists past 6 weeks or if the cat is under 3 years old. Rule out heartworm, lungworm and foreign body with the same panel; a 4 kg cat with a 2 cm grass blade in the trachea looks exactly like asthma until it is scoped.
Control is an inhaled corticosteroid through a spacer, with a bronchodilator as a rescue, both by vet prescription, with no dose listed here.
Heart: echo at 12 months, then every 12
Baseline echocardiogram at 12 to 18 months, then every 12 months to age 8, then every 6 to 9 months. Wall thickness at end-diastole of 6.0 mm or more supports HCM; 5.0 to 5.9 mm is equivocal and earns a recheck in 6 months rather than a diagnosis. Ask for a left atrial to aortic root ratio on the report; a value above 1.5 changes the anesthesia plan for the next dental. A grade 2 of 6 murmur at the left sternal border or a gallop sound shortens the interval to 6 months. Blood pressure at each yearly visit: 160 mmHg systolic or higher on 2 of 3 readings needs treatment, and the kidney damage that follows is silent for a year or more.
Mouth: periodontitis is the early one
Gingivitis in this line often shows up between 12 and 24 months, well before the calculus that owners notice at 5 years. Check the upper fourth premolar and the lower canine every 14 days; a 1 mm red margin or bleeding on gentle pressure with a cotton bud is stage 1 disease and the cheapest point to intervene. Dental exam every 6 months from 12 months, full-mouth radiographs every 24 months from age 3, and a cleaning under anesthesia when pocket depth passes 3 mm. Brushing every 48 hours with a 2 cm soft brush does more than any chew; a dental sealant applied twice a year at the clinic is an add-on.
Before any anesthesia, in this order
Every dental is cosmetic on the outside and a cardiovascular stress test on the inside. Blood panel 14 days ahead: creatinine, BUN, ALT, glucose, PCV and total protein; a cat with creatinine above 2.0 mg/dL gets fluids before the procedure, not after. Blood pressure on the day, since a systolic reading over 160 mmHg changes the drug protocol. An echo within 6 months if a murmur was ever heard. Withhold food 6 to 8 hours and water 2 hours, no longer: 12 hours of fasting in a 4 kg cat adds dehydration without making the mouth safer. Ask for warm-air support and a 20 minute recovery watch, because a temperature under 36.5 °C slows waking and turns a 40 minute visit into a 2 hour one.
Four signals to score at home
- Cough count. Log every episode for 7 days: 1 to 2 a week is a note, 2 or more a day for 3 days is a call, and a cough that ends in a gag or a swallow is not a hairball.
- Respiratory rate asleep. Under 30 per minute; 30 to 40 twice in a row means a same-week visit; 40 or more at rest means today.
- Gum line. A 1 mm red band, bleeding when brushed, or breath that changed inside 14 days.
- Play and perch. Quitting a jump the cat made last week, or breathing with elbows out while sitting still.
Hour-level thresholds
| Sign | Trigger value | Act within | Setting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open-mouth breathing at rest | Any duration | 0 hours | Emergency |
| Respiratory rate asleep | 40 or more per minute | 1 to 2 hours | Emergency |
| Respiratory rate asleep | 30 to 39, 2 readings | 48 hours | Clinic |
| Cough episodes | 2 or more a day for 3 days | 72 hours | Clinic |
| Gum bleeding or 1 mm redness | Any | 7 days | Dental exam |
| Gums blue or grey | Any | 0 hours | Emergency |
Costs, USD and CNY
| Item | USD | CNY | Interval |
|---|---|---|---|
| Echocardiogram with report | 250 to 450 | 1800 to 3250 | 12 months |
| Thoracic radiographs, 2 views | 120 to 220 | 870 to 1580 | As needed |
| Bronchoalveolar lavage | 200 to 450 | 1450 to 3250 | Once |
| Dental cleaning with radiographs | 350 to 700 | 2500 to 5050 | 6 to 12 months |
| Inhaler, spacer and mask | 60 to 140 | 430 to 1000 | 3 months |
| Urinalysis, blood panel | 125 to 250 | 900 to 1800 | 12 months |
Figures are 2026 clinic ranges in the US and Chinese tier-1 cities, converted at 7.2 CNY per USD; a CT scan, if the cough does not resolve, adds 400 to 900 USD and is rarely the first step.
Five steps for this month
- Start a 7 day cough diary with time, duration and what ended the episode.
- Count the sleeping respiratory rate on 3 separate nights and write the numbers down.
- Photograph both upper arcades at 2x zoom; repeat in 14 days.
- Book the echo if the cat is past 12 months and has never had one.
- Ask for the radiograph and the echo in the same visit when a cough starts, so a steroid is not given blind.
The airway-first sequence is the same one used for the Japanese Bobtail; for a breed with a documented heart line, compare the Turkish Van schedule. If you have not settled on a breed, the breed quiz filters on activity level before appearance.
Terms mentioned in this article
Frequently asked
My cat coughs a few times a week. Is that asthma or a hairball?
A hairball ends with a retch and a tube of hair; asthma ends with a gag, a swallow, or nothing at all, and it repeats on the same days. Log every episode for 7 days, then ask for two-view radiographs: 2 or more episodes a day for 3 days, a resting rate of 40 or more, or any open-mouth breathing means the workup moves to this week rather than next month.
Can the vet treat the cough with steroids before the heart scan?
Not safely. A steroid given to a cat with undiagnosed heart failure can tip it into pulmonary edema within 24 to 48 hours, and asthma and HCM share the same cough and the same 30 to 40 per minute resting rate. Ask for the radiograph and the echocardiogram in the same visit; the echo costs 250 to 450 USD and the delay costs 1 to 2 days.
How often does a Mekong Bobtail really need a dental cleaning?
Plan on an exam every 6 months from 12 months of age, full-mouth radiographs every 24 months from age 3, and a cleaning under anesthesia once any pocket passes 3 mm. Gingivitis often appears between 12 and 24 months, so brushing every 48 hours with a 2 cm brush from the first year buys years before the first extraction.