An Oriental Longhair screen follows 3 organs that fail quietly: liver, heart, retina. Bloodwork and a urinalysis start at 12 months and repeat every 6 to 12 months, the echo starts at 12 months and repeats every 12, and a retinal exam starts at 12 months with an electroretinogram if the fundus looks odd. Every one of these problems is cheap to track and expensive to discover late.
The liver line: amyloidosis has no simple test
Hepatic amyloidosis is a protein that deposits between liver cells until the organ turns brittle and, in the worst case, ruptures. Oriental and Siamese lines carry the familial form, and there is no ante-mortem test that rules it out short of a biopsy. So the plan is surveillance, not screening: a chemistry panel with albumin, ALP, ALT and bilirubin every 6 to 12 months from 12 months, plus a urine protein to creatinine ratio each time.
Four numbers carry the signal. Albumin below 2.5 g/dL, ALP above 100 U/L in a young cat, a UPC above 0.4, and bilirubin above 0.5 mg/dL each earn a recheck in 30 days and a liver ultrasound. Ultrasound reports liver size, edge shape and echogenicity; a small, irregular, hyperechoic liver with ascites is the picture that sends a cat to a specialist. Biopsy is the only confirmation, and it carries a bleeding risk in exactly the cats who need it.
Measure the abdomen monthly with a soft tape at the level of the last rib. A 1 cm gain in 30 days, with a cat that still eats, is ascites until proven otherwise, and it earns an ultrasound inside 7 days rather than a diet change.
The heart line: echo from 12 months
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the other silent one. No HCM variant is established for this breed, so a commercial panel clears 2 markers at best and the echo does the work. Book the first at 12 months, then every 12 months, then every 6 months past age 8. Ask for diastolic wall thickness, left atrium to aorta ratio and systolic anterior motion in the report: under 5 mm is normal, 5 to 5.9 mm is a grey zone, 6 mm or more meets the standard definition, and a ratio above 1.7 means the plan changes inside 7 days.
Thoracic radiographs at the same visit give a heart silhouette to compare later. A vertebral heart score above 9.3 on a lateral film is the usual flag for enlargement, and it costs 90 to 180 dollars on top of the echo.
Blood pressure belongs in this line too, because a systolic reading above 160 mmHg can bleed the retina and mimic a retinal degeneration. Ask for a Doppler or oscillometric reading at every annual visit from age 5, and at every visit once kidney values move.
The eye line: retina, before the pupils stay wide
Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) ends in a blind cat, and the owner usually notices at night, months after the retina started changing. The test is a dilated fundic exam, 5 minutes, plus an electroretinogram (ERG) when the exam is equivocal: a flash stimulus, 3 electrodes, a waveform in 20 to 40 minutes, 200 to 400 dollars. No breed-specific DNA test is in wide use for this line, so the exam is the record.
Book the first retinal exam at 12 months, then every 12 months. A cat that hesitates at a closed door, or walks with whiskers forward, is compensating, and that cat needs the ERG now rather than a new night light.
Screening schedule by age
| Age | Bloodwork and urine | Echo | Retinal exam | Chest X-ray |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 months | 1, baseline | 1, baseline | 1, baseline | 1, baseline |
| 18 months | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 to 6 years | 2 per 12 months | 1 per 12 months | 1 per 12 months | if murmur |
| 7 to 8 years | 2 per 12 months | 1 per 12 months | 1 per 12 months | 1 per 12 months |
| 9 years and up | 3 per 12 months | 1 per 6 months | 1 per 12 months | 1 per 12 months |
A blind cat maps a room in 3 to 5 days and then hides the deficit, so test it once a month: move 1 chair 20 cm and watch the path the cat takes. A cat that walks the old line without hesitating is not necessarily sighted; a cat that stops dead at the moved chair is telling you something.
4 signals to log at home
Appetite in grams and weight in grams, weekly, because a cat with a failing liver loses 5 percent before it looks thin. Water intake in milliliters per kilogram per day: 40 to 60 is ordinary, and 3 days above 80 with larger litter clumps points at liver or kidney. Sleeping respiratory rate, 30 seconds doubled, 3 times a week: 30 or under is normal. Night navigation: count the stumbles after lights out, and photograph the eyes monthly, because a slightly reflective tapetum at 8 months is a normal photo and at 30 months may not be.
Add a monthly gum and skin check. Yellow tint on the sclera or the inside of the pinna is bilirubin, and it appears before the cat acts sick.
When to call, by the hour
| Sign | Threshold | Call within | First move |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collapse with pale gums | 1 episode, abdomen tight | 0, now | treat as internal bleeding, carrier flat |
| Open-mouth breathing at rest | any episode over 60 seconds | 0, now | cool car, no scruffing, minimal handling |
| Sleeping respiratory rate | 40 or more twice in 24 hours | 2 hours | 30 second video, then drive in |
| Yellow sclera or pinna | any, even a faint tint | 12 hours | no food change, book bloodwork |
| No food for 24 hours | 1 missed day | 6 hours | note urine color and last stool |
| Bumping into furniture | 2 days in a row | 48 hours | book fundic exam plus ERG |
What a year costs
| Item | USD | CNY |
|---|---|---|
| Chemistry panel with albumin and bilirubin | 80 to 180 | 570 to 1,290 |
| Urinalysis with protein ratio | 60 to 120 | 430 to 860 |
| Liver ultrasound | 150 to 300 | 1,070 to 2,150 |
| Echocardiogram | 220 to 450 | 1,570 to 3,220 |
| Chest X-ray | 90 to 180 | 640 to 1,290 |
| Electroretinogram | 200 to 400 | 1,430 to 2,860 |
| First year, all 5 lines | 450 to 1,030 | 3,220 to 7,370 |
Evidence is limited: what these numbers are not
Amyloidosis and PRA in this breed are reported in case series rather than in breed-wide surveys, and no HCM variant is established, so nothing above is a risk rate. The schedule is a surveillance convention drawn from familial amyloid practice, and a vet may shorten or stretch it. Prescription items, including a diuretic, a beta blocker, a liver support supplement or a pain reliever, come by veterinary prescription only. Align visit days with a related breed file or a second longhair file to save 1 exam fee, and use the breed quiz before you buy.
Five steps for this month
- Book the 12 month bloodwork, urine, echo and retinal exam as 1 visit.
- Ask for albumin, ALP, ALT, bilirubin and UPC as named values, not a summary.
- Start a weekly weight log in grams, not a monthly glance.
- Count night stumbles for 7 days and write the number down.
- Photograph the eyes and gums monthly, same light, same phone.
Terms mentioned in this article
Frequently asked
Is there a test that rules out hepatic amyloidosis?
No. Biopsy is the only confirmation, and it carries a bleeding risk in the cats who need it most. The practical plan is surveillance: albumin, ALP, ALT, bilirubin and a urine protein to creatinine ratio every 6 to 12 months, with an ultrasound when any value crosses its line.
How do I catch retinal degeneration early?
Watch night behavior rather than day behavior, and test the room map once a month by moving a chair 20 cm. A dilated fundic exam at 12 months and yearly after that is the record, and an electroretinogram at 200 to 400 dollars settles an equivocal exam.
How often should the bloodwork repeat?
Twice a year from age 2, three times a year past 9, and every 6 to 12 months from 12 months of age. Ask for named values rather than a summary, because albumin at 2.6 g/dL and ALP at 95 U/L are the numbers that change the plan 6 months before a cat looks sick.