A black panther, the queen of cats, with sparks of fire in her yellow eyes. An ordinary cat, you might say, but of the most exquisite blood. Today we’ll find a black cat in a dark room and introduce you to the Bombay cat breed.
Breed History
If the Bombay had really appeared in Bombay, all 33 war elephants would have danced a ceremonial dance in her honor. But the Bombay cat has practically nothing to do with India. She comes from the USA!
In the 1950s, American breeder Nikki Horner dreamed of creating a cat breed that looked like the black leopards of India. It took her about 20 years of breeding experiments, plus the genes of black American Shorthairs and Burmese cats. For a long time, the results didn’t satisfy the cat associations, and the Bombay went unrecognized. Nikki Horner grew tired of fighting the opposition and stopped working with the breed. The CFA finally granted the Bombay championship status in 1976.
The Bombay banner was then taken up by breeders Herb and Suzanne Zwecker. One of their litters produced a cat named Luv It Black, who became a feline sensation and was named CFA’s second-best cat in 1985.
Luv It Black changed public opinion, and little by little Bombay cats took an ever more solid place on the feline Olympus. Still, you couldn’t call the breed numerous: at one point, only 97 Bombay cats were registered with the CFA in a year!
Bombay Personality and Traits at a Glance
| Affection for family | ★★★★☆ |
| Shedding | ★★☆☆☆ |
| Health | ★★★★☆ |
| Playfulness | ★★★★☆ |
| Vocality | ★★★☆☆ |
| Good with kids | ★★★★☆ |
| Friendliness toward strangers | ★★★★☆ |
| Ease of grooming | ★★★★☆ |
| Gets along with other pets | ★★★★☆ |
| Intelligence | ★★★★☆ |
Bombay Cat Breed Overview
A mini panther with a predator’s graceful movements and a gaze full of universal wisdom: that’s what Bombay cats look like. Their one-of-a-kind features win you over with mystery and uniqueness. There are differences in the coat and in the shape of the head… But the breed standard describes everything in detail.
- The Bombay’s head is round and medium-sized. The face is rather broad. In profile, every Bombay without exception has a noticeable moderate stop. It shouldn’t give the cat a haughty expression. A stop that turns into a sharp break is also a fault. The tip of the nose curves slightly down:
- the ears are medium-sized, set wide apart, high, and alert. They’re rounded at the tips and tilt slightly forward;
- the eyes are very large and very expressive! They’re set fairly wide apart. The preferred eye color is “new penny copper,” a honey-amber shade, but it’s very hard to achieve, so the breed standard allows gold too.
- The Bombay’s body is medium-sized and slightly long. These kittens are bodybuilders! The muscles of Bombay cats are impressive.
- the legs are medium length and fairly slim. The paws are round. The front paws have five toes and the hind paws have four. The wrong number of toes isn’t allowed.
- the tail is in proportion to the body, solid, strong, and straight. A kinked tail or a tail out of proportion to the body are disqualifying traits.
For all their muscle, Bombays don’t grow into giants. About 10–12 inches at the shoulder is the average size.
Adults weigh about 6.5 to 13 lb.
- Coat and color
All Bombays have a short coat that lies close to the body and shines with a patent-leather gleam. The coat is black only! Kittens may have faint markings at birth. A Bombay kitten doesn’t meet every standard right away.
Blackness is literally the Bombay’s principle! In this mini panther, the paw pads and the nose leather must be black too: this cat is a fashionista in a little black Chanel dress!
Personality
Bombay kittens have black whiskers, paws, and tails, but a heart of gold! You could start describing their personality with how wonderfully Bombays sing their Bombay cat songs! Their voices are unusually pleasant. You couldn’t call Bombays especially talkative, but once one gets going, the owner is in for a real Panchatantra (a collection of Indian fables).
A Bombay cat will climb into your lap and, looking into your eyes, tell you something deeply personal. Although maybe it’s just an excuse to climb into your lap? After all, Bombay cats adore their owner’s lap! This isn’t the kind of cat that wriggles away when you pet and cuddle her; on the contrary, a Bombay loves it and will offer her black side for another round of affection.
This black beauty doesn’t like being alone, so she’s unlikely to miss a chance to show off in a big group. She won’t let guests and small children take liberties, but she won’t use her paws or claws either; she’ll just retreat to a safe distance.
Owners are often thrilled with their Bombay cats, since Bombays get along great with dogs and with parakeets (too bad the parakeets don’t know that). The outdoors doesn’t particularly attract Bombay kittens; they love their cozy home and don’t long for wild freedom. At home, they’re active and playful, not especially trainable, but balanced and calm. All in all, great companions with a great personality!
Health
The Bombay isn’t a natural breed, and like any human-made breed, it has a number of genetic diseases. From its American Shorthair great-great-grandfather, it inherited a heart disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. How can you tell if your cat has it? In the early stages, cats show no signs at all. But if your pet suddenly faints, starts sleeping much more than usual, or has shortness of breath or rapid breathing, see your vet!
Besides heart problems, Bombay cats can have skull deformities, gum disease, and eye problems. Experienced owners also recommend protecting Bombays from drafts, because they catch colds easily.
None of this is a reason to panic, but it is a reason to care for your pet sensibly. Just see your vet regularly.
A Bombay lives 15–20 years.
Care and Living Conditions
Put a rubber brush on your Bombay beauty’s vanity table. Experts believe a rubber brush is the easiest and best way to keep a Bombay’s coat beautiful.
The first shedding in this breed starts at about one year of age. During this time, don’t be lazy: brush out all the brownish fluff. After a while, the cat will grow a gorgeous, shimmering black coat.
Frequent baths with special products made to care for this obsidian beauty are recommended, by the way.
Cats of this breed have heavy tearing. Pet stores and vet clinics sell products for cleaning cats’ eyes; if you don’t have any on hand, you can use a cotton pad moistened with sterile saline.
Frequent walks will only make a Bombay nervous, and there’s no need for them. The Bombay temperament doesn’t need an outlet; these cats feel comfortable at home. And though they tend toward obesity, it’s better to fight that with a balanced diet rather than exercise.
Feeding
IMPORTANT! Kittens of this breed are extremely gluttonous. A big appetite could be called their calling card. Bombays love to eat, so owners need to make sure they don’t overeat.
Commercial dry and canned foods are already balanced, but if you prefer regular food, don’t forget to give your Bombay cooked grains (buckwheat, oatmeal, wheat) and the occasional egg yolk (a source of vitamin E, which is important for cats), and so on. The main thing is that the “and so on” makes up 20% of the menu, with 80% coming from meat.
Photos
There’s a theory that the Bombay’s popularity grew along with the trend for minimalist interior design. A sleek panther looks stunning against a white interior, both in real life and in photos!
Experienced breeders know that Bombay cats develop slowly, so they don’t offer kittens for sale younger than 16 weeks. But even at that age, it’s hard to tell what the tiny ball of fur will grow into. Its coat is still brownish, maybe with faint markings, and its eye color is pale, so you can only guess whether it will turn gold or copper. That’s why it’s best to welcome a Bombay into your family when it’s a bit older.
How Much Does a Bombay Cat Cost?
In the US, a pet-quality Bombay kitten from a reputable breeder usually costs about $800–$2,000, and show-quality lines can cost $2,500 or more. Many catteries offer Bombays today, often alongside Burmese. The main thing is that the price matches the quality (looks and temperament). Be careful: some sellers pass off ordinary black cats as Bombays, so ask for registration papers.
Choose a Bombay Cattery
- CFA (Cat Fanciers’ Association) Find a Breeder – https://find-a-breeder.cfa.org/;
- TICA (The International Cat Association) breeder listings – https://tica.org/find-a-cat/find-a-cat-breeder-listings/;
- Evita (CFA and TICA; Burmese and Bombays).
The Bombay cat: a mystical beauty!
