- CFA requires the mature Bombay to be black to the roots, with black nose leather and black paw pads, and disqualifies nose leather or paw pads of any other color.
- CFA gives Bombay eye color as ranging from gold to copper, the greater the depth and brilliance the better, and lists green eyes as a disqualification.
- The Bombay is a deliberate hybrid, begun in 1966 when Kentucky breeder Nikki Horner crossed a black American Shorthair male with a Burmese female; CFA accepted the breed for registration in 1970 and advanced it to championship in 1976.
- CFA advises that black kittens often develop rusty or coppery coats, white or silver hairs, or a lighter ruff and undercoat, with the full adult coat arriving at 12 to 18 months.
- Solid black in cats traces to a two base pair deletion in ASIP, which masks the ticked or tabby phenotype rather than changing the breed identity of the cat.
Side by side
| Bombay | Black cat | |
|---|---|---|
| Eye color | Gold to deep copper required; green eyes are a listed disqualification. | Any color. Gold, copper, green, yellow and hazel all occur, and none of them mean anything about breed. |
| Depth of black | Black to the roots required in the mature cat. | Often paler at the roots, with a lighter ruff or undercoat, especially before the adult coat arrives. |
| Nose leather and paw pads | Black required; any other color disqualifies. | Commonly black, but brown, gray or pink also occur. |
| Rust and pale hairs | Not wanted. The standard asks for an even gleaming black coat. | Common. CFA notes black kittens often develop rusty or coppery coats before the adult coat settles at 12 to 18 months. |
| Coat texture | Fine, short, satin like, close lying, with a patent leather sheen. | Any length and texture, since black is a color and carries no coat requirement. |
| Origin | A hybrid breed begun in 1966 from a black American Shorthair and a Burmese, CFA registered in 1970 and championship in 1976. | No origin to state. Solid black arises from an ASIP deletion present throughout the general cat population. |
What to look at
- Check the eye color first, because it is the fastest disqualifier. Gold to deep copper fits the Bombay standard. Green eyes rule the breed out under CFA's own disqualification list.
- Check the nose leather and paw pads. The Bombay standard requires both to be black and disqualifies any other color. A black coated cat with pink or brown pads is not meeting the standard.
- Part the coat and look at the roots. CFA asks the mature Bombay to be black to the roots. A paler undercoat or a lighter ruff is normal in ordinary black cats and is not Bombay color.
- Look for rust or pale hairs in sunlight. Rusty or coppery tips, white or silver hairs, and a lighter ruff are common while black kittens grow into adult coat.
- Read the coat texture. The Bombay coat is described as fine, short, satin like and close lying, with a shimmering patent leather sheen.
- Read the head. CFA asks for a pleasingly rounded head with no sharp angles, a broad well developed rounded muzzle, and a moderate visible nose stop that is not a break.
Black is a color, Bombay is a recipe
The Bombay was designed rather than discovered. CFA records that Kentucky breeder Nikki Horner set out in 1966 to combine the American Shorthair and the Burmese into a cat with the look of a miniature black panther, starting from a black American Shorthair male bred to a Burmese female and using line breeding and careful outcrossing from there. CFA accepted the breed for registration in 1970 and advanced it to championship status in 1976. Because the breed exists to produce one specific version of black, its color description is unusually strict: black to the roots, black nose leather, black paw pads, gold to copper eyes, and green eyes disqualified. An ordinary black cat is under no such obligation.
Why black cats are rarely evenly black
Solid black in the cat comes from a two base pair deletion in ASIP, the agouti signaling protein gene. That deletion masks the ticked or tabby phenotype when researchers classify cats for coat-pattern studies, but it does not make a black coat into a breed marker. CFA's own guidance to breeders describes what follows in practice: black kittens often develop rusty or coppery coats, white or silver hairs, or a lighter ruff and undercoat, and the full adult coat does not arrive until 12 to 18 months. None of that is a flaw in a pet cat. It simply means an evenly gleaming black coat is a bred for result rather than the default.
What a photo can and cannot tell you
A photo covers most of this comparison, provided the light is good. Eye color, nose leather color, paw pad color, coat sheen, rust in the coat and pale hairs are all visible, and taken together they will often rule the Bombay in or out against CFA's written color requirements. Avoid flash, which flattens the sheen and shifts eye color. What the photo cannot do is confirm the breed even when every visible trait matches, because a Bombay is a registered cat and registration is a document, not an appearance. A black cat with copper eyes and a glossy coat is a very good looking domestic shorthair until papers say otherwise.
Related guides
- Tuxedo cat: A tuxedo cat is a black and white bicolor, and bicolor is a pattern rather than a breed.
- Domestic shorthair: Domestic shorthair is not a breed.
- Tortoiseshell cat: A tortoiseshell is a cat whose coat mixes red with black, chocolate or seal in a mottled pattern with no required white.