Black Domestic Shorthair or Bombay (or a mix)?

[bizcat]

Thanks so much for your comments about foods for cats.  Our male cat drinks plenty of water as well as getting extra water from the wet food plus water that we give him.  Male cats

are notorious for not drinking enough water and having kidney problems; however, ours keeps the liter box wet.   Ours likes certain wet foods with gravy and then water added.

In particular he likes Natural Balance wet offerings, some from Soulistic, and all of the new gravy packets from Friskies. (These are all packets, not cans).  Canned food is too dense and

does not produce a viable gravy when water is added.  He spits his diet between wet food and dry food about 50:50.  He has maintained his maximum weight for Bombay males of 11 pounds

for nearly 2 months now.  Really a muscular guy who loves to jump, play ball as catcher and batter, and a very fast runner.  All this provides him the indoor exercise he needs.  Again,

many thanks.  Hope Furby stabilizes.

Our male is now 13 months old !!  Adult with many kitten tendencies.

 

[mag753]

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• mag753
• Aug 15, 2016

Guessing part Bombay... I really don't know
She does have that distinctive purr the Bombay Cats have...
Help?

 

[mag753]

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• mag753
• Aug 15, 2016

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• mag753
• Aug 15, 2016

 

[bizcat]

You have quite a beautiful cat that from all appearances could possibly be a Bombay.  Besides having an almost inaudible purr,  Bombay's of both sexes are extremely affectionate and many times act more like a dog in play activities.  They are solid black with no white markings, which would indicate a mix.  The real giveaway here is that the mother has to have been a sable Burmese cat and the father a black American shorthair.  This gives the Bombay an undercoat of sable which only becomes obvious when the cat is lying in a window in the sunlight.  Photographs of my cat look like a mink color when shot in the sun.  In the shade inside the cat is completely black.  Without breeder papers, however, it would be a probably guess that your cat is a mix.  Check out the sunlight suggestion.   We were amazed.

The white patches indicate your cat is a mixed breed.  Again the sable Burmese mother imparts a brown undercoat to her Bombay kittens (American shorthair black father) which is readily visible in direct sunlight.

All the other descriptions fit very well.   Our male cat is now 16 months old.  He reached 11 pounds (max weight for male Bombays)  and with his picky eating habits has maintained that exact weight ever since.

Very muscular, likes to jump, run and catch tossed balls..  Seems regardless on your cat's breed, he must be a very nice addition to your family.

Again, Bombay is not as far as I know a breed that can reproduce itself, ie, mating two known Bombays.   Genetics would tell you that in a litter of 8 kittens you would get a wide variety of mix with possibly a couple Bombays.  It is easier for breeders to use the sable Burmese female and black American shorthair father to produce Bombays.  As you will note from these posts, even then, you get "imperfections" sometimes that take away from their value and show quality.  But who cares, this has been the most exciting kitten then cat we have ever owned.  He now has an adult male swagger in his walk (unlike his kitten walk) and has a new nickname as a result !!  Best wishes with your beautiful cat.

 

[bizcat]

Thanks for this very nice post.   As a biologist who loves cats, I am always eager to know as much as possible.  Your observations are very helpful.  Our male cat has 4 white hairs in a row on his left shoulder.

Other than that, he is black in the shade and more of a mink color in direct sunlight.   Great personality too.  Everyone who has a cat like this will be in for a really fine experience.  They are a wonderful part of the family.

 

[blacknikka]

Wondering if my black kitty has Bombay genes...

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• blacknikka
• Aug 30, 2016

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• blacknikka
• Aug 30, 2016

 

[bizcat]

Beautiful pictures of a beautiful cat you have there.

If you did not obtain your cat from a breeder directly, it is anyone's guess what the ancestry of any cat from a shelter or friends might be.

The idea that Bombay cats were bred to be "parlor panthers" has everyone's interest.  In reality, a pure bred Bombay is rare and expensive.

Your cat could have a Burmese and a black American shorthair parent.  Who knows?   The eyes of the cat in the picture seem very much like

an Asian siamese and there seems to be a tinge of brown in the coat in that lighting.  Bombay heritage cats do not have

that eye shape in those I have seen and their sable undercoat comes out in bright sunlight.

Again, there are so many genetic possibilities for cats of all kind, all of whom can interbreed.  It's not worth speculating about your kitten or cat.

Just enjoy it and have fun.  Your cat will appreciate the attention.

Our male is now 16 months old and still maintains his weight of 11 pounds.  Very talkative.  He caught on to our schedules and habits at a very young age and now holds us to it.  He is a wonderful but sometimes aggrivating cat alarm clock in the mornings both for feeding and for making sure we

are up.  Then, of course, he goes back to bed !!  Never a dull moment.  Best thing is that for a male he is very affectionate and unless he is preoccupied with hunting or something in the house, he is usually underfoot to play or be given his favorite back rub when not sleeping.

We now confine his food to Science Diet indoor cat dry pellets available all day and night, refilled for the day in the early morning.  In the late afternoon he gets a Fancy Feast gravy pouch (and he likes every one of their flavors), which he usually finishes completely by early morning.  Adding the extra water helps and we have noticed a greater intake of his dry pellets as a result.   Males are finiky eaters, so we have been lucky.  Still trying to find canned food with gravy that he will like.  Seems something in the food in cans is distasteful to him.  Also pouches, if partly saved in the fridge, seem to change and not be as palatable to him either.  Rather than toss out uneaten food, it is easier to give him what we know he will eat.  He gets his main nutrition from the pellets.

Thanks for sharing your pictures.  Always fun to see other black cat photos.  The seem to know how to pose for great pictures, hams that they are.

 

[kitty chew]

Hard to tell. Maybe a domestic shorthair. I have two domestic medium hairs. He is very handsome anyway!

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• kitty chew
• Aug 30, 2016

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• kitty chew
• Aug 30, 2016

 

[bizcat]

Thanks for your note and pictures.

Our male cat has a medium coat length which is obvious when we brush him.  Most of the time his fur lies flat and

it is hard to tell.  Coat lengh is another genetic factor.  Since many of the genetic factors are independent of one

another, the final outcome for kittens is always a surprise !!  For sure, ours is not a domestic short hair, whatever

else he is !!

Enjoy.

 

[bizcat]

Participating in this blog has increased our interests in cats and their characteristics.  Curiously, kitten litters can actually have different

fathers of kittens in the same litter !!  That makes for even more interesting genetics and unpredictable occurrences of a particular

breed's characteristics in the whole process.  Fortunately breeders can control contact of males and females and thus have better

control of outcomes.  They still can only hope for some kittens of the breed they are looking for.

 

[malorin83]

I had this same problem. Switch to a "paté" and he'll lap it up!

 

[bizcat]

Thanks for the suggestion of "pate" for my male cat.   We have tried everything.  For wet food he can only tolerate and only likes (fortunately) 

chicken  and/or tuna.  He prefers gravy.  There are plenty of broths and gravy products out there so no issue.  Usually add a bit of water to it as

well so he gets what he needs.  He still eats a helping of Science Diet Indoor Cat dry food daily, so he gets his nutrients.  Appreciate your response.

 

[matthewacbroad]

Hello. Girlfriend and I are a proud owner of marshmallow and I'm not 100% sure if she's short-haired or mixed Bombay, she's about one year old

a very shy cat and won't go near any of us. When we do pick her up she's fine and will start purring

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• matthewacbroad
• Feb 9, 2017

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• matthewacbroad
• Feb 9, 2017

The other cat is baxer. He's a kitten very bold and is the devil himself

 

[bizcat]

Enjoy both your cats.  It's not unusual for young black kittens to be shy.  Ours, now nearly 2, is fine with family but takes a while in our company to warm up to friends who visit.  Think it is a safey mechanism.  They are very smart and know they are different.  Where you sourced her as a kitten probably has a lot to do with it.  Ours still looks over his shoulder when fed or given a treat even though he is alone !!   Best part is his observations out our windows at all hours to see the wild life.  He can't wait to come back and tell us all about it !!  Even at midnight !!  Our male has a very soft purr and is very aloof until he wants something.  His undercoat is the mink color from the Burmese mother, perfectly black in normal light but mink in sunlight.  He has slightly longer hair that a typical domestic shorthair.  If you want a friend for life get a hairbrush with silicone thick bristles.  It is better than being petted for your cat and ours begs to be brushed now.

 

[Purrcy]

This entire discussion on Bombay Cats intrigues me. We have a cat that was dropped off and abandoned in late February 2017. He is not a Bombay, as he is a black and white Tuxedo cat. Other than that, he has ALL of the personality traits of a Bombay including silky fur for his black portions of his coat. He is also a solid robust cat, much heavier than he appears. Our older male DSH tabby is a long and lean cat at 8 to 9 pounds, but Purrcy is edging in on 11 pounds, even though visually he is much smaller than our older cat! Our Vet estimated that he was 1 to 2 years old when he was dropped off and he adopted us! He showed up at the backsliding door to our deck and was very comfortable and ready to walk right into our house. We only let him in and kept him in a crate when it dropped to single digits outside, until he was cleared medically to be around our other cats. all of the walking around my feet and playfulness applies, he is VERY intelligent and trainable. Of course my other cat at over 11 years old I also trained, and as Purrcy is learning to do, responds to voice commands.

 

[bizcat]

We found Pepper at an Animal Rescue. Playful and talkative, he has a stocky and muscular build. Despite being the youngest cat in our home, he has become the alpha but mostly wants everyone's attention. He follows me into every room and meows behind closed doors when I want privacy. He has a voracious appetite and begs for the food bowl. He's 14 pounds, so we've begun a stricter feeding schedule in an effort to help him drop a little weight--hence the begging. He likes to play with his food, but only eats dry food now. We fed him wet from six months old, but since he discovered dry, he won't go near the wet. He's approximately 1 year and 5 months old.

He doesn't always initiate cuddle time, but will nuzzle if you pet him. He also seems to enjoy being held for short spurts of time before he sees something else he'd like to play with. He attacks pant legs as you walk by, and has an affinity for socks but only when you are wearing them. This cat meows at everything--he is constantly chasing shadows and seems to make a toy out of anything he finds. He always greets us at the door with loud purrs. He loves to run and attack walls, doors, and the vertical blinds by the slider. He has an affinity for the ice maker and runs every time we are getting ice--he waits for a cube to drop and then plays hockey with it all around the kitchen and sometimes in the living room, too.

He has a very shiny and compact coat, black paws/pads and a very solid build. He sashays when he walks with a slight wiggle to his butt. He has a short muzzle and large golden eyes. When he's catching a nap in low light conditions, you cannot even see his face since his eyes are closed and rest of his face just blends into the darkness. I cannot believe that he isn't at least a relative of a Bombay given his physical traits and his behaviors, although he does have two white patches: one on the chest and one below the stomach.

So, given this information, is he just a plain old black domestic shorthair with that striking shiny coat and those gleaming eyes or is he part Bombay?

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• technokat
• Aug 12, 2013

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• technokat
• Aug 12, 2013

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• technokat
• Aug 12, 2013

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• technokat
• Aug 12, 2013

 

[bizcat]

Just read your post. You are very lucky to have such a beautiful black cat. Bombay cats are a cross between a sable female burmese and an American black short hair. They typically have golden to copper colored eyes. For a male, the average weight at maturity is 11 to 12 pounds. Maintaining that weight does not seem difficult since our cat is a finicky eater. Really liked your comments that definitely show his heritage (don't worry about the white markings). Remember Bombays to be pure must be back-bred and cross-bred by breeders. Obviously yours has traits of the Burmese female and American male cats that are the hereditary line. There are more black cats with these traits as a result of breeding that did not work to produce the pure cats, but thankfully your kitty was saved. Enjoy him. We have nicknamed our very alpha male, the commander, because of he is always in control !! All the traits you mention make this kitty a very special and intelligent member of the family. Ours considers us cats rather than people. He always meets us at eye level and must be treated as an equal human member of the family!! The experiences are very much worth the efforts.

 

[bizcat]

There is no need to beat about the bushes and tell he is perhaps part bombay.

Either he is not, - being a domestic - statistics talks for it! - or he is a pet quality one, because of these white spots, and the breeder sold him cheaply. And that is why he come to the shelter in next step.

Observe, Im not expert on Bombays nor Burmas. But a little stocky, muscular, very energetic and talkative sounds like Burma, and thus its akin Bombay.

I dont know enough about their eyes and other exact features to decide more.

As an overall rule of thumb, beatifull black cats there is quite a lot, but real bombays is only just [] a few. [edit: very few] Literally just "some drops in the ocean".

Technically, without papers, he must be counted as domestic, even if you had good suspicions. But it is of course a nice pastime to dream he may be purebred after all, when he was a kitten.

Can you improve his story from this shelter? They perhaps know where he come from?

Good luck!

Bombays are considered black Burmese cats !! Amazing what you can learn reading articles by feline experts !! Getting a pure bred Bombay can be accomplished only by breeders and is achieved only a small amount of the time. The other members of the litter, however, provide kittens with similar traits that make great pets.

 

[bizcat]

I had this same problem. Switch to a "paté" and he'll lap it up!

Worked for use as well !! At first he just turned up his nose. With a little extra warm water added and a little persistence, he has learned to enjoy the chicken pate as well !!