Bombay (cat)

Infobox Catbreed
name = Bombay


imagecaption = A British Bombay cat
country = United States
aacestd = http://www.aaceinc.org/pages/breeds/bom.htm
cfastd = http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/standards/bombay.html
acfastd = http://www.acfacat.com/breeds/standards/bombaystd.html
ccastd = http://www.cca-afc.com/standardsBombay.html
acfstd = http://www.acf.asn.au/Standards/Bombay.htmThe term Bombay cat is used to refer to two different breeds of cat.

British Bombay

The British Bombay cat is the name given to black cats of the Asian group. It is a cat of Burmese type with a black coat, toes, nose, and copper to greenish eyes. The close lying, sleek and glossy black coat should be coloured to the roots, with little or no paling. The Bombay is a shorthair breed of domestic cat, closely related to the Burmese.

American Bombay

The American breed called Bombay was created in 1958 in Louisville, Kentucky, when Nikki Horner of Shawnee Cattery deliberately bred an American Shorthair with a Burmese for the purpose of creating a domesticated cat that resembled a wild panther (also known as baby panther). The offspring of this breeding did indeed resemble the black leopard of India. The name came from the Indian city of Bombay (now Mumbai). Horner called her creation the "patent leather kid with the new penny eyes."

Characteristics

The Bombay is a muscular yet agile cat with a black coat. The heads of British Bombay cats are rounded and wide with a medium short, blunt tapered muzzle. The eyes, which are usually gold in colour , should be shaped like a burmese cat (not round) and set wide, and their ears are broad, slightly rounded and medium sized and, like the eyes, set wide.The Bombay has a coat that is short, satiny and tight to the body. Bombay cats require little grooming.They have personalities like Burmese cats as they are virtually genetically the same - they are fun loving and very affectionate.