new member with bombay question :-)

Hey everyone! I have a question about one of my cats. I got him a number of years ago when he was 6 months old and someone found him stray. She gave him to us for free, but I highly suspect that he is no mixed breed alley cat. From my research in books and sites, I thought his body shape was identical to that of the burmese, and he has the golden eyes of a burmese, but his fur is jet black. At the vets office they just assumed he was an American Shorthair, but they didn't take much of a look. He certainly does not have the cobby body of the am. shorthair. Then I read about the Bombay - a jet black Burmese that is a cross between the sable burmese and black am. shorthair. I thought "this is it!". But many of the pics I've seen on sites show a stalkier, thicker cat than mine. Blacky has more of the slim, sleek, delicate Tonkinese look, but certainly not as angular as the siamese. His personality is quite dog-like; he even goes for walks with me, not on a leash, but he trots close to my heels. His nose leather and paw pads are jet black, and his fur is close-lying and silky. Although the coat is jet-black, in bright lighting you can see faint traces of a sable undercoat. Does anybody think I ended up with a purebred for free? Or is he just a mixed breed? Any comments will be welcome. thanks.

could you post a pic of him here? We would all like to drool over him, and maybe someone here would recognize the breed. You would be surprised how many purebreds end up as ferals or strays though...

I tried to bring some in from my documents and from Word, but no luck -- I've never posted pics on bbs before, is there a better way??

Welcome to our forums catzlvr!

I think you'll never really know. Chances are he's simply a beautiful mixed-breed.

I'm moving this thread to the breeders forums, where these threads are usually placed.

I created one of those cat page things, but i don't think it's online yet; they said it would take days -- but my jpeg files wouldn't upload so they're going to be photo-less. I just checked out this book at the library "eyewitness Handbooks CATS" and the bombay pictures look just like him! If I could just get some pics up I could get another opinion! Any suggestions???

Well, aside from posting pictures, you could take him to a cat show. Most judges would be willing to help you. Where do you live?

I live in Virginia, where can I take him?

TICA is having a show in Arlington the 14th and 15th of this month. If you dont want to enter your cat, then I would take some good pictures with you. I could tell you which judges may be able to help you. At least the ones I know are somewhat nice. Go the the website http://www.tica.org and look around.

I figured out how to post some pics - he's a beautiful cat but for some reason not too photogenic so the pics don't do him justice... here goes...

that last pic was under very intense lighting so you could see the sable undercoat. This next one shows you how really black he looks (this was his first christmas, so he was only about 7 months old at the time.)

Looking at that first pic, I would swear it's my Blackie lol. She recently had a litter of 4 - 3 black and one blue/cream.

I don't know if he's a bomaby, but he sure is very cute!

Wow, looks a lot like Sateycat, and I swear Sateycat has Bombay in him.

Bombay have copper colored eyes and are completely black (at least from what I have read on them) I think your kitty has Bombay in him somewhere, and maybe even be Bombay. I don't know for sure since I have never seen a Bombay except in pictures.

Here's a link to the CFA breed profile:
http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/profiles/bombay.html

He is totally black - every inch. Jus in very very very bright lighting you can see it's a brwonish-black underneath. His eyes never come out well in photos, but they are a golden-copper color. I have read many sites and his personality fits the description perfectly. The only thing that is a little different is he is slightly slimmer and more delicate than some Bombay pics I've seen. I guess I'll never know, but it's cool to think about.

I know I am a little late on this thread but I have been wondering the same thing about my Chloe. I got her for free from a farm. But Chloe is just like Blackie. She's jet black(more brownish as a kitten)& has huge, intense copper eyes. I noticed in your pics of Blackie that his face is a liitle longer than Chloe's. The only difference is that her body is more compact and muscular than a Burmese. She has short legs and a stocky build for a female. In fact, I used to call her a panther before I found out about the woman breeding the Bombays to create a "mini panther." I read, though, that Bombays are supposed to have 5 toes in front. Chloe doesn't. This is exactly what her face looks like
But you're right, Blackie doesn't look like a run of the mill avg. stray. I wonder if his parents might have been Burmese& Bombay. Is that possible to breed those to and get a cat that looks like a combo of the 2?

Below are the July listings for CFA Cat Shows in Virginia and in Louisana. If one is happening in or near your area, plan to attend and spend a couple of hours at the least. They will not allow you to take your cat inside the show hall, so leave him at home and instead be prepared with good pictures taken in natural sunlight without a flash. Find breeders with the cats you think yours resemble, and ask them if they have a minute to answer a question or two. While there are a lot of real friendly breeders who attend cat shows, they are there to compete, and most will be focused on listening for their ring call. Don't be discouraged if you can't find someone to talk to right away, just hang around and wait for a while - it could be they are in the ring, or just stepped away for a minute and will be right back.

Hope this helps,

Gaye

July 7-8, 2001 - Virginia 24016 Roanoke: Star City Cat Fanciers. Roanoke Civic Center, 710 Williamson Road. Adults: $5.00; Seniors: $3.00; Children under 12: $3.00. Show Hours: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

July 28-29, 2001 - Virginia 22301 Alexandria: Cat Fanciers of Washington. Lee District REC Center. Adults: $5.00; Seniors: $3.00; Children under 12: $3.00. Show Hours: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sat. & 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Sun

July 14-15, 2001 - Louisana 70062 Kenner: Bougalie Rebels Cat Club. Airport Hilton Inn, 901 Airline Drive. Adults: $4.00; Seniors: $2.00; Children under 12: $2.00. Show Hours: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

This pic does not show his face well, but you can see the glossy deep black coat very well.

Blacky is the farthest thing from a cobby type body though - very slim, sleek yet muscular - surprizing weight for his delicate appearance. Not as angular a a siamese - he really looks like a tonkinese body shape with bombay hair and eye color - but I have seen slim-style bombays so maybe that's him.

I doubt if he's half bombay half burmese b/c bombays are already half burmese (other half black am. shorthair)

You can read the "essay dedicated to my cat" post in the "paws and reflect" forum to find out about his puursonality.

opps! forgot to post here he is!

Thanks for the posting, but I don't think I can attend. does the latest pic help??

To be honest (don't want to hurt anyones feelings) he looks like a domestic cat. I have 2 pure black cats that are half Manx but you would not know unless the breeder had not said anything. Any cat that is not a pure breed, meaning they were bred to be a specific cat is a domestic. If I took a persian and bred it to a Maine Coon it would be a domestic cat. He is very beautiful though!!