Bombay Resemblance

[Donttouchmehand]

So I adopted my cat Tia from a shelter in September and almost everyone who has met her comments on how she looks like a mini panther. I agree. She's also 14lbs and, according to 2 different vets (first vet clinic didn't have online booking so I found a different one, yay anxiety), she is a perfectly healthy weight for her size.

I was looking at cat breeds today for whatever reason and the Bombay cat came up. It was describing Tia almost perfectly. Now, I know a stray being a Bombay is very very rare, but Tia wasn't a stray. She was raised I believe from kitten hood by an owner, but her owner got sick and had to give up Tia so her background has potential. I'm also not saying she is, nor would I ever claim that. I'm more just curious if more knowledgeable cat people see the resemblance.

Anyway, she's a more reserved cat around anyone new but she's never been very anxious. She lets people approach and pet her in safer environments and was headbutting, cuddling, and licking my face within a week of getting her. Now she begs to be held like a baby in all her 14lb glory every time I walk through the door. It's adorable unless it was arm day at the gym, then we compromise. Shes still quite independent though and will take her time alone. She also has a very thick, sleek coat. Her eyes aren't copper, but they're a very striking green/hazel colour. Most mention copper or gold being the Bombay eye colour, but I've seen some people mention green. Shes vocal with me, but its more conversational or situational (ie meows when i get home or will meow in response to me talking to her). Her nose and foot pads are both all black and she has a bit heavier back portion than her front kinda chest and legs.

I don't know her temperament around kids or other animals since I live alone without other pets. She's a bit jumpy/easily startled, though never aggressive. She has given me warning nips if i pet her wrong or when she was really nervous getting her nails clipped, but it's very light. She can get very playful too, but it's in these short, frequent energy burst within a certain time until her energy is gone. She's one of the absolute nicest, most affectionate yet independent cats I've ever met, and I've grown up surrounded by cats. I've even had multiple dog lovers mention that they wouldn't mind a cat if they were like her. She doesn't fetch or walk on a leash at all, but she also was probably never taught to.

I messaged the shelter to see if the owner left any information. It's really not important as I'd never be a show cat person and I really don't care about owning a purebred cat (as per why I always rescue, just a personal choice), but I'm just curious if anyone agrees.

Her eyes look more green in person and can look more gold/hazel depending on light. As well, she has slight bald patches near her ears (not mites, got that looked at) and they are worse in some photos since both the spots and her fur has filled out/gotten thicker and shinier since being adopted. I think the shelter took care of her well, but she was moved around about 3 times within a month before I adopted her so she was stressed. Her fur is extremely thick and plush now so I guess I'm doing something right. It's still slightly sparse near the ears though.

Please forgive the not as great photos. I don't take a lot of supposed to be nice pictures. They show her well enough though. They're also in a random order because Idk how to move them. Also, all weird positions were completely her choice, I promise. The weirdo loves being carried like a baby and loves being under blankets. Her fur is also quite distressed and dandruff covered in the photo with her harness, but that isn't her normal. She was travelling in a car for the first time with me and, though she did amazingly, the stress did seem to increase shedding and dandruff quite a bit along with the new harness ruffling it all up. I kinda just put in as many photos as I had. I tried to show both her appearance and her personality, so do ignore my face please.

 

[lutece]

She's beautiful! She does look like a mini panther

I would describe Tia as a black domestic shorthair. She's a gorgeous cat in her own right, but I don't see a resemblance to the Bombay breed, other than her black coat color. Bombays have rounded heads, round eyes, relatively short noses, compact body style, and a close-lying coat, not thick or plush. Tia has a relatively long nose, which adds to her resemblance to a panther, but makes her head style quite different from a Bombay. She also doesn't have the typical Bombay eye shape or profile. Her coat is thicker than a Bombay's coat and she also looks quite a lot bigger than a female Bombay normally would be.

I know that it can be confusing if you look up information about the Bombay breed online. As this is a rare breed, most online breed descriptions of Bombays are written by people with no experience with the breed (this is true of many other cat breeds as well). There are also lots of pictures online of black domestic shorthairs labeled as Bombay cats, because people read descriptions online, decide their cats must be Bombays, and then post pictures of their "Bombay" cats.

Here's the CFA breed presentation on the Bombay breed with lots of pictures. This might help give you an idea of what pedigreed Bombays look like. I've also seen Bombays at cat shows. In person, because of their compact body style and flat-lying coat, Bombays (especially the females) give the impression of being rather small compared to most cats, even though they have a heavy and muscular feel when you pick them up. Hope this helps!

https://cfa-files.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/breed-presentations/Bombay.pdf

 

[Donttouchmehand]

She's beautiful! She does look like a mini panther

I would describe Tia as a black domestic shorthair. She's a gorgeous cat in her own right, but I don't see a resemblance to the Bombay breed, other than her black coat color. Bombays have rounded heads, round eyes, relatively short noses, compact body style, and a close-lying coat, not thick or plush. Tia has a relatively long nose, which adds to her resemblance to a panther, but makes her head style quite different from a Bombay. She also doesn't have the typical Bombay eye shape or profile. Her coat is thicker than a Bombay's coat and she also looks quite a lot bigger than a female Bombay normally would be.

I know that it can be confusing if you look up information about the Bombay breed online. As this is a rare breed, most online breed descriptions of Bombays are written by people with no experience with the breed (this is true of many other cat breeds as well). There are also lots of pictures online of black domestic shorthairs labeled as Bombay cats, because people read descriptions online, decide their cats must be Bombays, and then post pictures of their "Bombay" cats.

Here's the CFA breed presentation on the Bombay breed with lots of pictures. This might help give you an idea of what pedigreed Bombays look like. I've also seen Bombays at cat shows. In person, because of their compact body style and flat-lying coat, Bombays (especially the females) give the impression of being rather small compared to most cats, even though they have a heavy and muscular feel when you pick them up. Hope this helps!

http://[URL]https://cfa-files.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/breed-presentations/Bombay.pdf

[/URL]

Ah, yeah the file you posted definitely doesn't look like her. It was more just every image and article described as a Bombay looked exactly like her and her temperament matches to the exact that got me thinking. I'd thought at least some of the information would be correct, but seems not at all.

I've honestly never met a cat like her so I was curious. She's has the talked about sway of a walk, panther movements, and she is entirely rounded, though I 100% see she isn't the look of a proper Bombay. I appreciate the reply despite my post now seeing completely absurd, haha. Information about cat breeds is painfully hard to come by it seems. Any idea why shes so large? She also definitely is heavier than she looks since, though she is large, finding out she was 14lbs shocked me. She's also very long. Not gonna lie, she looks a lot more like a panther than the Bombays, which is odd since they're named for looking like a panther. Funny thing cat breeds are.

 

[Donttouchmehand]

Ah, yeah the file you posted definitely doesn't look like her. It was more just every image and article described as a Bombay looked exactly like her and her temperament matches to the exact that got me thinking. I'd thought at least some of the information would be correct, but seems not at all.

I've honestly never met a cat like her so I was curious. She's has the talked about sway of a walk, panther movements, and she is entirely rounded, though I 100% see she isn't the look of a proper Bombay. I appreciate the reply despite my post now seeing completely absurd, haha. Information about cat breeds is painfully hard to come by it seems. Any idea why shes so large? She also definitely is heavier than she looks since, though she is large, finding out she was 14lbs shocked me. She's also very long. Not gonna lie, she looks a lot more like a panther than the Bombays, which is odd since they're named for looking like a panther. Funny thing cat breeds are.

Oh also, I will point out that there is apparently an American Bombay and a British Bombay? Is this correct information? Also, not going by like, show standards. Just more thinking about the genetics. I'm considering doing a DNA test on her just for fun (that sounds bad, but proper ones aren't bad), though we'll see if this is all just an ADHD hyperfixation. If so, i'll forget about it all in a week.

 

[lutece]

In GCCF (UK), "Bombay" is used to refer to a solid black cat in the Asian group, basically a black Burmese. I've visited the UK and seen Burmese being shown there; it's a popular breed in the UK and they come in many colors. Burmese and Bombay cats in the UK have slightly more moderate head and body style than in the US, however they still do not look like Tia. The head is a short wedge. The cat is medium in size, not massive or large, and the coat is very close-lying and not at all plush.

Asian - The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy

www.gccfcats.org

Most cats are not any particular breed, and are also not mixes of breeds, unlike dogs. DNA ancestry tests for cats give fairly good results when comparing your cat against broad geographic areas of origin (such as Western Europe, South Asia, etc), but most cats simply don't have specific breeds in their ancestry for a "breed test" to detect. That's not to say that DNA tests for cats are useless... DNA tests are extremely useful for breeders who want to rule out health issues. But "breed tests" don't make as much sense for cats, compared to dogs.

However, if you are interested in DNA ancestry tests, here is a recent post comparing the tests currently available:

Help! What breed do you think my kitty is

Hey everyone! I have a kitten who is about 6 months now. When I got him he was labelled as a Domestic Shorthair but the ladies at the shelter kept saying how he has a bengal appearance. After owning him for a few months, I can definitely see the bengal in his personality. He is fascinated with...

thecatsite.com

 

[lutece]

Not gonna lie, she looks a lot more like a panther than the Bombays, which is odd since they're named for looking like a panther. Funny thing cat breeds are.

I agree... Bombay cats' head type is really not very much like a panther at all. Real panthers look more like Tia!

As for why Tia is as large as she is, and looks the way that she is, the domestic cat gene pool has lots of variety! Domestic shorthairs and longhairs come in all sizes, shapes and colors. The various traits that we see in pedigreed breeds originally came from the domestic cat gene pool, and there are still, no doubt, many more interesting traits out there in domestic cats yet to be discovered. Tia has her own unique combination of traits that makes her special! That's one reason why I like hanging out in this forum and seeing all the wonderful variations possible in domestic cats

 

[StefanZ]

Yes. Its common nice and pretty black cats are compared to Bombays. But Bombays are rare, while there are lotsa of beautiful black cats...

The question is possibly, why the founding breeders did bothered to create this breed, while there already ARE so many beautiful black cats. Not even mentioning some of them are homeless and whom would just be happy to get a good home...

I think the answer is simple: Because they could.

 

[lutece]

The question is possibly, why the founding breeders did bothered to create this breed, while there already ARE so many beautiful black cats. Not even mentioning some of them are homeless and whom would just be happy to get a good home...

I think that back in the 1950s when the Bombay breed was created, there wasn't nearly as much awareness of the plight of homeless cats as there is today.

 

[lucho]

Wow, Tia is a cutie. She could be Pantera's sister!

!4lbs is hefty, but not unusual even for females. Cats in North America tend to be strongly built, a reflection of their origins. Cats in Brazil are also strongly built, but in a sleeker, more elegant body type. At 11lbs at her max and now 9-10lbs Pantera is a bit lighter than Tia but visibly stockier than a typical brazilian cat. How old is Tia?