Meet the Bombay

We Bombays are a very young breed, but we’ve certainly made a splash! Despite what our name may lead you to believe, we don’t come from India – but from Lexington, Kentucky instead. In the late 1950s, a human cat fancier named Nikki Horner decided she wanted to create a domestic cat that looked like a mini version of an Indian black leopard (and that’s why she gave us the name Bombay). She began a very selective breeding program that started when she crossed a black American Shorthair with bright copper eyes with a Grand Champion sable Burmese cat. We weren’t just bred for our exotic parlor panther looks – we were also bred to have very specific personality traits. We get our easygoing and gentle nature from the American Shorthairs, and our intelligent, affectionate side from the Burmese. It took a while to get us absolutely prrrfect, but eventually the breed standard all-black Bombay with the copper eyes was accepted by the Cat Fanciers’ Association in 1970. The International Cat Association (TICA) followed in 1979, and today we are recognized by all cat registries.

Today, my breed has two types: the American Bombay and the British Bombay. American Bombays are the original parlor panthers – the American Shorthair/Burmese cross – developed by Nikki Horner. American Bombays have yellow to orange eyes (with copper being the ideal color). British Bombays are a cross between Burmese and British Shorthair. The two types of Bombays aren’t that different in appearance or temperament, but some British Bombays have green eyes. The British Bombay also has a slightly puffier coat where American Bombays have a very flat coat. Whether American or British, we Bombays are relatively rare cats, but we always delight our fans at cat shows and – for the humans lucky enough to get their hands on one of us – we make the prrrfect family pet!