If you’re looking for a pet that’s large enough to have a big presence in your home, the Bombay cat is a great choice! These wild kitties are generally slightly larger than the average domestic cat, as you might expect if from a cat that looks an awful lot like a panther. Average Bombay cat size varies a lot, from 6 to 15lbs, as these sleek felines are actually a mixed breed with some unusual characteristics.
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Predicting Mixed Breed Size
Bombay cats are black kitties with copper or green eyes, and are a cross between black American Shorthairs and the Burmese breed. Due to this diverse heritage they could be as small as the tiniest American Shorthair or as large as the biggest Burmese.
Kitten Growth and Development
Bombay kitten size doesn’t vary as much as their potential final adult weight. This is because slightly bigger breed babies have a smaller difference in literal poundage. When your kitten arrives home at eight weeks old, they will weigh around 2lbs. Each month that passes they will add around a lb or two.
They grow very quickly in the first six months old life, reaching their adult height if not weight by the time they are two years old.
The size of a full grown cat can be hard to judge while they’re still kittens. But if you’re eager to try and estimate how big your Bombay cat kitten will be when it’s fully grown, checking out the parent cats isn’t a bad place to start.
Adult Bombay Cat Size
Fear not! Although this gorgeous feline has been bred to have the physical characteristics of a panther, its size is much smaller than its wild counterpart. So you won’t actually have a big cat-sized pet roaming your home.
On average, American Shorthairs range from 6 to 15 pounds, with males at the higher end of this spectrum. Burmese cats are a similar size, weighing on average between 8 and 13 pounds, with males also generally weighing more. Therefore, the Bombay cat average weight will be somewhere around these figures.
The average weight for domestic cats ranges between 8 and 10 pounds, so Bombay cats are usually slightly above this average.
Build Type
Something that has an impact on the physical presence of any feline is their build. Bombay cats are typical medium sized, but with a muscular look.
Some may fit this definition of a medium-sized cat, but others may stray more towards the extremes of the scale, being considered small-medium or medium-large.
Is My Cat Overweight?
When you don’t have a very firm potential adult size, it can be hard to tell through the scales alone whether your pet is a healthy weight. But don’t worry, it’s easy to guide yourself through a visual and physical check.
You should not see your cat’s tummy hanging down, and when you run your hand over their back you should feel their spine slightly. When you pet their sides the ribs shouldn’t be easy to feel, and when your kitty has got wet they should not be visible either. Protruding hip bones are another sign of low weight and the potential need for a vet visit.
If your cat seems slightly over or under weight you can adjust their diet down or up a little each day until they seem to be in a better condition.
I adopted a shelter cat. He is about 22 inches long, nose to rump. Very long legs. Black short hair with a small white “ruff” on chest under chin. Also a white tuft on tummy between back legs. At adoption he weighed 11 pounds he rapidly gained weight and I am now strictly limiting his food. He weighs close to 15 pounds. So I would guess that he is essentialy a Bombay though obviously without papers. Very smart and stubborn, slow to trust. After 6 months still not totally my cat. Enjoyed your artcle about this breed.
I live where there are a lot of stray Bombay’s. I feed quite a few. The day of Covid shutdown a new kitten we heard behind our home the night before, jumped up into the grill of my wifes car and rode 500 ft to work before she realized there was a cat riding along. For the next month I fed her and made a small home only she could get in. One Sunday I put my hands over the 2 openings and brought her in. Kept her in a spare bedroom. It wasn’t 1 day and she was playing and having the time of her life. Wasn’t 2 days and we were holding her for the for the first time. 2 weeks later my 2 other rescued cats we had only gotten 6 months earlier got to meet her. My male cat became her best friend and play mate. Almost 1 yr later she is the boss of the house. EXTREMELY talkative. This breed loves to play. She will fetch what I have attached to a kids fishing pole and bring it back to me. She loves to eat. I cant explain how life changing she has been for me. I come home at 3 am from work and she’s there to greet me and by the time I have changed clothes she is sitting on top of her fishing pole ready to play. I have rescued 3 more in the past yr and they have become favorites of all their new families. If you have a chance to adopt/rescue a bombay and dont have a thing about black cats go for it. Its like having a dog and cat in one.
My rescue kitty is almost the same as your baby. Not a year old and still growing. He’s over 11 lbs already. He has that same white locket and white on his belly so I wasn’t thinking Bombay. But because of the mixing they have it’s not out of the question to get a bi-color. Sometimes when I’m looking his direction, he’s so black I don’t see him.
He’s a real runner, sharp as a tack, chatty, and holds his own against his bully older sister. They wrestle but they’re not fighting.
I caught him with the light hitting him against his fur and saw his tabby stripes. Panthers look like Jaguars or leopards in certain light as well. It’s so very cool.
Enjoy your Bombay beauty!
My beautiful black baby is almost 19lbs, sleek and muscular it’s hard to believe when we found him he was literally bones we could see his hip and spine (so sad). I joke that he looks like a panther because of those big yellow eyes and the way he walks/strides but I just read so many articles on Bombay cats it now make sense, I knew I had a mini Panther. He is the shiniest cat I have ever seen so beautiful and he follows me everywhere in the house and just sits there watching me then curls up with me on the couch or bed. He was abandoned and we suspect abused before we got him and he did not trust us in the beginning. it has now been 7 years and he is most loving cat ever. Although he is almost 19lbs he does not look fat just big with a hanging tummy.
Yes! He looks like he has been oiled. Mine was so feral at 10 weeks and by 2-2 1/5 mos. he was the biggest cuddle bug ever. LOVES to eat, but is sleek and long. And HEAVY.
Family found an abandoned, newborn, feral litter. Vet said 7-10 days old 3 still alive. 2 males cld’ve been twin Bombays – all black, sable shadings. BUT, by 2 yrs old, both were 40” from end of tail tip of nose & weighed over 24 lbs. Weight stayed constant until they got seriously sick. They ate dry food only, 3/4 cup total, every 24 hrs. Wldn’t touch canned. Any new sound or person, they immediately hid under bed. After eating & drinking their fill of water, if I let them out on our deck, they would stop & drink from EVERYTHING they found that had water in it. Inbred feral survival behavior very interesting! If I let them outside, they would circle the house, no more than 20’ away, & always returned when I started to go back in. NEVER ran away, not once in almost 12 yrs. Both were gentle souls & friends with birds, squirrels, chipmunks, & rabbits that landed on or approached the deck. I have pics of cat & squirrel sleeping next to/touching each other. Same with chipmunks & rabbits. One became my 1st ever animal soulmate. I was (& still am) devastated when he got a sudden & very bad bladder infection & died within a week!
Mufasa is 6 months old an he is very strong when he was little we played a game called get his bellies he loved it I know it sounds silly but he would laugh my sister didn’t believe me till I took a pic of him laughing he would