Is a Black Cat a Breed? 22 Brilliant Reasons to be Intrigued

Is a black cat a breed? There are 22 breeds of the domestic cat that can have a solid black coat according to the Cat Fanciers Association.

The Bombay Cat is the only breed of the 22 that exclusively has a black coat.

A Black Cat is not a Breed

A black cat is not a breed and is the color of a cat’s coat.

The Bombay Cat is completely black, however, this breed is called the “Bombay Cat” and not a “Black Cat” as the official name.

The Bombay Cat is a common cat amongst the black cat family but there is a huge variety of cats in the black cat category ranging from short to long-haired cats.

It is thought that a lot of black cats have Siamese in their bloodline and I have witnessed this first-hand as our American Shorthair called Coco was born to a beautiful Siamese cat.

The Manx has a very wide variety of coloring and of course, black is one of them.

The Manx has a very unique tail and is a very distinguished member of the black cat family.

The black cat family has a wealth of shapes, sizes, characteristics, and noticeable differences that make the black cat group of cats extremely diverse.

I feel that black cats are given a disservice by being lumped in together and seen as “one breed”.

If you dive deeper and only just scratch the surface you can see just how much there is to know about black cats.

The 22

As I mentioned above there are 22 black cat breeds that are recognized.

The breeds are listed below:

American Bobtail

American Curl

American Wirehair

American Shorthair

British Shorthair

Bombay

Devon Rex

Cornish Rex

Japanese Bobtail

Exotic Shorthair

Maine Coon

LaPerm

Norwegian Forest Cat

Manx

Persian

Oriental

Scottish Fold

Ragamuffin

Siberian

Selkirk Rex

Turkish Angora

Sphynx

Black Cat Adoption

New figures are showing that black cats are being adopted at increasing rates and 29% of black cats are being rehomed.

Rescue centers are apparently seeing very healthy adoption rates when it comes to black kittens which is very encouraging!

This surge in adoption rates may suggest that the bad reputation that black cats have had, is being shaken off.

Are the stereotypes fading away?

I’m pretty sure that when people explore the world of black cats, they are falling in love with this amazing family of cats that are steeped in history and intrigue.

I can’t help but feel that the amazing traits of the black cat have been overshadowed by superstition and reputation but I am over the moon to see that things look to be changing.

Is a Black Cat a Breed? My Final Thoughts

Without meaning to sound patronizing, I can see how somebody who isn’t educated on cats or the animal kingdom in general, could see a black cat as a breed.

However, on closer inspection, you will find that there is a lot of science behind the reason why black cats are black.

Many black cats are in fact Tabby cats and it is popular belief that a survival of the fittest gene has been dominant and suppressed the Tabby gene.

I have seen Tabby stripes on our male black cat’s rear legs in certain angles in sunlight and I find it fascinating. These stripes are known as “ghost stripes”.

I believe that there is still a lot to be learned about what makes animals black and what benefits there are to be had by having a black coat.

If survival of the fittest is at play then will we see an increased amount of animals with a black coat going into the future?

So, is a black cat a breed? Absolutely not!

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