Black American Shorthair: Fully Official, Frequently Confused
Fully recognized at every registry that prints a class list, never rare, never a Bombay. The exact standard wording, the gold-eye rule, and the buying reality.
Published August 21, 2026 4 min read
Contents
The black American Shorthair generates more searches than any other single color of the breed, and most of what those searches find is thin. Here is the registry paper behind the coat, the breed it gets confused with in both directions, and the honest buying picture.
What the standards actually say
's standard gives solid black its own class (numbers 0708/0709), with wording worth quoting because it is a checklist: "dense coal black, sound from roots to tip of fur. Free from any tinge of rust on tips or smoke undercoat. Nose leather: black. Paw pads: black. Eye color: gold." Canada's prints the near-identical description ("clear lustrous jet black, sound from root to tip") and flags the same two faults: a smoky undercoat or rust tinge.
's "COLORS: All" includes black by definition. Nothing anywhere disqualifies or downgrades it. Black sits in the main solid table beside white, blue, red and cream. Any page implying black is an unusual or unofficial American Shorthair color is wrong at every registry that publishes a list.
Reading a black cat like a judge
The standard's own checklist makes a buyer surprisingly capable. Sound color root to tip: part the fur; a silvery base means smoke, a different (also recognized) class. No rust: strong sunlight reveals the reddish cast the standards fault. Black nose leather AND black paw pads. And gold eyes: the breed's black class calls for gold, so the green-eyed black cats of stock photography are wearing another breed's look. A black kitten may also carry faint ghost tabby markings that typically fade as the coat matures.
Not a Bombay, and usually not this breed either
Two confusions cross on this coat, in opposite directions. First: the Bombay is black-only by design, bred originally from Burmese and American Shorthair crosses for a patent-leather black. The American Shorthair merely INCLUDES black among its hundred-plus combinations. Available versus exclusive is the clean line between the two breeds. Second, the bigger one: nearly every black short-haired cat in a shelter or listing is a domestic shorthair, not a pedigreed anything. The full untangling applies double here, because black is the most common cat color of all. The odds that a random black shorthair is this breed are even lower than usual. Papers, not coat, make the breed.
The buying reality
No registry counts cats by color, so nobody can honestly tell you how many black American Shorthairs exist. What our research can say: no named cattery we read publishes a black-specific premium or discount (one prices SILVER at the top of its band). So expect the breed's normal named-cattery range, on the price page, with color as a preference you state on a waiting list rather than a line item. A photo note from our own work: no free-licensed photo of a confirmed black American Shorthair above thumbnail size exists anywhere we searched. That says something true about the coat's actual scarcity in documented, pedigreed form.
The buyer's checklist
- Sound color root to tip: part the fur, a silvery base means smoke, not black
- No rust tinge: strong sunlight is the test the standards imply
- Black nose leather AND black paw pads
- Gold eyes, per both standards that print the class
- Kitten ghost markings typically fade with the adult coat
The vet's take
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Frequently asked questions
Can American Shorthairs be black?
Yes, fully: solid black has its own class at CFA ("dense coal black, sound from roots to tip," gold eyes) and CCA-AFC, and TICA's open color policy includes it. It is never a disqualification.
How do I know if my black cat is an American Shorthair?
Registration papers, nothing else: black is the most common cat color and nearly all black shorthairs are domestic shorthairs. The breed was developed from that population, so resemblance proves nothing.
What is the difference between a black American Shorthair and a Bombay?
The Bombay is black-only by design (originally Burmese x American Shorthair crosses); the American Shorthair simply includes black among 100+ recognized combinations. Exclusive versus available.
What color eyes do black American Shorthairs have?
Gold, by both standards that print the class. A smoky undercoat or rust tinge in sunlight are the two faults judges check this coat for.
Community questions
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This is information, not veterinary advice, and it cannot tell you what is wrong with your cat. Our rule is a simple one: if something is wrong with your cat, call your vet, and call an emergency clinic if it is out of hours. Nothing you read here is a reason to wait.
Medical information applies to every reader. Prices, legal duties and common practice do not: unless stated otherwise, they are given for the United States, and they differ in the UK, Canada and Australia, and often between states or provinces. Check with your own vet and your own local authority.
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