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Adreesh Black Sabu
Adreesh Black Sabu
UK Breed history
Bombays in the UK
It has been recorded that a few prominent English Burmese breeders bred their first all black litters as far back as the mid 1960's.These were registered on the supplementary register as Breed 26 and in the days when whole litters could be shown in competition, they caused quite a stir and much interest at shows in the North of England.
However, the breed as we know it today started in the early 1980's when a few British breeders (namely Pat Impson, Pat Blevins, Maureen Smith, Billie Oliver, Margaret Simes & Margaret Somers) decided that the Bombay would be an attractive addition to the existing breeds found in the UK.
The breed began in 1985 when a blue Burmese queen, Lochibank Blue Viola – bred and owned by Ms. Oliver of Herefordshire – was mismated to an unregistered Black short haired tom called Bagpuss. The result was Princess: a Black short hair of Burmese type, later registered as Lochibank Princess (72).
Princess was mated to Cataumet der Rosenkavalier (27) who produced Adreesh Piyada (72) and in 1986 Piyada was mated to Adreesh Black Sabu (72), a 3rd generation Bombay producing Patkai Black Chindit and Patkai Black Naga. Adreesh Black Sabu's maternal grandmother was also Lochibank Blue Viola who had had a further mismating with one Thomas Tabby (later registered as Lochibank Thomas, and they produced Black Midget.
These three mismatings were three-quarters of the beginning of the Boronga (Pat Impson) bloodlines of Bombays, and from two related short haired toms. The pedigree cats principally having come through from the well known Belcanto and Tapawingo (Kevitor) lines. Apart from Lochibank Blue Viola, all the Burmese up to her great grandparents on Piayada's pedigree are brown burmese (27) with the exception of Lochibank Blue Petruchio (27a). Adreesh Piayada is really the lynchpin of the Boronga line, joined later in 1988 by Maureen Smith's Kanelique Black Savanna, whose background fitted in well with the Piyada line. Savanna's dam was Adquesh Black Beauty (72), bred by Mrs. Bentham from a mismating of Beauty's mother (27) to – yet again – an unregistered black short haired tom, thus providing the 3rd of the 3-tom dimension via 4 different misalliances. Two of the toms being black short haired and one Tabby short haired, each with good gold eye colour.
Each of these three toms were known to the breeders concerned as strong, healthy country lads, and this became a strong point in the bloodline. With careful interweaving from these four mismatings, and some 12 years and a few setbacks later, the vision of a black Burmese had began to take place.
Although the Bombay is a recognised and specific breed in the USA, in England it is currently grouped under the Asian group of cats. The viability of the Selfs as a group is secure as they have access to the wide gene pool available from the much more numerous Burmese. Even mating back to Burmese at every generation the breeder can expect at least fifty per cent of the offspring to be full expression and fifty percent Asian Variants.
It was the aim of a few dedicated Bombay breeders to maintain a breeding policy of Bombay/Bombay or Bombay/Burmese (where possiblecarrying no dilute genes). However, some of the early Bombays did carry dilutes and gradually these full expression types (as opposed to Burmese Colour Restriction cats) on mating to Burmese of the various colours, or carrying the colours, produced the full expression Self colours. Other full expression colours have recently followed.
A litter of Taozen Bombay Kittens (6 wks) |
Onika Red Lionking, a Red Asian Self |
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The Bombay earned preliminary recognition by GCCF in 1990.Full expression Selfs were formally recognised in October 1994. The Bombays and Asian Selfs progressed to Championship status and have competed in Championship classes since June 2000.
Asians in the UK
The first Asians (aside from the Bombay), four Burmilla kittens, were born in London in 1981, the result of an accidental mating between a young male Chinchilla and a female lilac Burmese. The queen gave birth to four female kittens, all of which were black shaded silver shorthairs of approximate Burmese type. They were so strikingly attractive, and exceptionally healthy and vigorous, that after careful consideration and consultation with the Burmese Cat Club, the Short-Haired Cat Society, and various feline genetics experts, the owner decided to embark on an experimental breeding programme with the object of developing silver and patterned cats of Burmese type. The precedent already existed; the longhairs, British and Siamese already had their silver and patterned equivalents. There was a logical niche for the silver and tabby patterns to be developed in the fourth major breed group, the Burmese.
At the stage where the first Burmillas were mated together to provide the second generation, cats of different patterns began to appear, as they also did later when Burmillas were crossed back to Burmese. The Tabbies (ticked, mackerel, spotted and classic), Smokes, Selfs and Tiffanies (semi-Longhairs) were produced, and the concept and potential of the Asian Group of Cats were realised. In 1989 the Asian Group Cat Society (formerly known as The Bumilla-Asian Association) became affiliated with the GCCF and have been instrumental in the representation and progression of all the Asian cats.