What Kind of Cat Is a Black Cat With Gold Eyes?

There's more than just one breed of cat that can exhibit glistening black fur and glittering gold eyes. If the panther parallel is what you're going for, consider the bombay breed, a domestic shorthaired cat that is solid black with gold or copper eyes -- one that was bred with creating a miniature black panther in mind. Other breeds allow for various coat colors including black but might require that the eyes be a certain color, such as the American shorthair which can be a smokey black but must have brilliant gold eyes or the British shorthair which can also be black but requires gold or copper eyes. The Devon rex is another feline breed that may have black fur but will usually have gold or blue eyes.

Although there is a good selection of pure-bred cats that are black with gold eyes, you can find a cat of mixed heritage with black fur and yellow-gold eyes. Even if you prefer a medium or long haired kitty, you should have no problem finding a mixed breed with the preferred fur and eye color. And the bonus to adopting a cat that isn't a pure-bred is that he'll be at less risk for genetic conditions.

While there are a variety of cats that are or can be black with gold eyes, there is a handful of breeds that will never display that particular coat and eye color combination if they truly are pure breeds. Some of the obvious breeds are ones that are known for not having black coats like Siamese or bengals who are typically bi-colored, or Russian blues whose requisite coat color is part of their name. Persians are another breed of cats who are recognized by their eye color. Persians can be black, but a true Persian cat will either have blue or copper colored eyes.

When picking out a black kitten, you probably won't find one with gold eyes. All kittens are born with grey-blue eyes that change color as they mature. The color change begins between the three and eight week mark and may transform a time or two before settling on the color they will be for the rest of the cat's life, which will be when he is about three months old. During the changing time, your kitten's eyes can appear almost any color including green, orange, amber or have flecks of more than one color including brown and yellow.