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Turkish
Van Cat
The Turkish Van Cat is a rare,
naturally occurring breed of cat originally found in the Lake Van region of
southeastern Turkey.
The word van refers to their color pattern,
where the color is restricted to the head and the tail, and the rest of the
cat is white. It is the maximum expression of the piebald white spotting
gene that makes the van pattern.
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Turkish
Van Cat
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pic to enlarge
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The spotting gene appears in many different species (like the
horse
and ball
python).
It also shows up in the common house cat, so a cat that shows
this color pattern but is not registered or from the Van region, is called a
"Vanalike".
The coat on a Turkish Van cat is considered
semi-longhaired.
While many cats have three distinct hair types in their
coat, guard
hairs, awn
hairs and down
hairs, the Turkish Van cat only has one.
This makes their coat feel like
cashmere or bunny fur and dry quickly.
Lake Van is a region of temperature
extremes and the cats have evolved a coat that grows thick in the winter
with a large ruff and bottlebrush tail for the harsh winters and then sheds
out short in the body for the warm summers. The full tail is kept year
round.
The Turkish Van cat is one of the larger cat breeds.
The males can reach 20 lb (9 kg) and the females weigh about half of that.
They have massive paws and rippling hard muscle structure which allows them
to be very strong jumpers. Turkish Van cats can easily hit the top of a refrigerator
from a cold start on the floor.
They are slow to mature and this process can
take 3-5 years. Also, their fetching skills are quite good and they are
quick to learn.
Another interesting Turkish Van cat trait is their
fascination with water. They are also called the "Swimming Cats"
since they have been known to take a dip in Lake Van in their native
country. They may have acquired this trait due to the very hot summers and
have extremely waterproof coats that make bathing them a challenge.
Most Turkish Van cat in the US are indoor cats and do not have access to large bodies of
water but their love and curiosity of water stays with them. Instead of
swimming they stir their water bowls and invent fishing games in the toilet.
Turkish Van cat breed standards allow for one or more body
spots as long as there is no more than 20% color and the cat does not give
the appearance of a bicolor.
Although red tabby and white is the classic van
color, the color on a Turkish Van cat's head and tail can be one of the following: Red,
Cream, Black, Blue, Red Tabby, Cream Tabby, Brown Tabby, Blue Tabby,
Tortoiseshell, Dilute Tortoise, Brown Patched Tabby, Blue patched Tabby and
any other color not showing evidence of hybridization with the pointed cats.
(Siamese,
Himalayan
etc...)
Turkish Van cats are a naturally occurring
breed of cat. They can still be found in east Turkey, near Lake Van.
Their
numbers have diminished, but both the Turkish Van cat and the Turkish
Angora, (which is a separate breed with different characteristics from
central Turkey) are under the protection of the Turkish government and are
bred at the Ankara Zoo.
The genetic traits of the cats have not been
modified from their originals and breeding programs seek to preserve their
unique combination of athleticism and loyalty.
Turkish Van cats are sometimes confused with Turkish
Angoras, although a side-by-side comparison reveals vastly different
characteristics.
Angoras are named after Ankara (Angora) and descended
separately from the Turkish Van cat. Angoras also carry the W gene associated with
white fur, blue eyes and deafness while Turkish Van cats do not.
Turkish Van cats eye color can be
amber, blue or odd (one each, amber and blue) but Vans with two blue eyes
are not deaf like Angoras
Turkish Van cats have been living in their
native Turkey for thousands of years and various references to "white
ringtail" cats through history show this. The classic red tabby and
white pattern gives the ringtail appearance and has been found depicted on Hittite
jewelry of antiquity. Also, archeologists have found "...relics of
an ancient battle during the occupation of Armenia by the Romans included
armor and banners displaying an image of a large white cat with rings on its
tail." (From The
Van Kedi Turkey's Swimming Cat)
In 1955 two British women, Laura Lushington
and Sonia Halliday, saw Turkish Van cats in Turkey for the first time and decided to
bring them home. They immediately bred true, confirming they are a true
natural breed.
A quote from Laura Lushington from the Complete
Cat Encyclopedia, edited by Grace Pond and published in 1972:
"One of the two accepted breeds in
Turkey, the Van Cat is now known in Britain as the Turkish Cat.
Originating in the Lake Van area of southeastern Turkey, these cats have
been domesticated for centuries (in fact for as long as the famous Saluki
Hound); they are much loved and prized by the Turks for their
exceptional character and unique coloring.
Apart from their great capacity for
affection and alert intelligence, their outstanding characteristic is
their liking for water, not normally regarded as a feline attribute.
They not only dabble in water and play with it, but have been known to
enter ponds and even horse-troughs for a swim – they soon became
famous as the 'swimming cats.'
I was first given a pair of Van kittens
in 1955 while traveling in Turkey, and decided to bring them back to
England, although touring by car and mainly camping at the time – the
fact that they survived in good condition showed up the great
adaptability and intelligence of their breed in trying circumstances.
Experience showed that they bred absolutely true. They were not known in
Britain at that time and, because they make such intelligent and
charming pets, I decided to try to establish the breed, and to have it
recognized officially in Britain by the GCCF."
The first Turkish Van cats were brought to the United
States in 1982 and accepted into championship for showing in the Cat
Fanciers' Association (CFA) in 1994. Since then, CFA has registered
approximately 100 Turkish Van cats born each year in the US, making them one of the
rarest cat breeds. However, the gene pool thrives because it still uses Turkish Vans
imported from Turkey. Imported Turkish Van cats have no human breeding intervention and
are quite robust.
Turkish Van cats are fabulously intelligent,
and will easily take over their home and owners. Turkish Van cats are people cats that
want to be with people wherever they go. They love to play and jump and
explore anything in their reach, which is quite large. They are energetic;
they play hard and sleep hard. Many Turkish Van cats are dedicated to fetching their
particular object of interest, and many owners describe them as "dogs
in a cat suit" because of their unusual personalities.
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