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Breeder of the Turkish Van cats

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The Turkish Van Cat

History / origin:

The Turkish Van is an ancient breed from the Middle East. Originally the Turkish Van originate from the region around the Van lake in what is now Eastern Turkey but can also be found in Armenia and Northern Iraq and Iran. All of which are places where the climate varies to the extreme.
That the Turkish Van is a very old breed is known because of discoveries of carvings dated around 1600 years BC showing a semi-longhaired white cat with coloured rings on the tail and the Turkish Van has later been used as the motive for seals, paintings, stone tables and ornaments. When the Romans conquered the region in the year 75 BC they adopted a symbol with a cat on their war banner and also this cat was a fair plain coloured cat with coloured rings on the tail which is the characteristic of the cat we know as the Turkish Van.

In 1955 the journalist Laura Lushington and the photographer Sonia Halliday travelled around Turkey working for the Turkish Board of Tourism. One day they noticed that the cats, especially in the area around the Van Lake, carried a resemblance to the traditional Angora type because of the length of the coat. But these cats had amber markings on the head and the tail had amber coloured rings. Their Turkish host offered them two kittens that were not related. A female from South Eastern Turkey and a male from Istanbul and they brought them back to England with them. That is how the first Van cats came to Western Europe all though they had been kept as pets in Turkey for centuries. Both kittens were put in quarantine in England and later the female gave birth to three kittens with almost identical markings on head and tail. Laura started a breeding program using the cats and in 1969 the cats was officially recognized as the Turkish Van in England.

 

Legends

A story is told that on Noah’s Ark they suddenly noticed that there were too many mice onboard because as you know they breed in great numbers. After a while it became a pest and Noah asked the Lion for help in solving this problem. The lion sneezed and out came a cat with the special van pattern. The cat quickly ended the mouse pest and when the Ark stranded on the highest mountain in Turkey called Ararat the Van cat went ashore and went to the area around the Van lake where it has reigned ever since.
Another story tells that Allah blessed the Van by putting his thumbs on its head and this is why the Van has the special pattern.

 

Looks

The Turkish Van is a semi-longhaired cat with chalky white fur and coloured markings on the head and the tail. The male is considerable larger than the female and can weigh as much as 8-9 kilograms. Because of the extreme variation in the climate where the cats live it is a muscular cat with considerable body strength, heavy bone structure and with a very strong survival instinct. The head is slightly triangular with a long straight nose. The colour of the eyes varies between amber, blue or odd-eyed, which means two different coloured eyes.

The first Turkish Van cats in Western Europe where white with amber marking on the head and the tail. These markings are the most remarkable feature of the Turkish Van. The head markings are usually two coloured spots between the ears only separated by a thin white line. The tail is also coloured.

 

Coat (-care of)

Since the Turkish Van is a natural breed it is capable of taking care of it self even in the rugged setting of Eastern Turkey where the climate varies to the extreme. The Turkish Van has adapted to the varying climate by having thicker fur during the winter.

The coat is extremely soft almost like Kashmir. The cat has no under-wool so the coat does not get tangled up and stays easy for the cat to take care of. The coat is almost water-proof. If the cat jumps into the water or gets wet it simply shakes the water off and is dry in no time. Nor does filth or vermin easily stick to the coat.

 

Recognition

In 1969 the breed was recognized in England and in 1971 it was recognized by FIFe. At that time only the red/white colour with amber eyes was recognized. This was the standard for many years until the diluted variation (cream/white) and also the eye colours blue and odd-eyed was introduced. In 1997 other colour variation was accepted by FIFe. These variations include black, blue and tortie. The first Turkish Van came to Denmark in 1977 but it was not until 1988 that the first Van litter was produced.
In spite of the beautiful appearance of the Turkish Van it is still a relatively rare breed in Denmark. In spite of the beautiful appearance of the cat it is still a fairly rare breed in Denmark. There are only a few breeders across Denmark and the total number of Turkish Van cats in Denmark in 2006 is just under 150 cats. The large majority of the cats are still red/white but in recent years a few cats of different colour has come to Denmark.

 

Temper / Personality

The Turkish Van is a vivacious cat with a mind of its own. It is fond of socializing with both humans as well as other cats. You get the impression that the cat does not think of itself as a pet but more as a companion. It will not accept being ignored by its humans and expects to be greeted as soon as you come home even if it does appear to have missed you. If the cat wants to be cuddled it will let you know. The cat will stomp around just at the centre of your attention and will keep on doing this until it is satisfied with your attention. If you should choose to ignore the cat it may punish you by knocking something on to the floor. The cat expects you to be there if it needs you and it is sure to make you aware just how important it is. The cat has a great memory and is quick to learn from its mistakes.

The Turkish Van enjoys being close to its humans in order to keep an eye on them or even crawled onto your back. But it is no elegant cat, it has a tendency to suddenly fall down when it is relaxing but off course it will pretend nothing has happened. After all it is a proud cat.
The Turkish Van is also fond of water. One of its trades is that it is the cat that loves water and sometimes you will hear the Turkish Van referred to as “the swimming cat”. This characteristic is probably a left over from its natural habitat where it was used to catching food in the lake and also benefited from the many minerals in the water that you find in the Van lake due to its location high above sea-level. Many people find that the Turkish Van is fascinated by running water and is known for playing with the water. Also you risk a visit from the cat when you are in the shower or in the bathtub. But if you want to wash the cat with shampoo it suddenly looses interest.
The Turkish Van also loves to roll around in dry dirt or sand but shortly after the coat is completely white again. This is also a left over form nature where it used dirt and sand as a mean to keep vermin out of the coat. Furthermore the Turkish Van is not afraid of the changing weather. The cat does not mind going out to play in the snow and is fascinated by raindrops.

 

Health and disease

As the Turkish Van is a breed that from nature has lived almost secluded it does not have any major health problems. In general it is a very healthy and robust cat but as with all cats you should be aware of tartar.

 

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