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Turkish Van
Immature male red tabby Turkish Van
Alternative names
Swimming Cat
Country of origin
Turkey
Common nicknames
Van
Breed standards
CFA	: standard
FIFe	: standard
TICA	: standard
GCCF	: standard
AACE	: standard
ACFA	: standard
ACF	: standard

The Turkish Van is a rare, naturally occurring breed of cat from the Lake Van region of present-day Turkey. For Turkish Vans, 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.^[1] The spotting gene (Leucism) 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". Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... A picture of my male red tabby and white Turkish Van cat Grand Champion Caravanserai Haldir of Furdervish, I took when he was eight months old that shows the breed . ... The Cat Fanciers Association, Inc. ... The Fédération Internationale Féline (or FIFe) is a federation of cat registries. ... The International Cat Association More commonly known as TICA is the worlds second-largest cat registry in North America. ... The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) is the organization that registers pedigreed cats in the United Kingdom. ... A cat breed is an infrasubspecific rank for the classification of domestic cats. ... Binomial name Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758 Synonyms Felis lybica invalid junior synonym The cat (or domestic cat, house cat) is a small carnivorous mammal. ... Lake Van Armenian: ; (Turkish: Van Gölü; Kurdish: ) is the largest lake in Turkey, located in the far east of the country. ... Leucism is characterized by reduced pigmentation, resulting in an individual with white or brighter patches of fur, plumage or skin than in the typical representative of the species. ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ... Binomial name (Shaw, 1802) The Ball python (Python regius), also known as the Royal python, is a ground-dwelling, nonvenomous snake native to the savannahs and rain forests of western and central Africa, ball pythons can be found from Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia on the west...

Characteristics

The coat on a Van 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 only has one. This makes their coat feel like cashmere or rabbit fur, and the coat dries quickly when wet. Lake Van is surrounded by a region of temperature extremes and the cats have an environmentally-appropriate coat that grows thick in the winter with a large ruff and bottle brush tail for the harsh winters and then sheds out short in the body for the warm summers. The full tail is kept year round. Guard hairs are the longest, thickest hairs in a mammals coat, forming the topcoat (or outer coat). ... Awn hairs are the intermediate hairs in a mammals coat. ... Down hairs, also called the undercoat or ground hairs, are the very fine, fluffy hairs closest to the skin on some mammals. ... Kashmere redirects here. ...

The Van 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. Vans 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.

Perhaps the most interesting trait of the breed is its fascination with water; most cat breeds dislike being immersed in water and staying in the open when it is raining. Vans have been nicknamed the "Swimming Cats" for this most unusual trait. Impact from a water drop causes an upward rebound jet surrounded by circular capillary waves. ...

Breed standards

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 van's head and tail can be one of the following: Red, Cream, Black, Blue, Red Tabby, Cream Tabby, Brown Tabby, Blue Tabby, Tortoiseshell, Dilute Tortoiseshell (also known as blue-cream), Brown Patched Tabby, Blue patched Tabby and any other color not showing evidence of hybridization with the pointed cats (Siamese, Himalayan, etc). A tortoiseshell (technically tortoiseshell-and-white) cat. ... The Siamese is one of the first distinctly recognised breeds of Oriental cat. ... Front view of a Himalayan cat Side view of a Himalayan cat The Himalayan, also called colourpoint persian, is a breed of cat with extremely long, fluffy fur, and the blue eyes and the points of a Siamese. ...

In recent years, all white Turkish Vans have been recognised as Turkish Vankedisis by some registries.

Varieties

Red tabby Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

Tortie and white Image File history File links Piper2. ...

Cream Turkish Van

.

Preservation

Turkish Vans 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 Vans and the Turkish Angora, (which is a separate breed with different characteristics originating in 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. Lake Van Armenian: ; (Turkish: Van Gölü; Kurdish: ) is the largest lake in Turkey, located in the far east of the country. ... The Turkish Angora (Turkish: Ankara Kedisi) is a breed of domestic cat. ... Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the countrys second largest city after İstanbul. ...

Turkish Van, Van, Turkey 1973, showing different coloured eyes

Vans 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 Vans. Angoras also carry the W gene associated with white fur, blue eyes and deafness while Vans do not. Van eye color can be amber, blue or odd (one each, amber and blue) but Vans with two blue eyes are not deaf like Angoras. The breed should be thin and nimble and should be very independent to each other. Van (Armenian ) is a city in eastern Turkey and the seat of Van Province, and is located on the eastern shore of Lake Van. ... Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the countrys second largest city after Ä°stanbul. ...

Origins

Van Guzelli Iskenderun, the first registered Turkish Van, was imported from Turkey in 1955 by Laura Lushington

In the Complete Cat Encyclopedia, edited by Grace Pond and published in 1972, Laura Lushington wrote that: Image File history File links Van_Guzelli_Iskenderun. ... Image File history File links Van_Guzelli_Iskenderun. ...

"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 colouring. 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 Vans 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 Vans born each year in the US, making them one of the rarest cat breeds. However, the gene pool thrives because it still uses Vans imported from Turkey. Imported Vans have no human breeding intervention and are quite robust. The Saluki is a breed of dogs known for speed, stamina and endurance. ... The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) is the organization that registers pedigreed cats in the United Kingdom. ... The Cat Fanciers Association, Inc. ...

Vans as pets

Turkish Vans are very intelligent, and will easily take over their home and owners. Vans are people cats that want to be with people wherever they go. They like to play and jump and explore anything in their reach, which is quite large. They are energetic; they play hard and sleep hard. Many Vans 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.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Van Kedisi - A breed of all white cat from the Lake Van region.

A Van Cat kitten from the village of Agarti (former Ayanis), near Van city The Van Kedisi - Turkish for Van Cat is a distinctive breed of domestic cat that is found mainly in the Lake Van region of present-day Turkey. ...

Footnotes

1. ^ A chart of the effects of the piebald white spotting gene

External links

• Turkish Van Breed Profile
• Turkish Van Breed Article
• US Turkish Van Cat Club
• UK Turkish Van Cat Club
• International Turkish Van Cat Club
• Turkish Van Breed Rescue
• Turkish Van Links and Breeders
• Turkish Van discussion group
• Website of Van Municipality, using the Van cat as their symbol