Turkish Van
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| Turkish Van | |
|---|---|
 Immature male red tabby Turkish Van
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| Alternative names | |
| Swimming Cat | |
| Origin | |
| Turkey | |
| Common nicknames | |
| Van | |
| Breed standard | |
| FIFe | : standard |
| CFA | : standard |
| TICA | : standard |
| GCCF | : standard |
| AACE | : standard |
| ACFA | : standard |
| ACF | : standard |
The Turkish Van is a breed of cat native to the rugged mountains of the Lake Van region in Eastern Anatolia of modern Turkey. This geographical region is a part of Armenian Highland or Armenian Plateau, a plateau of Asia Minor, connecting the Lesser Caucasus with the Taurus Mountains. Originally called the Turkish Cat,[1] the name was changed in 1979 in the U.S. ( 1985 in the U.K.) to Turkish Van[2] to better distance the breed from the Turkish Angora cat which had its origins around Ankara, in central Turkey. Traditionally, in the cat fancy, Turkish Vans are recognized as patterned cats with color restricted to the head and tail with the body of the cat being white. At the same time, in Turkish tradition, solid white is the color for the Van Kedisi,[3] which some consider to be synonymous with the Turkish Van.[4][Need quotation on talk to verify]. There is also a controversy regarding whether the cat should be referred to as the "Turkish Van", which is largely surrounding the question of whether the breed was really "developed" by Turks, or otherwise by Kurds or Armenians (see respective article).
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[edit] Origins
In the Complete Cat Encyclopedia, edited by Grace Pond and published in 1972, Laura Lushington wrote that:
"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."
[edit] Characteristics
The coat is the most fascinating trait on this cat. The climate change in Turkey throughout the year seems to have designed the cat's coat over time. Eastern Turkey is mountainous, and Lake Van sits over 5,260 ft (1,600 m).) above sea level. The area faces such extreme temperatures during the summer and winter seasons that it is almost inhospitable. The semi–long haired, water resistant single coat, is thick in winter but very soft, like rabbit fur or cashmere. At maturity, the cat will have a winter mane. During the spring and summer months when Turkey becomes extremely hot, the long hair on the body is shed for a shorter coat that retains the cashmere feel. The hair on the tail remains long throughout the year and has the appearance of a bottle brush.
The Turkish Van is a large, semi-longhaired cat with a swimmer's body. Ideal type should feature broad shoulders with a body that is 'top heavy', that is a cat with its center of gravity forward. The cat is moderately long and its back legs are slightly longer than its front legs but, neither the cat itself nor its legs are so long to be disproportionate. These cats are large and muscular and feature short necks. Male Vans grow to about 16 pounds (7.3 kg).) while Females tend to be a bit lighter in weight, 12 to 14 lb (5.4 to 6.4 kg).) A Van will take up to 3 years to reach full maturity. Vans have been known to reach 3 ft (0.91 m).) long from nose to tip of tail
The shoulders of the Turkish Van are broad with the ability for one to place three fingers between the legs at the chest area. It is said that large Van males are the only domestic cats that cannot follow their heads through a fence due to the broadness of their chest and shoulders. The rear end on the cat should not exceed the width of the shoulders - in other words, no bell bottomed or pear shape should be seen.
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. As of late, some Vans have developed green eyes, though the green shade is not rated highly with breed associations.
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. Unusual for cat breeds, Turkish Vans love to play in the water and will join you in the tub for a dip or help you in the sink and are known as "the swimming cat." 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.[5]
Vans, because of their fine fur, are hypo-allergenic cats. They are considered excellent pets for those with allergies.
[edit] Breed standards
The coloring of the Turkish Van should be limited to the head and tail with random body spots acceptable but all color should not exceed more than 20% of the entire cat with no lower case markings(marking on the legs). The random spots should not detract from the pattern. This would be a small color cap on the head with a white blaze to at least between the front edge of the ears, and a colored tail in any of the traditional colors. The rest of the cat is chalk white. Color can extend up the rump from the tail of the cat and patterned cats often have a random spot or spots of color on the shoulder (more frequently on the left shoulder) or body.
White Turkish Vans should be solid white if that variety is accepted by their registration association.
The traditional color of a Turkish Van is Red Tabby and White; as this was the first color exported out of Turkey. Later colors added were Cream, Black, Blue, Cream Tabby, Brown Tabby, Blue Tabby, Tortoiseshell, Dilute Tortoiseshell, Brown Torbie, and Blue Torbie.
Currently, in Turkey, the Van Kedisi (English: Van cat) is recognized only as an all white cat, generally with eyes of two different colors (see Odd-eyed cat). These all-white cats may be either short or long haired. The all white Turkish Van is claimed to be genetically identical to the patterned cat with the exception of the white masking gene (W) that "covers" the pattern.[6] Offspring of a white Turkish Van mated to a patterned Van will be a 50/50 mix of white and patterned kittens. However, this can only be the case if the white is masking the van pattern. As white can mask any possible cat color and pattern, solid and bicolor kittens could be produced from a white to van-patterned mating. At present cat associations in England recognize the patterned offspring of such a mating as Turkish Vans and the white offspring as a new breed called Turkish Vankedisi. In the U.S., TICA has fully accepted the white vans as Turkish Vans as has the Government of Turkey.[7][Need quotation on talk to verify] CFA, the world's largest registry of pedigreed cats, does not recognize the all-white Turkish Van as they define the breed by both its type and pattern.
[edit] Legend of the coat markings
There is a Turkish legend that explains how a Van cat got its copper-brown marks on its coat. According to this legend, Allah (that means the “Lord” or “God”) blessed the Van cat by putting his hand on it when the cat was leaving Noah’s Ark after the ark landed on Mount Ararat. In the places on the cat’s coat where the Creator had touched it, the flaming marks appeared. The spot on the left shoulder, which the Turks call “the thumbprint of Allah’s right hand”, resembles the shape of the print of a thumb. Why is the print of the thumb? Because there is no red without tabby, and even in the absence of the agouti, which is responsible for tabby, there are lighter and darker tones in the red marks of Van cats. The mark on the left shoulder can look as if the coloration was pressed out from the center to the periphery under the pressure of a finger. And the answer to the question, why the All-Mighty Creator had blessed the cat, may be found in the same source that preserved for us the legend on Noah and the tasting of the first wine produced after the Flood. It turned out that our Lord had blessed the cat because the cat caught and killed the mice[1] that tried to make a hole in the bottom of the Noah’s Ark[2]. The cat completed the Creator’s will, and thanks to it, the cat saved Noah’s family, and, correspondingly, the whole of mankind. So it is the Cat of Lake Van, or simply “vana katu” in Armenian.
[edit] Varieties
 Red tabby |
 Tortie and white |
 Cream Turkish Van |
[edit] Preservation
Turkish Vans are a naturally occurring breed of cat.[citation needed] They can still be found in east Turkey, near Lake Van, generally as ferals.[citation needed] Their numbers have diminished, but both the all-white Van Kedisi and the Turkish Angora, as well as all-white odd-eyed Anatoli (Turkish Shorthair) are under the protection of the Turkish government and are bred at the Ankara Zoo.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Rex, Abyssinian and Turkish Cats, by Alison Ashford and Grace Pond, ISBN 0-668-03356-8
- ^ Turkish Van Cat Club newsletter, Van Cat Chat No. 5. Winter 1985/1986
- ^ Van Kedisi, by Dr. Fuat ODABASIOGLU, University of Veterinary Medicine Fakultesi, Van, Turkey, ISBN 975-97226-0-7
- ^ Van Kedisi, by Dr. Fuat ODABASIOGLU, University of Veterinary Medicine Fakultesi, Van, Turkey, ISBN 975-97226-0-7
- ^ http://www.vantasia.org/turk_char.html
- ^ Robinson's Genetics for Cat Breeders and Veterinarians, Fourth Edition, 1999, Pg. 148, ISBN 0-7506-4069-3
- ^ Van Kedisi, by Dr. Fuat ODABASIOGLU, University of Veterinary Medicine Fakultesi, Van, Turkey, ISBN 975-97226-0-7
[edit] External links
- Turkish Van Breed Profile
- Turkish Van Breed Article
- Turkish Van Breed Article
- Turkish Van discussion group
- Turkish Van Photos
