Despite the loud statements of many cat breeders, there are actually not so many native breeds of these pets. They are distinguished from the rest by their excellent physique, good health from nature and the stability of the phenotype. Turkish van - a cat belonging to one of the oldest breeds that are natural (indigenous).
The legend of the origin of the Turkish van
There is a very interesting legend about the origin of the Turkish van breed. If you pay attention to the photo, you will notice a small speck on the left forearm of the animal, in shape resembling a fingerprint of a human finger. This feature is in cats with a classic red-white color. According to legend, God himself blessed the van to catch the mouse created by the devil, which tried to gnaw Noah's Ark in order to flood it with water. In gratitude, the Lord blessed the cat and laid his right hand on it, and as a result, this imprint appeared.
From the history of breed recognition
Obviously, the history of breeding these cats as pets began long before the official recognition of the breed. They got their name in accordance with the territory in which their ancestors lived (the Vana cat population) - this is Lake Van, located on the Armenian Highlands, now owned by Turkey.
Representatives of this breed left their homeland earlier, however, it is officially believed that they first came to the UK in 1955. The English journalist Laura Lashington began work on including them in the international standard. In 1955, she, along with photographer Sonya Halliday, traveled around Turkey to prepare a report for one of the British publications. Lushington was a well-known pet lover and it is not at all surprising that a Turkish van cat was attracting her attention. She liked not only their appearance, but also their character with very unusual features. Journalists donated two kittens of different sexes, with whom she went back to England.
Four years later, she brought two more animals from Turkey, which gave rise to promising offspring with stable phenotypic characters, which were perfectly inherited. This prompted Lushington to the idea that they must be thoroughbred (purebred). Then followed a decade of work on the selection and breeding of Van cats. As a result, in 1969 they were included in the English national registry. In 1971, the breed was recognized by the international organization for the breeding and breeding of new cat breeds.
Cats breed Turkish van: a description of the appearance
Turkish vans have certain differences in the standards of various international organizations, but at the same time they are characterized by common "classic" features. They are quite large cats with an elongated muscular body, a developed chest and legs (the front ones are slightly longer than the rear ones). The pads on the paws are pink and hair brushes are visible between the fingers. The breed has a noticeable sexual demorphism, expressed in larger sizes of males compared to females. The weight of an adult cat ranges from 6 to 9 kg, and cats - 4.5-6 kg. Full puberty occurs at the age of 3-5 years.
The cat of the Turkish Van breed has a medium length nose with a slight transition from the forehead. The shape of the head is wedge-shaped. The eyes of the Turkish van are saturated in copper or amber color, less often blue, in addition, there are odd-eyed individuals. Laura Lushington in her memoirs wrote about the chalk-white semi-long hair of cats, which in texture resembled mink fur.
Coloring cats Turkish van
According to the standards of all international organizations, the classic color for this breed is the color called “Vansky”. It means a red-chestnut tail in the shape of a brush with 3-5 pronounced rings, several spots of the same shade on the muzzle near the ears, the rest of the body is white (at least 80% of the total surface). In addition, at present, some felinological organizations of the cat breed of the Turkish van cream, black, tortie or blue color is also recognized.
WCF breed standard
The World Cat Federation (WCF) currently recognizes only those representatives of the classic Turkish color as a Turkish Van breed. The organization also imposes certain requirements on the physique, size and phenotype of cats, which are called the standard.
- A cat of Van breed must have a physique that is distinguished by an average strength with pronounced musculature. The chest and neck are massive and strong. Extremities of medium length with rounded paws and tufts of wool between the fingers. The tail is medium, well lowered, resembling a brush.
- The shape of the head is a truncated triangle, the length is medium. The breed is a Turkish van characterized by an almost straight profile and strong chin.
- Ears that are high, upright and straight set have a wide base, the tips are slightly rounded.
- Turkish van has large oval eyes, the location is slightly slanted. Color - amber, blue or different with a pink fringing.
- The coat is of medium length, without a thick undercoat, silky to the touch to the very roots.
The Federation also claims that if a Turkish Van cat has small colored spots randomly scattered throughout its body, but has good characteristics in other respects, it should not be disqualified.
Character of Turkish Van
Van cats have an intelligent and friendly disposition, love affection, but are absolutely independent and full of dignity. They have a melodic voice, are very energetic and sociable. The latter quality is simply indispensable in pets, if the family has children. Turkish vans are mobile, curious from nature and enjoy frolic with toys both alone and in the company of man. They have good health and strong immunity, so animals feel great on walks, even in winter.
Turkish van is a cat breed (photos of its representatives are in the review) with a very unusual property of character and behavior. Unlike the vast majority of their relatives, they are not afraid of water, moreover, they swim with pleasure in it. They are attracted by the murmur of a thin stream pouring from the tap, and they can not only play with it, but also completely move to the sink or bath. The wool of representatives of this breed has a water-repellent ability, because they have almost no undercoat. Such an unusual habit for cats went to the Van from their ancestors, who, existing on the shore of the lake, got used to fishing in shallow water.
Host relationship
The Turkish van will be devotedly attached to all members of the family, however, it is customary to consider it to be “a cat of one owner”, since in any case he will single out someone alone. Representatives of the breed are very sociable and can clearly express their emotions, bringing to the person’s attention their needs in a fairly understandable form. They have a good facial expression, which is emphasized by the contrasting color of the muzzle.
It is enough to read the reviews about the breed of cats of the Turkish van to understand how friendly and interesting they are. The owners of the animals confirm that they are very curious and enjoy participating in everything that people are doing, following them like dogs. Many breeders emphasize this feature. Van dogs get along well with dogs, but by virtue of an independent and proud disposition, they strive to rule everything.
Care and maintenance
Turkish van is a cat breed, information about which is presented above, which is distinguished by excellent health and stamina. They are not prone to genetic mutations and diseases. This is because they are native, not artificially bred. Of course, there are exceptions, and diseases such as fleas, helminthiases, lichen also happen, but their reason lies in the improper care of the animal and its lifestyle.
As mentioned above, the van has almost no undercoat, so the wool is not prone to tangling and is easy to care for. It is enough to comb the pet 1-2 times a week and somewhat more often during molting. Baths are happy to wash and even bathe in the pool. As in the case of other cats, you should regularly cut the claws, examine the teeth at the veterinarian.