 The Turkish Van region of southeastern (Turkish:
Van Kedisi, in Armenian:
Վանա կատու)
(also known as the Swimming Cat) is a rare, naturally occurring breed
of cat
originally found in the Lake
VanTurkey.
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 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".
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 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 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.
What might be the most interesting trait of the breed is its
unusual fascination with water
(cats, generally, dislike being immersed in water). The unusual
trait may be due to the breed's proximity to Lake Van in their
native country; it may have acquired this trait due to the very hot summers
and have extremely waterproof coats that make bathing them a
challenge. As such, Vans have been nicknamed the "Swimming
Cats" for this most unusual trait. Most Vans 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.
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 Tortoise, Brown Patched Tabby, Blue patched Tabby and any
other color not showing evidence of hybridization with the pointed
cats (Siamese,
Himalayan,
etc).
Preservation
Black and White Turkish Van female (right) and Red Tabby and
White Turkish Van male (left) in a window
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 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.
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.
Origins
Turkish Vans 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 Vans 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 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.
Vansaspets
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.
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