Turkish Van

The Turkish Van is a recognized cat breed that is known for its unusual love of water and swimming. They were created from the cats native to the Lake Van area of Turkey. The cats of this type are named in Turkish Van Kedisi (although it is used to refer solely to the all-white form), in Armenian vana katou or vana gadou (Armenian: վանա կատու, literally translates to Van Cat) and in Kurdish (Pisîka Wanê). Originally called in the West the Turkish Cat, the name was changed in 1979 in the U.S. (1985 in the U.K.) to Turkish Van 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 colour restricted to the head and tail with the body of the cat being white. However, in Turkey, the cat is recognised in an all-white form as well as the form with red patterning and a "fox tail", and with blue eyes, amber eyes, or one eye of each colour (Heterochromia iridis).

Origins
One of the two accepted breeds in Turkey, the Van Cat is now known in Britain as the Armenian Cat. Van was a city once part of Armenia (Turkeys neighboring country, What is modern day van belonged with its churhces and land to Armenia before the genocide). The cats date back centuries to a city now under the ruling of Turkey. Van was short for "Vanazor" Meaning mountainous regions in Armenia. Originating in the Lake Van area of southeastern Turkey (which was once Armenia), 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

Historic references to the breed

Starting from the 16th century, the first long-haired cats were brought to Europe as wonders because there had been only short-haired cats in Europe at the time. Numerous Vans had been imported as Angora cats that were introduced a little earlier. At the same time, red-and-white van-patterned Van cats were usually described as whites that may be seen at the painting of French artist Antoine Jean Bail (1830–1918) named "A Young Girl With A White Cat". It seems that little changed since then. If we look carefully at the people's vacation photos that are published even in the Internet, we may notice that several of the 'white' Van cats in the pictures plainly had patches of red fur. As it was noticed by the visitors of Van region, the current population of Van tended to describe cats which were nearly all white (with high degree of white spotting) as "white." And even at present, when it was confirmed by a geneticist that Vans and Angoras are definitely separate breeds, Vans are sometimes confused with Turkish Angoras, although a side-by-side comparison reveals vastly different characteristics. The Angora cats originated in the ancient Byzantine city Ankira (Ἄγκυρα (Ánkyra, meaning "Anchor") that was also known to the West as Angora (after the town was occupied by Seljuck Turks at the beginning of 11th c.) (Ankara modern capital of Turkey), and descended separately from the Vans.