The Breed
South African breeding of Turkish Van
In South Africa, for many recent years, there were no Turkish Van breeders and you would have had to import one, if you wanted this exquisite breed. Now, thankfully, you can purchase a purebred Turkish Van for a quarter of the price you would have paid if imported.
Though this breed is extremely rare, you can count yourself lucky if you are one of the few selected to be owned by one of these cats – you will most likely be waiting a while on a waiting list as the demand is high and we do not like to overbreed our precious queens. You can be sure you will be receiving a kitten of very high standard, pampered as only a Van should be…
The Turkish Van
(Turkish: Van Kedisi) (also known as the Turkish Swimming Cat) is a rare, naturally occurring cat originally found in the Lake Van region of southeastern Turkey. The word “Van” refers to their colour 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.
The spotting gene appears in many different species (even in horses!). 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 9 - 11kg (more have been reported…) 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.
Another interesting trait is their fascination with water, which is of course very rare among cats. Vans are affectionately known as "Swimming Cats" since they have been known to take a dip in Lake Van in their native country.
They may have acquired this trait due to the very hot summers and have extremely waterproof coats that make bathing them a challenge. 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.(ewe!...)
Breed standards
Breed standards allow for one or more body spots as long as there is no more than 20% colour and the cat does not give the appearance of a bicolour. Although red tabby and white is the classic van colour, the colour 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 colour not showing evidence of hybridization with the pointed cats. (Siamese, Himalayan etc...)
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 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 (meaning offspring’s pattern do not vary from parents), confirming they are a true natural breed.
The gene pool thrives because it still uses Vans imported from Turkey. Imported Vans have no human breeding intervention and are quite robust.
Vans as pets
Turkish Vans are fabulously intelligent, and will easily take over their home and owners. Vans are people cats that want to be with people wherever they go. They love 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. It has been said that these “swimming cats” love the water – this is true however not many simply jump into the water for an afternoon swim on a hot day!
They react positively to the sound of water and, unlike other cats, do not mind getting their paws and other parts of their bodies wet, so water games are a firm favourite. Bathing? That’s a whole other story… They are, after all, cats… And no matter what you think, cats own people, not the other way around! They will do as they please when they please, and that is exactly why we love them so much!!!