Turkish Van
Common Nickname
Van, Swimming Cat
Country of origin
Turkey
Breed standards (external links)
AACE, CFA, ACFA, TICA, ACF, GCCF, FIFe
Notes
Occurs naturally in the Lake Van region of Turkey

The Turkish Van (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 Van region of eastern Turkey. 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. A chart of the effects of the piebald white spotting gene 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

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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.

More on [ Turkish Van ]

Turkish Van - Twitter Search

@snowwhitecat hope you don't mind, we had to follow. we have a Snowwhite at the Funny Farm. Pure bred Turkish Van that was going to be pts
gafunnyfarm (Animal Sanctuary) Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:56:52 -0000
@snowwhitecat hope you don't mind, we had to follow. we have a Snowwhite at the Funny Farm. Pure bred Turkish Van that was going to be pts
Onbenullige info maar waar: die Turkish Apple thee van Pickwick is echt heel lekker
femstr (Femke) Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:40:44 -0000
Onbenullige info maar waar: die Turkish Apple thee van Pickwick is echt heel lekker
#musicmonday "Turkish Mach" Ludwig van Beethoven
Bklynst8ofmind (Dreas) Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:48:52 -0000
#musicmonday "Turkish Mach" Ludwig van Beethoven
Its gets better people: RT @mariannerd: U eft out best part.."roe" and the "zak van Sinterklaas". Did u know he's actually a Turkish Bishop!
danmc (Daniel McPherson) Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:03:18 -0000
Its gets better people: RT @mariannerd: U eft out best part.."roe" and the "zak van Sinterklaas". Did u know he's actually a Turkish Bishop!
@danmc You left out the best part... the "roe" and the "zak van Sinterklaas". Did you know he's actually a Turkish Bishop! Confusing I know!
mariannerd (Marianne) Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:01:09 -0000
@danmc You left out the best part... the "roe" and the "zak van Sinterklaas". Did you know he's actually a Turkish Bishop! Confusing I know!
join my cat club. we will meet every monday and have a guest cat of the week. this week: turkish van. please join! CAT LOVERS FOR LIFE!!<3<3
elizabethhh123 (elizabeth!) Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:39:44 -0000
join my cat club. we will meet every monday and have a guest cat of the week. this week: turkish van. please join! CAT LOVERS FOR LIFE!!<3<3

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