Turkish Van

Pedigree Breeds Abyssinian Asian Balinese Bengal Birman Bombay British Blue British Shorthair Burmese Burmilla Chinchilla Cornish Rex Devon Rex Egyptian Mau Exotic Havana Korat LaPerm Maine Coon Manx Moggies Norwegian Forest Cat Ocicat Oriental Shorthair Oriental Longhair (Angora) Persian Pixie-bob Ragdoll Russian Blue Siamese Siberian Singapura Somali Sphynx Tiffanie Tonkinese Turkish Van

The Turkish Van originates in the area of southwest Asia around the area of Lake Van. During the mid 1950s two British cat fanciers, Laura Lushington and Sonia Halliday were travelling in Turkey and were extremely attracted to the Van with his very particular coat pattern where the markings are restricted to the head and tail.

Whilst there are a number of breeds who dislike water less than others – Somalis, for example, will quite happily walk through shallow streams – The Turkish Van positively loves water and will swim to cool themselves. The coat is waterproof, and indeed the GCCF Breed Standard makes particular mention that the coat should not be greasy.

The two Turkish Van cats that were imported from Turkey were bred and produced kittens bearing the same markings, and so the breed was launched in the UK. They show remarkable loyalty for a cat, demonstrating great affection for their owners. The Turkish Van is a large, strong cat whose expression gives a clear picture of inquiring intelligence. We were first intoduced to Vans by a boarding client who had brought her cat back from Turkey where she worked for the Foreign Office, and he was an absolute delight, wonderfully good-natured and extremely handsome.

Auburn is the original colouring of the Turkish Van but over the years the range has increased to encompass the range of Tabby, Tortie, Tortie Tabby in a number of colours, including odd-eyed varieties. There is an all-white Van, the Vankedisi (Heavenly, below is a Vankedisi) that carrries the gene for both White and Auburn which has recently been recognised by the GCCF.

Although Turkish Vans have no particular health problems, it makes good sense to insure your cats.  Many breeders sell their kittens with six weeks free insurance cover.  More and more owners are now insuring their pets as advances in veterinary medicine, plus the soaring costs of drugs can mean astronomical bills.

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