Characteristics
The coat , American Bobtail on a Van is considered semi-longhaired. While many cats , Arappaloosa Horse have three distinct hair types in their coat, , Choosing your cage guard hairs, awn hairs and down hairs, the Turkish Van only has one. This makes their coat , Uromastyx feel like cashmere or rabbit fur, and the coat , Lhasa Apso dries quickly when wet. Lake Van is a region of temperature extremes and the cats , Choosing your cage have evolved a coat , Chinese Crested Dog that grows thick in the winter with a large ruff and bottlebrush tail , Manchester Terrier for the harsh winters and then sheds out short in the body for the warm summers. The full tail , Tibetan Spaniel is kept year round.
The Van is one of the larger cat breeds. , Bronze Wing Pionus The males can reach 20 lb (9 kg) and the females , Choosing your cage 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 , Hackney (rare among cats). Vans are also called the "Swimming Cats" since they have been known to take a dip in Lake Van in their native country. , Koolie Dog They may have acquired this trait due to the very hot summers and have extremely waterproof coats , Cirneco dell'Etna Dog that make bathing them a challenge. Most Vans in the US are indoor cats , Bacterial diseases and do not have access to large bodies of water , Finnish Spitz but their love and curiosity of water , Korean Jindo Dog stays with them. Instead of swimming they stir their water , Dog Humour bowls and invent fishing games in the toilet.(ewwe)
Breed standards
Breed standards , German Shepherd allow for one or more body spots as long as there is no more than 20% color and the cat , American Bobtail does not give the appearance , Grooming your Cat of a bicolor. Although red tabby and white is the classic van color, the color on a van's head and tail , Dog Shows 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. , Kitten Care (Siamese, Himalayan etc...)
Preservation
Turkish Vans are a naturally occurring breed , Kitten Care of cat. , Botia 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 , Goffin's Cockatoo 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 , Arappaloosa Horse 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 , Uromastyx through history show this. The classic red tabby and white pattern gives the ringtail appearance , Four-eyed fishes 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 , Irish Wolfhound with rings on its tail. , Chinese Crested Dog " (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. , Choosing your cage A quote from Laura Lushington from the Complete Cat , Feeding your Encyclopedia, edited by Grace Pond and published in 1972:
"One of the two accepted breeds , Knabstrup in Turkey, the Van Cat , Botia is now known in Britain as the Turkish Cat. , Choosing your cage Originating in the Lake Van area of southeastern Turkey, these cats , Irish Wolfhound 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, , Portuguese Water Dogs their outstanding characteristic is their liking for water, , Volpino Italiano not normally regarded as a feline , Chartreux attribute. They not only dabble in water , Anglo-Arabian horse 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. , Feeding your ' I was first given a pair of Van kittens , Norwegian Elkhound 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 , Grooming your Cat of their breed , Chartreux 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 , Uromastyx and charming pets, I decided to try to establish the breed, , Quarab Horse 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 , Tibetan Spaniel 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. , Norwegian Elkhound However, 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, , Chinese Crested Dog and will easily take over their home and owners. Vans are people cats , Volpino Italiano 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 , Knabstrup suit" because of their unusual personalities.
