Turkish Van Breed Information

Turkish Van

Turkish Van

Often called the swimming cat because of it’s love of water, the Turkish Van is a rare cat breed, originating from the Lake Van region of Turkey. Designed to cope in extreme temperatures this cat has semi longhaired, with tufts on it’s feet and ears to protect it from the cold.  The main distinguishable characteristic of this cat is it’s colouring.  To confirm to breed standards, the cat should be virtually all white on the body, with just a small amount of colour on it’s head and tail.  Other breeds with these markings are often referred to as having ‘van patterning’.

This breed is a large and muscular animal and should be proportionate in its build with no one feature being exaggerated.  If socialised as a kitten, and from a well mannered mother cats, this breed can be extremely affectionate and loving, and can be likened to a dog in the way it chooses to follow its owner around.

If allowed outside this cat excels as a hunter.  Highly intelligent this cat is also quite easy to train and loves to play retrieve games and while away the hours teasing a ball of scrunched paper.  The Van is also a very active cat, that loves high vantage points and can often be found climbing onto the tops of doors to get that premium spot!

The Turkish Van’s coat should be silky and smooth, with no undercoat.  This virtually eliminates the chances of matting in the coat and makes grooming an easy, low maintenance task.