Turkish Van Cat

In Turkey the true Turkish Cat is pure white with one amber eye and one blue eye. It is generally assumed that geographic isolation is responsible for the preservation of this unique breed of cat. The most notable feature of the area of Eastern Turkey known as Eastern Anatolia is Lake Van, bounded as it is by the mountains of Suphan in the north, and Nemrut to the west. Biblical Mount Ararat is some 100 miles to the north-east. The area around Van is mountainous and suffers extremes of temperature to which the Turkish Cat has fully adapted, shedding its long hair for a shorter cooler coat in the summer, and with tufts of hair between its pads to protect its paws from the cold in the winter. The dominance of this region by Lake Van lends credence to the reputation bestowed on the cats of being swimming cats. This is not to suggest that all Turkish Van Cats like to swim, but many will do so in shallow warm water, and they love to play with running water too. vantasia.org