Let’s take a look at another fantastic cat breed in this post: the Turkish Van.
This domestic breed is distinguished by its medium-length hair. They are mostly all white, with orange color patterns restricted only to their heads and ails. They were created in Britain by taking cats from regions of Turkey, hence the name. The other thing about Turkish Vans is that they are very, very rare.
Turkish Vans can have amber eyes or blue eyes, and it is not uncommon for this breed to have one eye of each color. They have been officially recognized as a cat breed since 1969 and they should not get mixed up with the Turkish Angora—a completely separate breed.While most of the time the color on Turkish Van’s heads and tails is orange, it can range from black to blue to red to cream colored.
Sometimes, they are all-white. In this case, their are some governing bodies that do not recognize the cat as being truly Turkish Van. The Turkish Van does not have multiple coats, including an undercoat. Instead, they just have one coat of semi-long hair. Because of this, their coat is very, very silky to the touch. It almost feels more like a rabbit’s pelt, or even a cashmere, than cat fur.
Among the domestic cat breeds, the Turkish Van is one of the larger varieties. They are quite long and heavy, and their muscular, large physique is sought after by cat lover. Male Turkish Vans can get as big as 15 pounds or more, while their female counterparts average around 13 pounds.
Their paws are quite big, and because they are so muscular they are very adept at jumping high and far. Turkish Vans do not mature as quickly as other cats. They usually take about three years to fully develop into adults. Once there, they can get very long: From the end of the tail to the tip of the nose can sometimes by three feet long.
These cats are great hunters, and because they have such a liking of water compared to other cats, they are sometimes known as swimming cats.
