Is My Cat A Turkish Van?

[Brittani]

Greetings all,

In early February, I decided to adopt a 5 month old kitten from a local rescue shelter. The minute I saw her, I knew she was special and destined to be part of my family.

After bringing her home and spending more time with her, I started to suspect that she was perhaps either a mix or a purebred Turkish Van based on her looks, behaviour, and personality traits that seem to be unique to this breed (i.e. loves water, always climbs to high points in our house, doesn't like to be held for very long, energetic, smart, extremely soft cashmire-like coat, etc.). I was wondering if anyone could give me some insight here? I am quite convinced she's a Van - but would like to know the opinion of someone who has experience with this breed?

Many thanks!

 

[abyeb]

She doesn’t have quite the van pattern- that would be color restricted to the area by the ears, and the tail, and only 15% of the rest of the body can be colored. Your kitty is in the harlequin pattern (and a calico in coloring), but that is pretty close to the van pattern anyway. Overall in looks and personality, yes, she seems quite similar to a Turkish Van to me as well. That is a rare breed, however, so it’s unlikely that she is a Turkish Van. If you’re really curious, though, there is DNA testing available.

Here’s an article about Turkish Vans: Turkish Van Cats: 5 Fascinating Things You Should Know

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! What a gorgeous cat!!
A purebred Van can have no color on the body (some registries allow up to 15 percent) ...only on the head and tail.
Which could be ok if you're intending to get insurance, it's more expensive for a purebred.

 

[Brittani]

Thank you for your replies!

It's true, Vans are quite rare so the likelihood that she would be either a mix or a purebred Van would be extremely unlikely. I was just curious about her, given her close similarity to the breed personality-wise. Regardless, she's a wonderful and special kitty! : )

 

[Fairmon]

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Hi new to this forum and not sure if I am posting this in the correct place,this is my cat Fairmon. I took her in as a stray in Glasgow,had never owned a cat, more of a dog person but felt sorry for her wandering the streets had watched her for 3 days before approaching her, according to the vet she was between 12 and 14 weeks old. I had never heard of a Turkish Van until about 7 years ago when a visitor said she thought she was one. She is now almost 21 yrs old,she was diagnosed with kidney problems 5 yrs ago but this is under control with special renal food,also I realised about a year ago that she had gone deaf as she was not responding to me or hearing me come into the house, unfortunately as she is deaf she seems to think that I am as well and has become very vocal. And if I am on my laptop and she is not getting enough attention she just sits on the keyboard,she actually once completed a level of Candy Crush for me by sitting on the right buttons lol

 

[abyeb]

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Hi new to this forum and not sure if I am posting this in the correct place,this is my cat Fairmon. I took her in as a stray in Glasgow,had never owned a cat, more of a dog person but felt sorry for her wandering the streets had watched her for 3 days before approaching her, according to the vet she was between 12 and 14 weeks old. I had never heard of a Turkish Van until about 7 years ago when a visitor said she thought she was one. She is now almost 21 yrs old,she was diagnosed with kidney problems 5 yrs ago but this is under control with special renal food,also I realised about a year ago that she had gone deaf as she was not responding to me or hearing me come into the house, unfortunately as she is deaf she seems to think that I am as well and has become very vocal. And if I am on my laptop and she is not getting enough attention she just sits on the keyboard,she actually once completed a level of Candy Crush for me by sitting on the right buttons lol
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Fairmon is beautiful! It’s hard to believe that she’s nearly 21. It sounds like you’re taking wonderful care of her; she’s lucky to have you.

Regarding breed, I would describe her as a red and white van Domestic Longhair. She does have a van pattern. I think she is a nice lookalike to a Turkish Van as well, but without papers, we couldn’t be sure, which is why we say Domestic Longhair.