Stray Turkish Van?

[ELTravis]

My wife and I rescued this stray boy last week and we’ve decided to keep him because he’s very good with the kids and very affectionate. Our first daughters have named him Moonshadow.

We’re thinking he might be a Turkish Van. Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[cataholic07]

Turkish vans are pretty rare so it's unlikely. Most cats aren't a particular breed so probably just a stunning domestic long hair cat.

 

[ELTravis]

Turkish vans are pretty rare so it's unlikely. Most cats aren't a particular breed so probably just a stunning domestic long hair cat.

Yea you’re probably right. He’s most likely just van patterned.
He is absolutely gorgeous regardless and it hurts to think of the rough shape we found him in
We absolutely adore him.

 

[StefanZ]

Did you looked on if he has a microchip? Vets and police are supposed to control the microchip for free.

IF he is a turkish van and happened to come astray, the chance is good he is microchipped.

 

[ELTravis]

Did you looked on if he has a microchip? Vets and police are supposed to control the microchip for free.

IF he is a turkish van and happened to come astray, the chance is good he is microchipped.

Yes actually. It was one of the first things we did after getting him the medical care he needed. Unfortunately, we found out after some sleuthing that his previous owner was elderly and had died. We searched for a next of kin, but found no one.

 

[molly92]

Unless you actually live in Turkey, there's basically no chance that a stray is a Turkish Van. There are only about 100 born in the US every year, and their breeders keep close track of them!

The van pattern, on the other hand, is a very common genetic trait in lots and lots of cats. He's a beautiful boy, though! I love his crazy big ears. Thank you for giving him such a loving home!

 

[ELTravis]

Unless you actually live in Turkey, there's basically no chance that a stray is a Turkish Van. There are only about 100 born in the US every year, and their breeders keep close track of them!

The van pattern, on the other hand, is a very common genetic trait in lots and lots of cats. He's a beautiful boy, though! I love his crazy big ears. Thank you for giving him such a loving home!

My wife was just reading that there’s only 100 in the US. So it doesn’t seem likely. And in the end, it doesn’t really matter. We love this guy so much and we can’t imagine our lives without him now. He’s an odd fellow too lol. He’ll watch just about anything on tv.
And we love his ears too and everything else about him.

 

[StefanZ]

Yes actually. It was one of the first things we did after getting him the medical care he needed. Unfortunately, we found out after some sleuthing that his previous owner was elderly and had died. We searched for a next of kin, but found no one.

Aha. The chance is big the janitor just let him out, to get the problem over.... Not bothering to try and call the shelter or Animal Friends.

 

[ELTravis]

Aha. The chance is big the janitor just let him out, to get the problem over.... Not bothering to try and call the shelter or Animal Friends.

That actually sounds really likely. Like when his previous owner’s house was being cleared out he either got out or was put out. Either way, the poor boy must have been terrified.
We even tried Facebook to see if we could find his owner’s account and look for friends that could give us more information, but we never found one. We just hope his owner is watching over us and can see that their boy is finally happy and safe again.