Street Cat From Istanbul - Part Oriental?

[Piper12345]

Hi. I found my kitten (Piper) stuck in a drainpipe and starving in Turkey and brought her home to Canada. I always thought she looked weird but I originally thought she was just too thin. However, she's had plenty of food for two months now and I still think she looks very thin, thinner than I'm used to seeing. I think she is a healthy weight now though. I asked the vet here about how the kitten looks and the vet said she is healthy so "maybe she is a different breed than we are used to seeing. Like Oriental or something." I don't know anything about breeds. What breed do you think she looks like?

Her ears are "too" big. She sits like a rabbit, and her legs are very wide apart. They are big hind legs. She is long and thin. Her fur is very sleek. She has a strange box-like muzzle. She has a long thin body. She is INSANE in terms of running around and jumping on things - it's like watching a trapeze artist or ping pong. She is totally different from my other furbaby (a cream ginger tabby, furry and cuddly and quiet, 8 months old). Piper is vocal when she wants to be (the day we rescued her, she was very loud). I am training her on the leash now.
Of course she has no papers.... she was a street cat in Turkey. She is 3 or 4 months old.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

I always thought she looked weird

P Piper12345 - If by, "weird," you mean positively stunning, than yes - absolutely. She's one of the most striking cats I've ever seen.

Welcome to TCS!
.

 

[Piper12345]

Thank you! Piper is very flattered by the purraise <3

 

[abyeb]

She's so pretty! I think her big ears are adorable! She might have some Oriental in her, but cats in warmer climates can have that more slender body and big ears naturally as well. So, I would describe her as a calico Domestic Shorthair. If you're really curious if she has some Oriental ancestry, you can get her DNA tested.

 

[ArchyCat]

She is a very striking calico! I am not a breed expert. The two breeds that are supposed to be common in Turkey is the Turkish Van, and I think some variation on Persian. Turkish Vans have very distinctive coloring. Which Piper does not match. And Persians are long haired.

Maybe when she reaches maturity her breed, if any, may become more apparent.

Sounds like a sweet cat! Keep us updated over the next year as she grows!

 

[Piper12345]

Thank you for your replies! that is so nice of you. **flattered**

Yes, she is not a Turkish van. I would not have been allowed to take her out of the country if she was a Van. They are a national treasure.

I was reading that DSH cats have different gene pools in different areas of the world. So according to Wikipedia " DSH cats in Asia tend to have a build similar to a "classic" Siamese or Tonkinese, while European and American varieties have a thicker, heavier build."

That's interesting but Asia is like a zillion countries from the Middle East to the Far East. OK, in Thailand the cats on the street do look very different as I recall. They have less hair and are lean and usually brown. But in Turkey they look exactly like all the cats I've seen in the "west." Long hair, short hair, fuzzy, not fuzzy, lean, chubby, big eyes, small eyes, etc etc. All colours. Turkey is at the crossroads of Europe and Asia so cats are from all over, there. It snows in the winter - continental climate in many places.

Like in any "Western" country there are plenty of pure bred cats there that get thrown on the street unfortunately. And cats are not typically fixed like they are here.

 

[ArchyCat]

From the Wikipedia article on domestic cats, they originally came from the North African wildcat. Based on DNA analysis. But that was 4000 years or so ago. I think the first known domestic cats were by the Egyptians.

Turkey is, as you say, the crossroads between Europe and Asia.

Interesting that the Turkish Van is considered a national treasure. What about the Turkish Angora? Is that breed also considered a national treasure?

 

[Piper12345]

Re the Van and the Turkish Angora - yes that one too - you need a permit for that to "export" it from Turkey.

Turkish airlines says on its website -
Animals indigenous to Turkey and which are under protection, such as the Sivas Kangal, Turkish Angora and Turkish Van will be carried on the condition that permission is granted by the relevant directorate of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock.

 

[StefanZ]

She is a very striking calico! I am not a breed expert. The two breeds that are supposed to be common in Turkey is the Turkish Van, and I think some variation on Persian. Turkish Vans have very distinctive coloring. Which Piper does not match. And Persians are long haired.

Maybe when she reaches maturity her breed, if any, may become more apparent.

Sounds like a sweet cat! Keep us updated over the next year as she grows!

You are thinking on Turkish Angora I presume. Nay, they arent near alikes with persians. T.A. are elegant cats with full lengh muzzles. BUT the label Angora was earlier often used for long haired cats, and thus, also persians were often called for Angora.