Turkish Van Influence In Japan?

[Johnsmom1983]

We are stationed in Yokosuka, Japan and have adopted a wonderful feral cat that has made herself at home with our family and our 10yr old tabby (who was a stray from VA). She was born on our base from another feral cat who also looked like her. She had a brother who looked like her except he was orange and my cat also had a litter of kittens when she was a year and they all had the same markings.
I included some photos of her as a kitten, one with her brother, a photo of her son (he’s the cat in the Christmas tree) and the rest are her. She loves water and follows me everywhere around the house. She also has a crooked tail and an inverted sternum, both she was born with (probably from inbreeding). She has mostly white fur but black markings. If you brush the markings the opposite way they are tabby striped brown and black. Her tail is completely colored and the underside is slightly orange. She has Amber colored eyes and is only 6.5 lbs.
I believe there may be Van Cat Influence or Turkish Van Cat Genetics since there was an trading between Japan and Turkey for many years. Also, we have an abundance of feral cats that look just like her here. Thanks so much for all the info. She’s probably an mix of many things being a street cat going back generations but we love her just the same.

 

[abyeb]

She is very pretty! She does have van markings, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that she has Turkish Van influence, as randombred cats can have van markings as well. The only way to tell for sure would be to get her DNA tested. So, I would describe her as a black and white van Domestic Shorthair.

 

[Johnsmom1983]

Out here in Japan the veterinarians call them Japanese Colored Coat because these types of cats are so prevalent here.

 

[lutece]

Van pattern markings do not indicate Turkish Van ancestry. It is just the way the white spotting gene works. When a cat has white markings covering most of the body (usually due to two copies of the white spotting gene), typically you will see either a van pattern (white with color patches on the head and tail) or harlequin pattern (mostly white with color patches on head, tail, and body).

I expect that the white spotting gene has been widespread in Japan for a long time, since if you look at old pictures of Japanese cats you will see many cats with lots of white on them. Van and harlequin patterns are also very common in the Japanese Bobtail breed today.

 

[StefanZ]

This coloring is fairly strong.

You can often see barn cats get a whole litter with van pattern.

Normally a whole litter exactly alike momma strongly hints a purebred. But not here!

 

[Willowy]

Hey, I lived in Japan too! Not at Yokosuka (Atsugi NAF) but we went there to shop!

Anyway, yeah, the van pattern is common in the Japanese street cat population. I think it was heavily selected for because the high-white calico (mi-ke) is considered good luck. The kinked tail is common in Japanese street cats too. I don't think there's any actual Turkish Van influence, but who knows.

She's a lovely kitty!

 

[Johnsmom1983]

Hey, I lived in Japan too! Not at Yokosuka (Atsugi NAF) but we went there to shop!

Anyway, yeah, the van pattern is common in the Japanese street cat population. I think it was heavily selected for because the high-white calico (mi-ke) is considered good luck. The kinked tail is common in Japanese street cats too. I don't think there's any actual Turkish Van influence, but who knows.

She's a lovely kitty!

Thank you. I see the pattern allot. I also see allot of the Patched Tabby and the Classic Tabby running around. She has mackerel tabby markings on her tail and her undercoat. My best friend has a calico cat from here who was also a feral cat.

 

[Johnsmom1983]

Hey, I lived in Japan too! Not at Yokosuka (Atsugi NAF) but we went there to shop!

Anyway, yeah, the van pattern is common in the Japanese street cat population. I think it was heavily selected for because the high-white calico (mi-ke) is considered good luck. The kinked tail is common in Japanese street cats too. I don't think there's any actual Turkish Van influence, but who knows.

She's a lovely kitty!

When did you live in Japan?

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

Johnsmom1983 - she's lovely! What is her name?

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[Willowy]

When did you live in Japan?

1985-1994, 3 duty tours. 2 in Sasebo and 1 in Atsugi. I was ages 6-15. We got 2 kitties that came back to the States with us and lived to be 21. Those street cats are a tough bunch!

 

[Johnsmom1983]

Johnsmom1983 - she's lovely! What is her name?

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Thank you. Her name is Sheba. When she was the neighborhood stray the kids called her Cupcake Kitty.