Van cat

Van cats (Turkish: Van kedisi; Armenian: Վանա կատու, romanized: Vana katou, Western Armenian: Vana gadou; Kurdish: pisîka Wanê) are a distinctive landrace of the domestic cat found in the Lake Van region of eastern Turkey. They are relatively large, have a chalky white coat, sometimes with ruddy coloration on the head and hindquarters, and have blue or amber eyes or are odd-eyed (having one eye of each colour). The variety has been referred to as 'the swimming cat', and has been observed to swim in Lake Van. Van cats (Turkish: Van kedisi; Armenian: Վանա կատու, romanized: Vana katou, Western Armenian: Vana gadou; Kurdish: pisîka Wanê) are a distinctive landrace of the domestic cat found in the Lake Van region of eastern Turkey. They are relatively large, have a chalky white coat, sometimes with ruddy coloration on the head and hindquarters, and have blue or amber eyes or are odd-eyed (having one eye of each colour). The variety has been referred to as 'the swimming cat', and has been observed to swim in Lake Van. This cat is one of the national animals of Turkey. The naturally occurring Van cat type is popularly believed to be the basis of the Turkish Van breed, as standardised and recognised by many cat fancier organizations; it has been internationally selectively bred to consistently produce the ruddy head-and-tail colouring pattern on the white coat. However, one of the breed founders' own writings indicate that the four original cats used to found the formal breed came from other parts of Turkey than the Lake Van area. The capitalised and run-together term 'Turkish Vankedisi' is confusingly used by some organisations as a name for all-white specimens of the formal Turkish Van breed. Van cats have been reported living in the vicinity of the city of Van and the general Lake Van area for centuries; how long is uncertain. Genetic research has shown that the domestic cat's ancestor, the African wild cat (Felis lybica lybica), was domesticated, for rodent control, about 9,000 years ago in the Near East when tribes transitioned from hunter-gathering to crop farming and settled life. In addition, the white-spotting in domestic cats appeared at the earliest stage of cat domestication, and is one of the points of evidence of early artificial selection. However, this does not necessarily mean that white cats have been in the Van area the entire time. The landrace is named Van kedisi (plural kedileri) in Turkish, Vana katu or Vana gadu (Վանա կատու) in Armenian, and pisîka Wanê in Kurdish. All of these names literally translate to 'cat of Van' or 'Van cat'. The cats are notable for their lean, long-legged appearance. They are all-white, or sometimes mostly white with amber markings around the tail and ears. Locals to the Van area identify only the all-white type as Van cats, according to a 1991 BBC documentary, Cats, written and presented by Roger Tabor. Their most notable genetic characteristic is their almond-shaped eyes that often are mismatched colours. The most valued and valuable members of the type generally have one amber-green eye and one blue eye. Van cats are known for swimming in Lake Van. This may be the source of the popular, but possibly false or exaggerated, belief that the formal Turkish Van breed is innately more fond of water than the average cat. Lushington wrote: 'Apart from their great capacity for affection and alert intelligence, their outstanding characteristic is their liking for water, not normally regarded as a feline attribute. They not only dabble in water and play with it, but have been known to enter ponds and even horse-troughs for a swim – they soon became famous as the 'swimming cats.'' It is unclear if Lushington means the cats of the Lake Van area, or her own Turkish Van standardised breed. Tabor's BBC documentary states: 'The reason for fame is that the Van cat is known as 'the swimming cat'.... ere at Lake Van ... these cats do enter it, and swim.' Van cats form a landrace (naturally occurring, free-breeding variety, often feral), not a standardized breed of cat. They can still be found in east Turkey, near Lake Van, although their numbers have diminished (a 1992 survey found only 92 pure Van cats in their native area). There is a breeding programme for the all-white variety, the Van Cat Research Centre (a.k.a. the Van Cat House), established in 1993 at the campus of Yüzüncü Yıl University. As of 2006, the center housed about 100 young adults and kittens, and is open to the public for a nominal entrance fee. However, reports have suggested that the living conditions for the cats held there is not optimal, and the programme seems to be ineffective in reversing Van cats' declining numbers.