Turkish Van

The Turkish Van is an old breed from the area around Lake Van in eastern Turkey, and it looks like a cat built by a landscape rather than a committee. The body is long, broad-chested and heavily muscled, particularly in males, which can reach the weight of a small Maine Coon. The coat is chalk white with colour restricted to the head and the tail, a pattern so characteristic that cat people simply call it van pattern regardless of breed. There is no woolly undercoat, which gives the fur a texture people describe as cashmere and, usefully, means it mats very little.

The water business is real, not folklore. A great many Turkish Vans will paw at a running tap, stand in a shower tray after use, dip a foot in a water bowl to test it, and investigate a filling bath with genuine intent. Some will swim. A single coat that carries less water helps. What this means practically is that you should close the bathroom door if wet paw prints on the hall floor would irritate you, and that you should never leave a full bath or an uncovered water butt unattended around a young one.

Temperament is where expectations most often go wrong. Turkish Vans are affectionate, loyal and closely bonded to their household. They are not compliant. They generally dislike being picked up, they will leave a lap when they have decided the visit is over, and they are quite capable of holding an opinion about being moved off the worktop. If your image of cat ownership involves carrying a cat around, this is the wrong breed. If you enjoy a confident animal who chooses to sit beside you and follows you between rooms, it is a very good one.

Energy is high and lasts into middle age. A Turkish Van wants to run, jump and carry things around, and an under-exercised one becomes a nuisance rather than a lump. Give them tall, sturdy climbing structures, clear floor runs, and daily wand play. Because they are strong and inventive, breakables and lightweight shelves should be considered temporary. Many enjoy fetch, and most take to clicker training readily, which is a good way to spend their attention productively.

Grooming is easier than the coat length suggests. A comb through once or twice a week keeps the fur in order, with more attention in spring, when the moult is substantial and sudden. A white coat shows dirt, so an occasional wipe with a damp cloth is useful, and cats who spend time outdoors may need the tail plume combed out. Ears should be checked fortnightly and claws trimmed monthly, though active cats wear them down considerably.

Health is generally robust. The breed benefits from a natural origin and a reasonably diverse gene pool, and lifespans into the mid and late teens are common. Two matters deserve attention. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy occurs in the breed and should be screened by ultrasound in breeding cats. The second is hearing: the white coat and blue eyes combination is associated with congenital deafness, and while many Turkish Vans have amber or odd eyes and hear perfectly, a blue-eyed cat should have hearing assessed. A deaf cat lives a full life indoors, but must not be given free outdoor access.

Who is this cat for? Someone with space, a tolerance for a cat who does exactly as they please, and an appreciation for physical confidence. Families with older children do well, since the cat will simply leave when it wants to. Homes wanting a placid longhair should look at a Ragdoll or a Birman instead. Handled with that understanding, a Turkish Van is one of the most rewarding breeds there is: long-lived, healthy, funny and entirely unwilling to be dull.