Turkish Van: Cat Food and a Description of the Breed
The Turkish Van is a rare cat breed, which originates from Eastern Turkey. It’s often called a swimming cat, a van cat or simply a Turkish cat.
History of the Turkish Van
The Turkish Van originates from the region around Lake Van in Eastern Anatolia, from which it also owes its name. It probably developed about 2,000 years ago.
The Turkish Van did not find its way to Western Europe until 1955, when the breed was discovered by the two British cats Sonia Halliday and Laura Lushington, who took some specimens back to England for breeding.
The FiFé has recognised the Turkish Van as an independent breed since 1972. In the early 1980s it finally reached the USA. In Germany the Vankatze is still quite unknown and accordingly rare.
Appearance of the Türkisch Van
The Turkish Van is a medium to large cat breed with a semi-long coat. It has a muscular build and strong legs with large paws. While females weigh about 4.5 to 6 kilos, males reach a weight of six to nine kilos. The shoulder height of the Turkish Van moves at 35 to 40 centimetres.
The wedge-shaped head has a long nose and large, pointed ears with tufts of hair. The oval eyes of the Turkish Van are set slightly slanted. They can be either blue, amber or different coloured (one blue and one amber eye each).
The coat of the Turkish Van
The coat of the Turkish Van is half long. It has a silky structure and no undercoat. It forms a distinct ruff. It is also longer on the tail and belly than on the rest of the body. Compared to many other cat breeds the density of the warm winter coat differs more from the light summer coat.
The main colour of the coat of the Turkish Van is 80 percent white to cream. The characteristic pattern is usually limited to the ring-shaped pattern of the tail and two spots on the head in the area of the ears. Additionally small coloured patches on the body are permitted.
Traditionally the pattern is either cream or chestnut red. However, some breeding associations also allow blue and black animals. A chocolate brown coat is however just as undesirable as points in the Turkish Van.
Character of the Türkisch Van
The Turkish Van is an intelligent cat, which can be taught to retrieve objects without any problems already as a kitten. She can open doors or cupboards with ease.
The Turkish Van has a gentle and friendly nature and is also considered to be very people-oriented. She builds up a very close relationship with her owner. She sometimes follows her caregiver wherever she goes and therefore does not like to be left alone too long. Working owners should therefore consider the purchase of a second cat.
Apart from that, the Turkish Van is a very social roommate, who is not easily disturbed by the hectic pace of his surroundings.
Keeping and care of the Türkisch Van
The Turkish Van is ideal for keeping in the apartment. She appreciates occasional outings. But much more important to her is an intimate relationship with her human companions, whose attention she enjoys very much.
As she is normally very compatible with both children and other pets, the Turkish Van is an excellent family cat that fits in well with the household. A little bit problematic may be her lack of shyness against water. This is especially true for owners of an aquarium, whose inhabitants can certainly arouse the curiosity of the four-legged friend.
The missing undercoat makes the coat of the Turkish Van quite easy to care for, despite its length. Nevertheless it should be brushed regularly. During the usually very pronounced coat change of the cat it is advisable to plan a little time for the grooming ritual every day. This not only supports the growth of new hairs, but also helps to prevent hair loss in the home.
Turkish Van Diseases
Basically the Turkish Van is a robust and healthy cat. However, due to her strong climbing and playing instinct, accidents and related injuries can easily occur.
Kittens may also occasionally develop ataxia. Affected animals suffer from coordination disorders, cannot walk and usually die very early. Adult Turkish Vans are not affected by this hereditary disease.
In addition, pure white animals are disproportionately prone to blindness, hearing loss, deafness and balance disorders. However, this has less to do with the cat breed, but is due to the genetic defect responsible for the white coat.
The life expectancy of the Turkish Van
A healthy Turkish Van from a reputable breeder reaches an average age of about 16 years. As with all cats, diseases and bad keeping conditions can of course shorten the life expectancy of the four-legged friend considerably.
The right food for the Türkisch Van
Regarding her diet the Turkish Van is considered to be undemanding. This does not mean, of course, that inferior food is a good choice. In addition to the right amount of food for the cat in question, the quality of the food also plays a decisive role in meeting the needs of the cat.
With the high-quality wet and dry food from I love my cat, quality-conscious cat owners have the opportunity to feed their cats in a manner appropriate to their species and thus make a decisive contribution to a long and vital cat life.
Our natural cat food is free of grain and other inferior raw materials. You can therefore rely on optimal digestibility.
In addition, the following products from our range may be useful for the Turkish Van:
- Shiimun Immun as natural support for strong defences
- I love my cat Dental Powder for the daily dental cleaning at your Turkish Van
- Shiimun Skin as additional nutrient supplier during the change of coat
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