The Turkish Van cat originated in the Lake Van region in Eastern Turkey. Ancient artifacts found near the city of Van show a semi long haired cat with a ring around its tail very
reminiscent of today’s Turkish Van. This area of Turkey is at high altitude, with a continental climate: harsh winters and hot summers. The cat is supposed to have been brought there in the Middle Ages, by soldiers returning from the Crusades and probably adapted to the environment and the climate by growing a special type of coat. The Turkish Van does not have an undercoat and its coat is “cashmere like”, silky and fluffy. This coat is to a certain extent water resistant and it enables the Turkish Van to go into water and come out and dry off quickly, with little grooming necessary. It is supposed that with years of evolution, the Turkish Van developed a taste for water and swimming as a way to cool off during the hot summers around Lake Van. One might even venture to say that it learnt to swim in order to catch fish in a food scarce mountainous area such as the Lake Van region.
References:
Bruce Fogle, Cats
http://www.petmd.com
http://www.tica.org.
reminiscent of today’s Turkish Van. This area of Turkey is at high altitude, with a continental climate: harsh winters and hot summers. The cat is supposed to have been brought there in the Middle Ages, by soldiers returning from the Crusades and probably adapted to the environment and the climate by growing a special type of coat. The Turkish Van does not have an undercoat and its coat is “cashmere like”, silky and fluffy. This coat is to a certain extent water resistant and it enables the Turkish Van to go into water and come out and dry off quickly, with little grooming necessary. It is supposed that with years of evolution, the Turkish Van developed a taste for water and swimming as a way to cool off during the hot summers around Lake Van. One might even venture to say that it learnt to swim in order to catch fish in a food scarce mountainous area such as the Lake Van region.
References:
Bruce Fogle, Cats
http://www.petmd.com
http://www.tica.org.