| Van cat | |
|---|---|
 An adultodd-eyed Van cat | |
| Other names | swimming cat,Van kedisi |
| Origin | Lake Van area of modernTurkey |
| Foundation bloodstock | solid whitelandrace |
| Variety status | Not recognised as astandardised breed by any majorbreed registry. |
| Domestic cat (Felis catus) | |
TheVan cat (Turkish:Van kedisi;Kurdish:Pisîka Wanê;Western Armenian:Վանայ կատու,romanized: Vana gadu;EasternArmenian:Վանա կատու,romanized: Vana katu) is a distinctivelandrace (or natural "breed") of thedomestic cat found aroundLake Van in theEastern Anatolia region ofTurkey.
Van cats are relatively large, have a chalky solid white coat, sometimes with ruddy colouration on the head and hindquarters, and have blue or amber eyes or haveheterochromia (one eye of each colour).[1][2][3] The variety has been referred to as "theswimming cat", and has been observed to swim in Lake Van.[4][5]
The naturally occurring Van cat type is popularly believed to be the basis of theTurkish Van breed,[1] asstandardised and recognised by manycat fancier organisations; it has been internationallyselectively 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 tofound the formal breed came from parts of Turkey other than the Lake Van area.[4][6] The run-together term "Turkish Vankedisi" is confusingly used by some organisations as a name for solid white specimens of the standardised Turkish Van breed.[7]
Van cats have been reported living in the vicinity of the city ofVan and the general Lake Van area for centuries;[4] how long is uncertain. Genetic research has shown that the domestic cat's ancestor, theAfrican wild cat (Felis lybica), was domesticated, for rodent control, about 9,000 years ago in the Near East[8][9] when tribes transitioned from hunter-gathering to crop farming and settled life.[10][11] 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.[12] However, this does not necessarily mean that white cats have been in the Van area the entire time.
Van cats form alandrace (naturally occurring, random-bred variety, oftenferal), and are not astandardised breed of cat.[13] 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).[14] There is abreeding programme for the solid white variety,[15] operated by the Van Cat Research Centre (a.k.a. the Van Cat House), established in 1995 at the campus ofYüzüncü Yıl University.[16] As of 2018,[update] the centre housed about 350 young adults and kittens, is open to the public for a nominal entrance fee,[17] and cats can beadopted.[16] However, reports have suggested that the living conditions for the cats held there are not optimal, and the programme seems to be ineffective in reversing Van cats' declining numbers.[3]
Van cats are solid white,[5] or sometimes mostly white with amber markings around the tail and ears. Locals to the Van area identify only the solid white type as Van cats, according to a 1991BBC documentary,Cats, written and presented by Roger Tabor.[5]
Their most notable genetic characteristic is their almond-shaped eyes that often aremismatched colours.[1] The most valued members of the type generally have one amber-green eye and one blue eye.
Van cats are known for enjoying water and swimming in Lake Van.[5] This may be the source of the popular, but possibly false or exaggerated,[18] belief that the formal Armenian 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.'"[4] It is unclear if Lushington means the cats of the Lake Van area, or her own Armenian Van standardised breed. Tabor's BBC documentary states: "The reason for [its] fame is that the Van cat is known as 'the swimming cat' [....] Here at Lake Van [...] these cats do enter it, and swim."[5]
Van cats are claimed as a cultural icon by Armenians, Kurds, and Turks, who have inhabited the region at different periods in history.[19]
Armenians often consider the landrace to be historically Armenian,[20] as the Lake Van areahad a large Armenian population and was within the Armenian homeland prior to their local extermination during thegenocide of 1915.[21][22][23][24][25] The local Armenians were said to have "revered" the cat.[25][26]: 84
Among them was post-impressionist and surrealist artistArshile Gorky, later an immigrant to the United States, who sculpted Van cats in the early 1910s.[22] Armenian writerVrtanes Papazian wrote a short novel in which the cat has been used as a symbol of the Armenian liberation movement.[27] Armenian authorsRaffi,[28]Axel Bakunts,[29] andParuyr Sevak[30] have featured Van cats in their works.
breeder Laura Lushington (co-founder of the "Turkish Van" formal breed, from cats procured from various parts of Turkey), wrote of the local Van cats, "they are much loved and prized by the Turks for their exceptional character and unique colouring."[4]
Turkish folklore has it that a Van cat was aboardNoah's Ark, and that as the flood waters receded, Allah (God) blessed the cat with a ruddy patch of fur on its head when it left the ark, after which it made its way to the city of Van viaMount Ararat.[1] Many Van cats are solid white, however.[2]
At the end of the 19th century, SultanAbdul Hamid II is said to have owned a Van cat, and having one is still seen as a status symbol: aPrime Minister of Turkey received one as a gift, and an ambassador from Greece put himself on a waiting list to get one. Kittens from the breeding programme could be purchased for the equivalent ofUS$282 in 2011,[31][full citation needed] and theTurkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (which also regulates livestock) does not control the export of these or any other cats from Turkey.[32] The 1991 BBC documentary indicated that the solid white cats are locally prized in Van, and even coveted by visitors. While most Van cats are feral street cats, tourists have been known to steal pet Van cats from residents.[5]
During the late 1990s, Van cats emerged as an informalmunicipal symbol of the city of Van – an enormous statue of a Van cat and her kitten now stands at the entrance to the city. The cat appears in a locally published comic strip, and in the logos of bus companies,shopping centres, and various other Van businesses.[citation needed]
The mascot of the2010 FIBA World Championship of basketball, hosted by Turkey, was an anthropomorphised Van cat namedBascat. He had a white coat and odd eyes, one blue and one green, and his head was shaped with design cues from the crescent moon on theTurkish flag.[33]
The Van region has a large Kurdish population, and Van cats have been referred to as "Kurdish cats"[34] or the "Kurdish Van cat", and made a symbol ofKurdistan in Kurdish nationalist circles.[35] Some media sources[36] reported that Turkish soldiers poisoned about 200 Van cats, but this was a provocation against Turkish army. These claims ultimately seem to have come from ananimal rescue group calledSOS Van Cats Rescue Action, a spokesperson for which stated: "The cats are Kurdish, and the Turkish authorities are unable to digest this. But it's ridiculous to name a cat Kurdish."[37] Van University's cat-breeding project responded: "That the Turkish army would be able to find 200 Van cats, let alone poison them, is utter nonsense".[36]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)[clarification needed]The Turkish Van (pronounced von) gets its name from Lake Van in western Turkey, but is actually an Armenian cat. Armenian people settled in the Lake Van region and revered this breed of cat.Like many, this source incorrectly equates the modern Turkish Van breed, which is actually British in origin, with the Van cat landrace.
Գալով այդ քաղաքը, թեև ծիծաղելի է, բայց պետք է խոստովանվիմ, որ իմ ամենամեծ բաղձանքներից մեկն այն էր, որ տեսնեմ Վանա հռչակավոր կատուները." Approximate translation: "Although it is funny, I have to admit that coming to the city one of my greatest expectations was seeing the famous Van cat.
Ներս մտավ պառավը, Վանա կապույտ փիսոն հետևից." Approximate translation: "The old woman came in after the Van cat.
Լող էին տալիս հազա՜ր ու հազա՜ր Վանա կատուներ՝ Վառվող աչքերով." Approximate translation: "Thousands of Van cats were swimming with burning eyes.
