Introduction
The Turkish Van is one of the larger cat breeds. Males can reach 20 pounds and the females weigh about half of that. They have massive paws and rippling hard muscle structure which allows them to be very strong jumpers. Vans can easily hit the top of a refrigerator from a cold start on the floor. They are slow to mature and this process can take 3 to 5 years.
Physical Characteristics
The coat on a Turkish Van is considered semi-longhaired. While many cats have three distinct hair types in their coat - guard hairs, awn hairs, and down hairs - the Turkish Van only has one. This makes their coat feel like cashmere or rabbit fur. Lake Van is surrounded by a region of temperature extremes and the cats have an environmentally appropriate coat. It grows thick in the winter with a large ruff and bottle brush tail, and then sheds significantly for the warm summers. The full tail is kept year round.
Temperament
Turkish Vans are very intelligent. Vans are people cats that want to be with people wherever they go. They like to play and jump and explore anything in their reach. Many Vans are dedicated to fetching their particular object of interest, and many owners describe them as "dogs in a cat suit" because of their unusual personalities.
Perhaps the most interesting trait of the breed is its fascination with water. Most cat breeds dislike being immersed in water and staying in the open when it is raining. Vans have been nicknamed the "Swimming Cats" for this most unusual trait.
History
The Turkish Van is a rare, naturally occurring breed of cat from the Lake Van region of present day Turkey. For Turkish Vans, the word van refers to their color pattern, where the color is restricted to the head and the tail, and the rest of the cat is white.