r/turkishvan Jul 28 '23

Basic Guide to Identifying Turkish Vans

33 Upvotes

Hello r/TurkishVan! One of the most popular types of posts on this subreddit is “is my cat a Turkish Van.” Given the rarity of the breed and its specificities, we have created a basic guide sourced from Hill's Pet Nutrition and the ASPCA to help you better identify if your cat is a Turkish Van, or to help you learn more about the breed in general.

Of course, this does not mean the end of “is my cat a Turkish Van” posts! This guide is intended to provide users with more certainty before posting and also helps keep the subreddit focused on Turkish Vans only.

Body

  • Medium to large sized cat
  • Muscular, known for strong hind legs

Coat Length & Characteristics

  • Single coat, semi-long hair
  • Texture is soft, similar to cashmere or rabbit fur

Coat Color & Pattern

  • White with dark coloring (typically red, brown, blue, cream, black, or tortie) exclusively on the head and tail, known as the "Van pattern"
  • Sometimes a patch of dark coloring between their shoulder blades
  • Rings on tail

Eye Color

  • Amber or blue
  • Both eyes can be the same color or mismatched (heterochromia)

Personality

  • Highly intelligent, more likely to get into mischief than being a lap cat
  • Often has an affinity for water
  • Likes jumping/climbing

What if my cat seems to meet all of these characteristics but…

  • Their fur is long? Your cat may be a Turkish Angora, which have medium to long hair. Angoras are also known for having a pure white coat (but can also come in different colors) and do not have the Van pattern. They also have a more long, flowing tail while Turkish Vans have a more brush-like tail.
  • Their coat is pure white with no coloring? If not a Turkish Angora (see above), then your cat could be a Turkish Vankedisi, a breed name some cat registries use to refer to a pure white Turkish Van. This is not to be confused with the name for Turkish Vans that are not purely white, which is Turkish Van Kedisis in the Turkish language (note the space in-between). r/TurkishVan welcomes both Van Kedisis and Vankedisi cats given their similarity; however, please be aware that Vankedisis are often bred against as all-white animals tend to have a higher occurrence of hearing disorders.

Reminder that Rule #1 of this sub is to be respectful to all users and cats - if a cat does not end up being a Turkish Van, that's okay! Please respond with kindness and respect. Not knowing the specifics of a cat breed does not justify rude, demeaning, or impolite language.


r/turkishvan Nov 16 '24

Hello Everyone! Please consider sponsoring Cabitha, a special needs Turkish Van currently being cared for at Milo's Sanctuary. Link in the comments

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28 Upvotes

r/turkishvan 1h ago

Is Haku a Turkish Van?

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Upvotes

My boyfriend and I adopted this huge handsome boy in February. He’s 5 and full of energy. We named him Haku after the river dragon in spirited away. We’ve been trying to figure out what he might be for quite some time when we came across this subreddit. What do you all think?


r/turkishvan 3h ago

Meet “the buddies!”

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31 Upvotes

Meet “the buddies!”


r/turkishvan 57m ago

She knows there’s delicious jigsaw puzzle pieces under the blanket

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Upvotes

r/turkishvan 20h ago

Meet Kylo

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92 Upvotes

r/turkishvan 21h ago

My Beans

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92 Upvotes

She'll be 5 this year, found her in the engine bay of a car at a state park, no one wanted to claim her so she went home with me. Gos on walks with the dog, rides the motorcycle too. Love's water, there was many times she would end up in the tub.


r/turkishvan 18h ago

Pls she’s so cute

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27 Upvotes

Meet our newest adoption, Callie. The foster cat ladies really did their thing socializing this angel of a kitten 🥹


r/turkishvan 20h ago

Meet Kylo

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14 Upvotes

r/turkishvan 2d ago

what breed is my cat?

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495 Upvotes

it’s white white greenish eyes and white fur white black/brown spots


r/turkishvan 2d ago

Intelligence = 0

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251 Upvotes

😮‍💨


r/turkishvan 2d ago

17 lbs of pure stupid. Mans long enough to steal my sandwich meat off the counter

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202 Upvotes

r/turkishvan 2d ago

is this a turkish van?

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72 Upvotes

r/turkishvan 4d ago

Still kittens, but those tails!

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160 Upvotes

I’m convinced enough that there could be some Turkish heritage that I’m sending out a DNA test.

In the meantime I present fantastic tails and cottony fluffiness for your enjoyment!


r/turkishvan 4d ago

Van or not? Comment your thoughts.

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90 Upvotes

r/turkishvan 5d ago

the face he gives when he wants me to turn on the sink

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348 Upvotes

r/turkishvan 7d ago

Tired boy 💤

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221 Upvotes

I'm currently a little over two weeks out of recovering from surgery, and unfortunately the pain has completely disrupted my sleep cycle.

Our van, Orbit, has taken it up on himself to stay awake with me and keep me company, but it looks like all of the sleep debt has finally caught up with him 😴

He is completely out 😆


r/turkishvan 8d ago

the toy is a bit small for him

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307 Upvotes

r/turkishvan 8d ago

Do y’all think he’s part TV?

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60 Upvotes

Herman is about 11 months old. He has a huge tail, paws, and ears, and a dense chest heavy body but he’s been generally slow to grow. In the right light you can see stripes in his tail and his coat repels water. I feel like the shape of his eyes also looks pretty Van like. He prefers to eat fish and play with fish shaped toys, also he sometimes splashes the water bowl before drinking. He is very shy and nervous so he doesn’t often climb yet. Absolutely no tolerance for laps but occasionally he enjoys being held. My current theory is that he is part Van and part Ragdoll because he always seems to feel conflicted about how he wants to be handled and has a hard time communicating what he wants, although he’s getting much better. Do y’all think his Van-like qualities are due to some Turkish Van in him?


r/turkishvan 9d ago

Is my little girl a Turkish Van??

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235 Upvotes

She has very beautiful green eyes and I read that they typically have amber or blue so she might be mixed with something else? We got her for free since she was a stray and it would be really cool to have a rare breed cat! (Though I love her all the same either way)


r/turkishvan 9d ago

Evening Floof Cradling and being a floof pillow

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47 Upvotes

Floof? Yes. Mop? Yes. Turkish Van? Nope. Turkish Floof Pillow? Yes.


r/turkishvan 9d ago

Might be half turkish van?

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27 Upvotes

Some spots on tail too


r/turkishvan 9d ago

is my little monster a turkish van?

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76 Upvotes

adopted this lovely lady back in october and tried to id her breed with my phone but everything led me back to tv, which i’d never heard of before. she is currently around 6 months, has a dark grey pattern on her head along with a couple faint spots by her shoulder blades and a tail that looks like it was dipped in paint (that’s also faint though). her fur tends to appear shiny and is so so super soft. she is very very playful and loves to climb up in the rafters of my apartment, as well as up on the cabinets in the kitchen to perch. she never seems to run out of energy, except for when she naps, in which case she NAPS. she is the sweetest sweetest sweetest girl in the world, loves cuddles, LOVES kisses and follows me from room to room/sits next to me constantly (she is standing in front of me watching me write this post as we speak). she seems to love when i have people around and is insanely receptive to human’s energy (if we’re chill she’s chill, if we’re excited she’s excited etc etc). thanks for reading :)


r/turkishvan 9d ago

Is my 7 month baby a turkish van?

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41 Upvotes

I think he might be a mix with Domestic short hair as well? Idk first time cat owner lol


r/turkishvan 9d ago

More miso photos

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12 Upvotes

r/turkishvan 10d ago

Post your most derpy van pic 😂

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246 Upvotes

Because it’s mid-week and we all need a laugh. Here’s Peaches on her 2nd birthday 🎂😅🤣


r/turkishvan 11d ago

does anyone else’s cat do this?

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172 Upvotes

my Van cat, Daniel (3), just started doing this, anyone else’s cat use their arm as a head hammock?😂😂