This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Meowy (talk | contribs) at 02:10, 5 December 2006 (→History). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 02:10, 5 December 2006 by Meowy (talk | contribs) (→History)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
The Van cat - Van Kedisi in Turkish, Վանա կատու in Armenian - is a distinctive type of domestic cat that is found mainly in the Lake Van region of present-day Turkey.
It is large, all white, and is often found with odd-coloured eyes. It is similar in appearance to (and may be related to) the Angora cat. The connection between the Van cat and the Turkish Van breed of cat is still a subject of discussion and disagreement.
History
"Is it possible to come to Van, explore it, and then go away without mentioning the famous Van cat? What do they tell you? These cats are famous for so many things. I make it my business to look into it. Some people say that nobody bothers about them any more and that they are near extinction and other say there are plenty of them, one in every house. They proved to be right, for there is one in every home.
The Van cat is quite large and milky white and when curled up you take it for a heap of cotton, so white is it. Of course, the Van cat’s most distinctive feature is its eyes for one eye is blue and the other amber. The eyes of some cats are hazel. I have never seen one like that but I, too, can bear witness to the fact that one eye is amber and the other blue. If transport weren’t so difficult, everyone could have a Van cat. The people of Van do not sell their cats, they are given to friends as a present."
An excerpt from a Turkish newspaper report from 1951 titled "Van, the most beautiful place in the World" by Yaşar Kemal, English translation in "Van, Turkish Republic Ministry of Culture information book 62", Ankara 1994.
"Wide open , misshapen holes in place of windows and doors. Fetid air smelling of burnt flesh. And suddenly awful howls of starving dogs. Feral cats with dirty frazzled furs. And, more ruins, heaps of ash, charred walls, endless with no mercy..."
Van cats mentioned in passing by the Russian writer and poet Sergei Gorodetsky, who was in Van on an humanitarian misson in 1917. He also wrote:
"The trade unions of Van had representatives not only in the eastern countries, Turkey and Russia, they could also be found as far as in Manchester and Hamburg. They sold the artifacts of the highly talented master artisans of Van, and even, as mentioned in the periodical Mourj, the fluffy white cats of Van that were universally famed".