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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.
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.
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.)