Is my baby a Turkish Van?

[mollythecat]

My kitty is a one year old beauty. She is very vocal when in a room alone, and absolutely loves people! She is very playful, making a toy out of just about anything she can find! She is super intelligent and knows a series of tricks including high 5 and gimme paw! She will happily live of dreamies (temptations)  and loves going outside (she is mainly an indoor cat but goes outside at least twice a week). We got her from a local rescue group for £65 and they always said she was a DLH but her fur isn't very long. However i found a poster with cat breeds and saw the turkish van and thought 'thats my cat!' doing more research i found she matches up to the characteristics and description. She has a large stripy, bushy tail (my mum calls her a racoon) and two patches on her head and two on her body. I would love to know what breed she really is. PS she does not have an undercoat but has a little mane around her neck

These are some pictures:

 

[mollythecat]

also she had a microchip and was spayed and healthy but the owners must have changed telephone numbers and were unreachable

 

[bigperm20]

I'm not a breeder nor an expert but it's my understanding that 98% of cats are of no specific breed, I.E. they are domestic short/ long hairs. I am somewhat familiar with the Turkish Van and although your cat has similar markings, the chance that she is a pedigreed cat is very slim.

 

[bigperm20]

She is beautiful btw.

 

[mollythecat]

thank you so much i love her to bits

 

[speakhandsforme]

bigperm20 is right, she is not any specific breed. She would just be called a domestic longhair. The informal term is a moggie.

The term for her color is tabby and white.

BTW, many cats have the "van pattern" markings, not just Turkish Vans.

She is beautiful!!

 

[missymotus]

She is beautiful and has lovely Van markings. I don't know how common microchipping is in the UK, over here it's the law in many states so very common and doesn't indicate a cat being a purebred surrender. 

 

[orientalslave]

Chipping is getting more common in the UK, and lots of non-pedigrees are chipped  A shame her owners didn't keep their detals up to date.  Pedigree van cats look like this in the UK:

http://www.gccfcats.org/breeds/turk.html

 

[mollythecat]

thank you everyone! so she's probably a domestic longhair but the thing is, she doesn't have very long fur!

                

is there such thing as domestic semi longhair?

 

[mollythecat]

so i would say i need the longhair small cat furminator right?

 

[missymotus]

She's a long hair cat, long hair comes in various lengths.  And with her young age I'd expect her coat to fill out in the next change of season.

Most of the long hair owners I know don't like the furminator and prefer several sizes of combs instead. The furminater just strips hair out, while combing gets right down to the roots, removes stray hairs and keeps the coat tangle free.

 

[mollythecat]

so she's gonna turn into a big walking fluffball <3 yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i love masssive fluffy cats!

 

[mollythecat]

but i will get a furminator cos she sheds everywhere like tumble weeds of fur combs don't seem to work except in her tail...

 

[maewkaew]

Basically a cat with a coat like your lovely girl does have longhair genes.  But the longhair genes are variable in expression,  so a cat can be genetically longhair, but instead of very long hair,  they may have more "medium" long hair.  Also many longhairs have seasonal coat changes. (Interestingly, it's not always exactly at the months one would expect. ).  so you might see some difference in the coat

Most the people i know who really know  about grooming do not use the Furminator  -  I've heard people say it's too harsh for a cat coat.    As already mentioned,  most breeders and cat show folks with long or semi-long hair cats use metal combs that get down to the undercoat and prevent it from matting,  and take out loose hair, without damaging healthy top coat.   You first go through the coat with a wider tooth comb  and then use another with medium or fine teeth ( or something like medium on one end and fine on the other)  

You can use strippers which is I guess what a Furminator is similar to,  to take out excess coat,  but you need to be very careful not to overdo it.  

 

[mollythecat]

the thing is, my cat doesn't have an undercoat.......

 

[maewkaew]

Sorry,  I didn't read carefully enough and I  missed that before about lack of undercoat.  That should make grooming easier than a cat with a lot of cottony undercoat.  Same thing would apply though that combs are often very helpful.   but you start with the wide tooth (coarse)  one.    Another tool is the Zoom Groom  which is just a rubber brush with fat nubs.  i've heard some people with Ragdolls like them.  and they sometimes use them in a circular motion to catch loose hair. . 

  I think most cats of Western ancestry do have undercoat.   but then again, speaking of  Ragdolls,  they;re an example of a  cat from Western ancestry  (  they came mostly from longhair American moggies)  that can have a single coat or very little undercoat.   

  If you showed her at a cat show that has both pedigrees and household pets,  you might have a chance to ask judges or breeders if they saw  a resemblance to any breed.  that wouldn't be definite. but people can tell a lot more by seeing and handling the cat in person than from looking at photos.   Of  course I would only suggest that if you think she would enjoy showing.    But she sounds like she would be a ham!  And she is very pretty.

Semi-longhair " is a term used in the cat fancy in some associations ;  it basically means anything longhair except the super long hair of a Persian.  So yes in that classification she'd be a semi-longhair.   There is no one gene for semi-longhair   but  long hair comes in various lengths due to influence of other little polygenes that aren't identified.

 

[vannz]

Hi

We have a cat that is very similar, especially the ringed tail. Turkish Vans are rare, however and your cat could be a mix.  To determine this, you should look at your kitty's characteristics as well which are common in a Turkish Van:

Paws - Vans have tufts of fur on their paws. Also their paws tend to be larger than other cats. Also, the paws tend to be shorter and stockier than other cats.

Neck - Our cat Chloe has a lot of fur and skin around her neck. Her neck size is larger than I've seen in other cats.

Fur - Vans have no undercoat. While their fur sheds, the fur sheds less since their is no undercoat. I would brush your cat every day and only use a metal comb. The fur buster combs arent as effective I think since their isnt as much fur to lose.

Fur texture - THeir coats have a silky feel, more than other cats. Also, the fur is water repellant. If you pour water on a Van, the fur dries quickly. 

Behavior - Vans dont like to be held, but will sit in your lap.

At this point we arent sure if Chloe is a Van. However, given all these other similar traits makes me wonder. It doesnt seem possible a Van look alike will have all these traits and be a typical cat.