Is Gypsy a real Turkish Van?

by Lindsay
(Texas)

Gypsy grooming her old roomate Apollo

Gypsy and Apollo again

Sunbathing

No, I did not take my cat to a portrait studio!

As long as I've had Gypsy, I wondered what type of cat she was. Until one night a few days ago I was watching cats 101 on Animal Planet, and I saw Gypsy run across the screen during a section on Turkish Vans!

I researched further to find that Gypsy seems to fit the description. She has the softest low-maintenance fluffy coat.

She is an attention feign and loves getting petted and scratched, but only on her terms. She hates being held when I want to hold her, but loves it when she wants to be held.

She is extremely loving to me and one of her favorite pastimes is cuddling with me. She often knocks over cups of water and plays in the toilet and under the faucet.

She loves her food and is very vocally demanding when she is hungry (all the time). She has made herself first priority at dinner time and the other cat, Katherine, waits until Gypsy is done before she gets her turn.

I adopted her from the shelter, where she was with her mom who looked just like her, the last kitten left from her litter.

Seeing as how she is from a shelter, I know it is unlikely she is actually purebred, and no way to prove it, but I'm convinced!

I'd love to hear your input! Thank you!

Lindsay

Hi Lindsay.... Thanks for visiting and sharing. We know that the only way to be sure that a cat is purebred is through a certified, documented pedigree that meets the requirements of the cat association concerned. You don't have that.

However, having seen a lot of pictures of purebred cats, I can honestly say that Gypsy looks like a purebred Turkish Van. She may have papers to prove it somewhere.

I have the book Legacy of the Cat by Gloria Stephens and Tetsu in front of me at this moment at the Turkish Van page and Gypsy could easily be one of the cats illustrating the page!

Her personality also supports this decision. For example she is assertive and intelligent and likes water.

So there you go. I declare Gypsy a Turkish Van. A Turkish Van breeder may be able to provide a better answer, however.

Is Gypsy a real Turkish Van? to Turkish Van cat

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Comments

Is Gypsy a real Turkish Van? — 6 Comments

Marilyn on October 15, 2013 at 9:48 pm said:

JaLo just loves Christmas. No package goes uninspected. I just have to check all guest’s bags to make sure they left JaLo.

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Marilyn on October 15, 2013 at 9:45 pm said:

My other cat is JaLo. Any clues as to the heritage of my comical kitty?

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- Michael on October 16, 2013 at 4:55 am said:
  
  JaLo also has a Van-type pattern. JaLo has the typical pattern of cats in the area around the eastern Mediterranean including Turkey. JaLo looks Southern European/Turkish to me! But that is just based on me looking at lots of pictures of cats over years and knowing where they were taken.
  
  The thing is the area around Turkey is where the domestic cat was first domesticated so the genes from these cats fan out across the world. So, they are everywhere.
  
  However, to me you have Van-type cats.
  
  Here is a Cyprus Van-type cat.
  
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Marilyn on October 15, 2013 at 9:41 pm said:

Thank you Michael. Your comment has been most helpful. My cats are my children, and I am glad to be “their staff”.

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Marilyn on October 15, 2013 at 7:23 pm said:

This is my beautiful boy “Wookie”. Is he a Turkish Van?

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- Michael on October 15, 2013 at 9:12 pm said:
  
  Hi Marilyn, you have asked a massive question 😉 This is because the classic Turkish Van patten is just like the pattern on Wookie.
  
  So on that basis he is an unregistered Turkish Van. He would to have a pedigree to be called a Turkish Van in the USA.
  
  However, in Turkey the Turkish Van is really the same cat as the Turkish Angora and they have a range of coat types. Also in Turkey the Turkish Van and Angora are not registered with a cat association and neither do they have a pedigree yet they are more purebred than any American cat of this name.
  
  Confused? Complicated? Yes.
  
  The simplest answer I can give is that Wookie looks like an American Turkish Van. If he had a pedigree he would be one and he could be one because he looks fabulous.
  
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