Is This a Turkish Angora?

Don't listen to Lisa, she's hung up on only purebreds are real anything. That's only true for artificial breeds like the Somali, which doesn't exist outside of pure-breed kitty mills, even though anyone could produce one by crossing a Persian with an Abyssinian, and selecting only medium-long haired offspring with long bushy tails and big ears -- which is how the Somali breed was first established.

Turkish Angoras existed as a natural breed long before there were any cat fancier societies. Your cat looks more like a Turkish Angora then most of the "pure-breeds" I've seen.

Whether yours is a natural throwback, or an escapee from a "pure-breed" kitty mill, probably can't be determined unless the cat has a chip already in it that you could trace to a registered cat owner.

There are no DNA profile banks to compare original breeds like the TA, so all anyone has to go on are looks and configuration. This forces cat fancier societies to rely on written pedigrees. But even then, cat mills often cross in other cats to keep their line going strong, and counter the ill-effects of in-breeding.

The biggest tragedy, in my opinion, is the current craze by so-called "environmentalist" to spay or neuter every stray cat they find or trap so that outstanding specimens like yours can't be bred. Because I would love to breed your TA with mine, except he was neutered before being handed over to me.

yes this is a turkish angora. its the common white soft long haired angora. the two diffrent colored eyes are common in turkish angoras. if your cat doesnt need much grooming and talkes alot then yes your cat is a turkish angora

The Turkish Angora was originally a natural breed, meaning the harsh climate [as in the mountains around Angora (now Ankara) Turkey, or other similarly harsh environment from their actual point of origin) was the natural-selection factor tending to favor the white silky semi-long coat, and long tufts of hair on their feet for survival and propagation. Probably originally was a snow cat, or a snow cat mix, because of the predominant solid white color in the orignal breed and the furry tufts on the feet.

Turkish Angoras may be the original long-hair cat, it is thought they are cousins to the persian, which may have been selectively bred from Turks to look like a freakish offshoot. In fact, Turkish Angoras have long been extensively crossbred with persians in the US and in Europe, and a "pure" Turkish Angora lost in the shuffle. Even in modern Turkey the "original" "pure" Turkish Angora has become a rarity, if it still really exists at all, having naturally interbred with other sub-species of domesticated cats introduced into the region by travelers and immigrants.

The "purebreed" societies have adopted a standard of what constitutes to them a best-of-breed comfiguration for their version of what a Turkish Angora should look like. But rest assured that "non-comforming" versions continually pop out of these breeding lines. The purebreed devotee will not allow these "nonconforming" offspring to breed.

I personally don't care for the registered "pure-breeds," as they are rarely pure Turkish Angoras, having been purposely crossbred with other breeds to keep the genetic pool strong, and to obtain color variations. And also the "pure-breds" are selectively mated for "human-desired" traits that over time tend to morph into a strains that resembele freakish morphs of the original type.

Because of the extensive cross-breeding in the past, true-to-type offspring are statistically bound to pop out now and then from these mixes, as well as partially-true to type mixes. This is what you might have.

The moniker "Turkish Angora" is not restricted to the "pure-bred" societies, but has already entered the common language to describe any cat (especially pure white cats) that have most or all the characteristics of a Turkish Angora (a single semi-long silk-like coat (no undercoat), long fluffy tails, large pointed ears, hairy tufted paws, almond-shaped eyes, etc.)

Unless you are into "purebreds" you can decide for yourself whether your cat is predominantly one breed or another. Otherwise I wouldn't worry about the "official" definition by the so-called "purebreed" societies.

Lisa, thanks for the input - appreciated.

Congratulations on adopting such a gorgeous cat. I can see why shelter workers would be confused. However, she is not a Turkish Angora. Her ears tip way out to the sides, & a Turkish Angoras have the ear set of a German Shepherd Dog. They also have a straight profile when viewed from the side. By that I mean the nose from the forehead to the nose tip should be so straight you could lay a ruler or a level on it.

Shelter workers tend to call things a "breed" just to get them adopted so they do not have to put them down. Not every solid blue cat is a Russian Blue, a Korat, a Chartreux, or a British Shorthair. Not every cat with a pointed pattern is a Siamese. Not every large, long haired cat is a Maine Coon, & not every solid white, long haired cat is a Turkish Angora.

Like I said in my article on the Turkish Angora, they come in almost every color/pattern under the sun, not just white.

They are a very rare breed in the world, with a gene pool that seems to be shrinking by the year, & it is next to impossible to find a purebred one in a shelter facility unless it's an owner surrender with papers.

Your beauty is a domestic long hair, and there is NOTHING wrong with calling it that! I have a DLH that was my first bottle baby. Her mother was a feral that abandoned her, & her father was a traveling salesman 🙂 I don't love her any less than I love my registered cats, or my rescued purebred Exotic Shorthair, quite the contrary. That cat is like another child to me, & I love her more than the rest of them combined.

Lisa