Turkish Van Calico
by Sandra Davis
(Oshawa, Ontario, Canada)
Hello – In 1981 my then 6 yr. old daughter was asked what she wanted for Christmas and her reply was ” A kitten”… After calling about a dozen pet stores I found a store who had a litter of 4 kittens had come in for sale.
I took my 2 yr. old son and we went to the store to see the kittens. The salesperson told me they were $59.00. I asked the breed and she said they were longhaired domestics.I chose the little calico, the only one with in the litter. I picked her up the next day after she had been checked by the vet.
When I took her to my own vet I was shocked when he informed me that she was a Turkish Van and that I had paid a small portion of what he felt she should have been priced!
Well, Ginger became a wonderful, devoted cat who loved her family and loved to be groomed. She lived until she was 18 yrs. old and that 6 yr. old child had become a 24 yr. old adult 🙂
She passed away in Nov. of 1999 and is still very missed and thought of often :).
Regards,
S. Davis
SDavis1140@gmail.com
Hi Sandra…. Nice story. Thank you for sharing. It makes me think that the other kittens in the pet shop might have been Turkish Vans.
Ginger must have had the classic inverted “V” marking on the forehead. The Cat Fanciers Association allow tortoiseshell as a colour so a calico (tortoiseshell and white) is a proper Turkish Van colour.
Judging by some of the other visitors’ submissions, I think that there are more Turkish Van type cats in circulation that we realise.
This may be due to the fact that the Turkish Van is an ancient breed of cat that comes from an area not far from the heart of the domestic cat – the place where it was initially domesticated, called the Fertile Crescent, which is just east of Turkey. The Van genes have probably spread far and wide and found themselves in your town!
I don’t suppose you have a photo, do you? If you have one just email me (mjbmeisteratgmail.com – substitute the at for @) or upload it on another form and I will add it to you post.
Best
