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The Van region has a large Kurdish population, and the Van cat has been referred to as the "Kurdish cat"<ref name="Spiegel">[http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-53440377.html Grossbongardt, Annette and Zand, Bernhard, "Kurdische Katzen", ''Der Spiegel'' 44/2007]</ref> or "Kurdish Van cat", and made a symbol of [[Kurdistan]] in Kurdistan nationalist circles.
The Van region has a large Kurdish population, and the Van cat has been referred to as the "Kurdish cat"<ref name="Spiegel">[http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-53440377.html Grossbongardt, Annette and Zand, Bernhard, "Kurdische Katzen", ''Der Spiegel'' 44/2007]</ref> or "Kurdish Van cat", and made a symbol of [[Kurdistan]] in Kurdistan nationalist circles.


Florian Cremer, a spokesperson of a small German catbreeding group, stated that: "The cats are Kurdish, and the Turkish authorities are unable to digest this."<ref name="swimmingcats.com">{{cite web|author=Karen Hooker |url=http://www.swimmingcats.com/vanarticle3.htm |title=Turkish Van articles #3 |publisher=Swimmingcats.com |date=2000-10-14 |accessdate=2011-11-30}}</ref> The pro-Kurdish view is that the cat is a [[Kurdish culture|Kurdish cultural]] creation.{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
Some media sources <ref>http://articles.latimes.com/2000/oct/06/news/mn-32494</ref> reported that Turkish soldiers poisoned 200 Van cats.These claims came from the group that called themselves as ''SOS Van Cats Rescue Action'': "The cats are Kurdish, and the Turkish authorities are unable to digest this."<ref name="swimmingcats.com">{{cite web|author=Karen Hooker |url=http://www.swimmingcats.com/vanarticle3.htm. Van University, which breeds ''Van cats'' responded: ''"That the Turkish army would be able to find 200 Van cats, let alone poison them," Agaoglu said in a recent interview, "is utter nonsense."ref>http://articles.latimes.com/2000/oct/06/news/mn-32494</ref> These claims were rejected and considered as pro-Kurdish propaganda.


The Turkish "version" of the cat is different from the version the Armenians and Kurds claim to be the proper Van cat; the Van cat bred by the Turks is solid white, whereas the Kurdish version has red-brown spots,{{citation needed|date=February 2012}} referred to by the Kurds as the "Marks of [[Allah]]", due to a legend that God picked the cat up to help it out of Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat.{{citation needed|date=February 2012}}
The Turkish "version" of the cat is different from the version the Armenians and Kurds claim to be the proper Van cat; the Van cat bred by the Turks is solid white, whereas the Kurdish version has red-brown spots,{{citation needed|date=February 2012}} referred to by the Kurds as the "Marks of [[Allah]]", due to a legend that God picked the cat up to help it out of Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat.{{citation needed|date=February 2012}}

Revision as of 14:55, 10 January 2013

Not to be confused with Turkish Van or Turkish Angora.
Van Cat
A typical odd-eyed Van Cat kitten.
OriginLake Van area of Turkey
Variety statusNot recognised as a standardised breed by any major breed registry.
Notes
The Van cat is a landrace, not a formal breed.
Domestic cat (Felis catus)

The Van cat is a distinctive landrace of domestic cat found mainly in the Lake Van region of eastern Turkey. It is large, all-white, and frequently odd eyed.[1] The naturally occurring Van cat type is the basis of the Turkish Van breed, internationally selectively bred with a more recently developed ruddy colouring pattern on the white, as standardised and recognised by many cat fancier organisations.

History

The Van cat has been reported living in the vicinity of the city of Van for centuries. The cats are named Van kedisi (plural kediler, nominative kedisi) in Turkish,[2] Vana katou or Vana gadou (Վանա կատու) in Armenian,[3][4] and pisîka Wanê in Kurdish.[5] Each literally translates to 'cat of Van' or 'Van cat'. Armenian people who settled in the Van region revered this breed of cat.[6]

At the end of the 19th century, Sultan Abdul Hamid II is said to have owned a Van cat, and having one is still seen as a status symbol: a Prime Minister of Turkey received one as a gift, and an ambassador from Greece put himself on a waiting list to get one. Kittens for the breeding center could be purchased for $282 in 2011 [7], currently there is no law that forbids export of white and odd-eyed cats from Turkey [8].

During the late 1990s, the Van cat emerged as an informal municipal symbol of the city of Van – an enormous statue of a Van cat and kitten now stands at the entrance to the city. The cat appears in a local comic strip, and in the logos of bus companies, shopping centres, various businesses, etc.

Characteristics

All-white Van Cat, Van region, Turkey, 1973, showing different coloured eyes

The cats are notable for their lean, long-legged appearance. They are reported to like water more than most cats, and have been seen swimming in Lake Van.

Their most notable genetic characteristic is their almond-shaped eyes that often are mismatched colours. The most valued and valuable members of the type generally have one amber-green eye and one blue eye.

Current status

An adult female Van cat photographed in the compound of the Van Cat Research Center

The Van cat is a "natural breed" (landrace), not a formal breed of cat.[9] They can still be found in east Turkey, near Lake Van, although their numbers have diminished (a 1992 survey found only 92 pure Van cats in their native area).[10] All forms of Van cat are now under the protection of the Turkish government.[2]

There is a breeding and research center for the all-white variety at the Van Cat House.[11] It was established in the mid-1990s within the campus of Van Yüzüncü Yıl Üniversitesi ('Van Hundredth Year University').. As of 2006, the center housed about 100 young adults and kittens, and is open to the public for a nominal entrance fee.[12]

Naming controversy

The Van cat is claimed as a cultural icon for Armenians, Kurds, and Turks.[13] Armenians often consider the breed to be historically Armenian.[14] Prior to 1915, the area had a large Armenian population. In general, the Armenian homeland is centred on Lake Van[15] and it was also a center of ancient Armenian culture.[16] All the Vanetzis (Armenian inhabitants of Van) loved the Van cat,[17] and among them Arshile Gorky, who sculpted Van cats at early 1910s.[18] Descendants of the Western Armenians who escaped the Armenian Genocide (1915–1918) scattered all over the world, consider the Van region their motherland and the Van cat to be a part of their culture; Armenian writer Vrtanes Papazian wrote a short novel where the cat has been used as a symbol of the Armenian liberation movement.[19] Armenian authors Raffi and Axel Bakunts also mentioned Van cat in their works.[20][21]

The Van region has a large Kurdish population, and the Van cat has been referred to as the "Kurdish cat"[22] or "Kurdish Van cat", and made a symbol of Kurdistan in Kurdistan nationalist circles.

Some media sources [23] reported that Turkish soldiers poisoned 200 Van cats.These claims came from the group that called themselves as SOS Van Cats Rescue Action: "The cats are Kurdish, and the Turkish authorities are unable to digest this."[24] These claims were rejected and considered as pro-Kurdish propaganda.

The Turkish "version" of the cat is different from the version the Armenians and Kurds claim to be the proper Van cat; the Van cat bred by the Turks is solid white, whereas the Kurdish version has red-brown spots,[citation needed] referred to by the Kurds as the "Marks of Allah", due to a legend that God picked the cat up to help it out of Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat.[citation needed]

Meanwhile, genetic research has shown that the domestic cat's ancestor, the African wild cat (Felis silvestris lybica), was domesticated about 10,000 years ago, when tribes transitioned from hunter-gathering to crop farming and settled life.[25][26] In addition, the white-spotting in domestic cats appeared at the earliest stage of cat domestication, and is one of the points of evidence of early artificial selection.[27] The Van cat may therefore have a much more ancient origin than the ethnic groups now present in the territory around Lake Van.[citation needed]

The mascot of the 2010 FIBA World Championship of basketball, hosted by Turkey, was an anthropomorphised Van cat named "Bascat". He had a white coat and odd eyes, one blue and one green, and his head was shaped with design cues from the crescent moon on the Turkish flag.[28]

References

  1. ^ http://newspot.byegm.gov.tr/2006/february/ns11.htm [dead link]
  2. ^ a b "Van Cat". Official website of the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture & Tourism. Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism. p. 2005. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  3. ^ Paruyr Sevak, "The Unsilenceable Belfry" (Պարույր Սևակ, ԱՆԼՌԵԼԻ ԶԱՆԳԱԿԱՏՈՒՆ), published in 1959: "...Թե՞ ազատվելու հուսահատ ճիգով Լող էին տալիս հազա՜ր ու հազա՜ր Վանա կատուներ՝Վառվող աչքերով ..."[clarification needed]
  4. ^ "Armenian Vans - Real "Aristocrats"". Tour Armenia. TACentral.com. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
  5. ^ Sor, Dara (11 January 2006). "Kurdish National Pride: Pişika Wanê - The Van Cat". Land of the Sun: Kurdistan. BlogSpot. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
  6. ^ The mysterious, magickal cat, by Deanna J. Conway, Deanna J. Conway - 1998, p. 190
  7. ^ http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/18050721.asp
  8. ^ http://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2012/09/20120921-3.ht
  9. ^ Wright, Michael (1980). The Book of the Cat (1st ed.). London: Pan. pp. 50–52. ISBN 0-330-26153-3. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ "The Turkish Van The Swimming Cat". Cats and Kittens Magazine. Pet Publishing inc. 2000. Archived from the original on 2007-12-04. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  11. ^ Van City Guide Ankara 2005. Ankara. 2005.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  12. ^ "Van City Guide", Ankara, 2005.
  13. ^ Turkish Van Breed Profile by Anthony Nichols
  14. ^ "Van Cats | Armenia Travel, History, Archeology & Ecology | TourArmenia | Travel Guide to Armenia". Tacentral.com. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
  15. ^ Studying the Holocaust: issues, readings, and documents - by Ronnie S. Landau - 1998, p. 101
  16. ^ Arshile Gorky, 1904-1948: a retrospective, by Diane Waldman, H.N. Abrams, 1981, p. 255
  17. ^ The many worlds of Arshile Gorky, by Karlen Mooradian, Gilgamesh Press, 1980, p. 84
  18. ^ The many worlds of Arshile Gorky, by Karlen Mooradian, Gilgamesh Press, 1980, p. 87
  19. ^ Vrtanes Papazyan, Vana Katu. Yerevan, Arevik publ., 1988, 224 p.
  20. ^ Րաֆֆի. "Kaycer". eanc.net. Archived from the original on 2011-08-14. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
  21. ^ Բակունց Ակսել. "Մթնաձոր". www.eanc.net. Archived from the original on 2011-08-14. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
  22. ^ Grossbongardt, Annette and Zand, Bernhard, "Kurdische Katzen", Der Spiegel 44/2007
  23. ^ http://articles.latimes.com/2000/oct/06/news/mn-32494
  24. ^ {{cite web|author=Karen Hooker |url=http://www.swimmingcats.com/vanarticle3.htm. Van University, which breeds Van cats responded: "That the Turkish army would be able to find 200 Van cats, let alone poison them," Agaoglu said in a recent interview, "is utter nonsense."ref>http://articles.latimes.com/2000/oct/06/news/mn-32494
  25. ^ Rob Stein, Washington Post (2008-03-23). "Using DNA to track the origins of cats". Sfgate.com. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
  26. ^ Lipinski, Monika J.; Froenicke, Lutz; Baysac, Kathleen C.; Billings, Nicholas C.; Leutenegger, Christian M.; Levy, Alon M.; Longeri, Maria; Niini, Tirri; Ozpinar, Haydar (2008). "The ascent of cat breeds: Genetic evaluations of breeds and worldwide random-bred populations". Genomics. 91 (1): 12–21. doi:10.1016/j.ygeno.2007.10.009. PMC 2267438. PMID 18060738.
  27. ^ Vinogradov, AE (1994). "Locally Associated Alleles of Cat Coat Genes". The Journal of heredity. 85 (2): 86–91. PMID 8182285.
  28. ^ "2010 FIBA World Championship Event Guide: Mascot". FIBA. Retrieved 2010-09-12.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Van Kedisi.
  • Van cat at the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism website.
  • VanCat.org - a website about Van Cats.
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