A large, athletic semi-longhair: white, with colour only on its head and tail, and known for playing with water.
The Turkish Van is named after Lake Van in eastern Turkey. It is big and strong, built like a swimmer. Its body is chalk white; only its head and tail have colour. That is why this marking is called the 'van pattern'. By nature it is busy, clever and playful. It loves its people, but would rather sit next to you than on your lap.
Loyal and loving, and often follows you around, but on its own terms.
Not a lap cat and dislikes being picked up, though it may lie next to you.
Very playful, often fetches, and stays playful into old age.
Very active and strong; it loves to leap to the highest spot in the room.
A soft voice, but many Vans like to 'chat' with their people.
Clever; learns fetch and tricks, and likes puzzle toys.
Often wary of visitors and may not want to be touched by them.
Good with older children who play with it and do not pick it up.
Usually fine with a calm dog, as long as the cat is in charge.
Mixed: many Vans live happily with another cat, but some do not like sharing their home.
Wants company and attention, and is not happy alone all day.
Can live indoors if it has room to climb and plenty of play.
The Turkish Van loves to swim.
Partly true. The first kittens swam in a pond in 1955, and many Vans like to play with water from a tap or bowl. Its coat repels water. But not every Van likes water or a bath, and nobody has tested whether they like it more than other cats.
All Turkish Vans descend from cats from Lake Van.
The breed is named after Lake Van, but according to the woman who started the breed, the first cats came from other parts of Turkey, such as Hatay and Istanbul.
In Turkey the Turkish Van is the famous 'Van cat'.
No. In Turkey the Van kedisi ('Van cat') is an all-white cat, often with one blue and one amber eye. The Turkish Van with a coloured head and tail is a breed developed in the West.
In 1955 two British photographers working in Turkey were given two cats and took them home. Their kittens looked just like the parents: white, with colour on the head and tail. With a few more cats from Turkey they built a breed, first called the 'Turkish cat'. In the 1980s the breed reached America. In Turkey itself the 'Van cat' is something else: an all-white cat that is protected there.
The British photographers Laura Lushington and Sonia Halliday take two cats from Turkey home to England.
A second pair of cats from Turkey joins the breeding in England.
The European federation FIFe recognises the breed.
Britain's GCCF fully recognises the breed, under the name 'Turkish cat'.
The American registry TICA gives the breed championship status.
Barbara and Jack Reark of Florida bring in Vans from France and the Netherlands and make the breed known in America.
America's CFA accepts the Turkish Van for registration.
Only 92 all-white Van cats are counted around Lake Van. A university in Van starts breeding them.
CFA gives the Turkish Van championship status.
Around this time Britain's GCCF starts registering all-white cats as a separate breed, the Turkish Vankedisi.
Large, muscular and built like an athlete. The most striking thing is the van pattern: a chalk-white body with colour only on the head, split by a white blaze, and on the tail.
The same cat as the Turkish Van, but all white, with no colour on head or tail. White cats with blue eyes are often deaf, so Britain's GCCF asks for a hearing test. It is named after the white Van cat of Turkey, but it is not the same cat.
Recognition: Britain's GCCF and WCF see it as a separate breed. TICA counts all-white cats as Turkish Vans. FIFe and CFA do not recognise all-white cats.
Cat registries write colours as an EMS code. The letter is the colour (n black, a blue, d red, f tortie), s means silver or smoke, y golden, and the numbers tell you about white (01–09), shading (11, 12), the tabby pattern (22–25) or colourpoint (33).
Red (auburn) van(d 01)
Cream van(e 01)
Black van(n 01)
Blue van(a 01)
Tortie van(f 01)
Red tabby van(d 01 21)Only America's CFA accepts these colours, in a class for 'other colours'. FIFe and Britain's GCCF do not list them.
Chocolate, lilac and points do not belong in the Turkish Van; CFA sees them as a sign of crossing. An all-white cat is not a Turkish Van at FIFe or CFA; GCCF and WCF register it as a Turkish Vankedisi, and only TICA counts it in.
When the first kittens swam in a pond in 1955, the British press called them 'swimming cats'.
Its coat feels like cashmere and repels water, so it dries quickly after a wet adventure.
A Turkish Van is only fully grown after three to five years, much later than most cats.
Many Vans play fetch: they bring back a toy or a ball of paper, just like a dog.
CFA compares the sturdy Turkish Van to an Olympic swimmer, and the slender Turkish Angora to a ballerina.
Breed guides say about 12 to 17 years, but nobody has measured it for this breed.
An all-white cat, especially one with blue eyes, is sometimes born deaf, in one or both ears. In Vans with the usual van pattern this is rare: they have a different gene for their white. In a Turkish study of 300 white Van cats about 1 in 7 was deaf, and none of the cats with colour on the head. A deaf cat usually lives well indoors.
How it is found: A hearing test (BAER) of white kittens. Britain's GCCF asks for one for every Turkish Vankedisi. There is no DNA test.
Not an inherited disease, but watch its weight. It keeps growing until three to five years old, so a big cat is not always a fat cat.
How it is found: There is no test. Have the vet weigh the cat and check its shape at every visit.
Easy for a longhair: without a woolly undercoat it rarely mats. Combing once a week is enough, more often when it drops its winter coat in spring.
It wants to play and climb every day. Give it high places to sit and look around.
It needs no special food. Do keep an eye on its weight.
A Turkish Van is not hypoallergenic. No measurements show that it makes fewer allergens.
Many Vans play with water. So keep the toilet lid and the aquarium closed.
Checked on 21 October 2026
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