Three rival ideas about the history of the Angora cat

The term "Angora cat" is sometimes used interchangeably and rather confusingly with "Turkish Angora cat". The real Turkish Angora cat can be seen in the Ankara Zoo. These are the originals and they do not look like the selectively bred Turkish Angora cats that you see created in America. But they are quite long-haired with dense fur and you wonder why a domestic cat should have evolved into having long hair in a climate in Turkey which does not demand the extra protection of long fur. The same, incidentally, goes for the Persian which is meant to have originated in Persia, now Iran.

Real Turkish Angora cat. Photo: Ankara Zoo. This cat lives in the zoo.

There are three rival theories about the origins of the Angora, the first of which is without any scientific foundation and highly improbable. This is that the breed developed from the wild Pallas's cat better known as the manul. In other words, the theory is that this small wild cat was domesticated and evolved into the current Angora. This is completely impossible and I think we can discount it, in part because the appearance is completely different and ironically the manul has a longer, denser coat because they genuinely do live in very cold climates.

A more acceptable theory is that an old-an established Russian domestic cat developed a long-haired coat as a protection against the intensely cold Russian winter and this breed was taken south to Asia Minor on board commercial trading ships and eventually arrived in Turkey and Iran resulting in a long-haired cat residing in a warm country.

An alternative theory would be that the Angora was taken from the cold mountains of eastern Persia by Islamic invaders in the 15th century. Once they arrived in Turkey the coat evolved into becoming slightly less thick and fluffy than that of their Persian ancestors.

The Turkish Angora is one of the ancient cat breeds and the true and original ones currently reside in Turkey and they are, as mentioned, very different to the selectively bred variety in the artificial world of the American cat fancy. There was quite a lot of trading between countries a thousand years ago and on board the ship there would be domestic cats which is how the original domestic cats from the Middle East (the Fertile Crescent) spread out across the planet.

I have no preference for the two plausible theories mentioned above. It is likely that the cat was introduced into Turkey from the north i.e. Russia or perhaps one of the satellite states of that country before they became satellite states.

Can Turkish Angoras be black?

Yes, Turkish Angoras can be black as they come in all colors, all divisions of the traditional category. The white cats are favoured both in the West and certainly in Turkey.  The traditional colours are: black, chocolate, cinnamon, blue, lilac, fawn, red, cream and white.

Believed to be a black Turkish Angora. Photo: Reddit.

The black Turkish Angora bred in America looks like a fairly standard semi-longhaired domestic cat but more refined due to selective breeding. They are an elegant cat with flowing long hair. Their body is described as foreign-type meaning slender. The cat fancy see foreign cats as slender! 

The true Turkish Angoras at Ankara Zoo (yes, they are in a zoo as they are very special) look like all-white, doll-faced Persian cats i.e. traditional Persian cats. There may be a connection in history. Perhaps the original Persian cats originated in Turkey. They certainly did not originate in Persia now Iran to the best of my knowledge. Wrong? Tell me in a comment, please.

A real Turkish Angora in Turkey:

A real Turkish Angora cat. Photo: copyright Angora Cat Association.

Turkish Angora vs Persian Cat

At one time around 1900, the Turkish Angora was similar to the Persian. Looking at photographs of the two cats today (2012) you would not believe it. Selective breeding has separated them completely. The Turkish Angora is quite long and slender (foreign in shape) while the Persian has been developed in the opposite direction, round and cobby.

The Angora as it was called in 1901 (as opposed to "Turkish Angora") differed from the Persian in its coat, head, ears and tail but not in overall conformation (body type). The fur of the Angora was glossier and softer than the fur of the Persian. Angora fur was longer in clusters and it nearly touched the ground. The desired color was white.

The Angora's fur was a desirable commercial product in Turkey and sold to surrounding countries. I am not sure about this. I presume that we are talking about the pelt of the cat in which case they were obviously killed. This seems to be in conflict with this cat being a show cat in the early cat fancy. However, I may have this wrong.

The head of the Angora was less round and more angular than the Persian cat's head. It appears that the ears of the Angora were well tufted, more so than those of the Persian. The advice for breeding the Angora at the time was to cross the cat with imports from Angora (Turkey) thereby ensuring that the cat was purebred. That is an interesting concept today. It is common sense but you would rarely, I think, hear a breeder doing that today. Angora cats in Turkey are probably more purebred than the purebred Turkish Angora bred by breeders in the West.

The modern day (2012) Turkish Angora in Turkey looks like a traditional Persian so we can conclude that there has been no selective breeding and "refinement" of the Turkish Angora in Turkey. It has all happened in the West, mainly the USA probably.

Turkish Angora Personality

Gentle, easygoing and affectionate, so says one of the best sources about the Turkish Angora personality. Gloria Stephens in Legacy of the Cat says that the Turkish Angora is "quick-witted" (intelligent) and quick moving. She even says that this breed of cat can be quick tempered. I am not sure about that last comment.

Dr. Fogle who wrote, The Encyclopedia Of The Cat says that this cat breed is "energetic and exhibitionist".

Turkish Angora Ankara Zoo, Turkey

I would treat both these commentaries on the Turkish Angora personality with a bit of caution. There may be an underlying character trait for this breed of cat but we need to factor in the personalities of individual cats. This depends on breed characteristics to a certain extent and also how the individual cat was raised by the breeder.

For me, in any case, it is somewhat questionable whether we can say a breed of cat has a personality trait. All breeds are one species of cat. And all individual cats have their own personalities.

What is an angora cat?

Angora cat of 1895. Image in public domain

This is a tricky subject in my opinion. Although today the word "angora" usually applies to the Turkish Angora, a purebred cat that originates in Turkey and which is still found in Turkey.

The word "angora" used to mean a long haired cat. Well that is what I think. You will see old illustrations of cats that were all-white with long hair that look like modern traditional Persian cats that were referred to as "Angora cats". This terminology was used in the early days of the cat fancy, say the late 19th century and early 20th century.

I have a page on the Angora cat so I won't go on about it here!

What is a van cat?

1st registered Van cat

The Van cat is a Turkish Van, a breed of purebred cat. The word "Van" refers to the town of Van in the southeast of Turkey which is on the shore of Lake Van.  This is the place from which the Turkish Van originates.

The proximity of the town to the lake resulted in these cats being good swimmers, it is said! The town was in the news recently (late October 2011) because of an earthquake in the region that destroyed parts of Van. On a sad note I would expect that a number of Van cats were killed as well as over 500 people.

The Van cat is semi-longhaired cat with a very particular coat that is unique to this cat breed. The coat is a chalky white except for an inverted "V" shape pattern on the forehead and a colored tail in the same color as the V pattern. The pattern is auburn colored or auburn and black (does that make it a calico cat?). The inverted V is said to symbolize Allah's thumbprint. The coat is designed to cope with harsh conditions. It is waterproof but there is no undercoat making it easier to maintain.

The cat can be all white in Turkey and odd-eye color is not uncommon as the gene that makes the hair white (the piebald or white spotting gene) can also affect the pigmentation in the iris of the eye. The eye color is blue, amber or odd-eyed.

Turkish Van cat - photo copyright Helmi Flick

Purebred cats are obviously selectively bred by breeders but you will see this pattern or a less precise versions of it on stray and semi-feral cats in the Mediterranean region.

The Turkish Van is quite a rare purebred cat even though it has been around for many years in Europe (1955 in the UK) and America.

The Wikipedia authors say this is an all-white cat. This is incorrect. It is not all-white in the cat fancy. Although as mentioned, in Turkey it probably is frequently white. In Turkey it would be a cat that is not necessarily registered with a cat association (i.e. it is purebred but not formally).

Were the Turkish Van and Turkish Angora the same cat before separated by the cat fancy?

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Turkish Angora Pictures

Two splendid Turkish Angora pictures by the great cat photographer Helmi Flick. The Turkish Angora is a very distinguished looking purebred cat with a long natural history in Turkey. This cat really does originate in Turkey. In Turkey this cat breed is not selectively breed as much to be slender as is the case in America. It is quite normally shaped (semi-cobby) in Turkey and usually white with preferred odd-eye color. This post discusses what they look like in Turkey.

White cats with blue eyes have a high incidence of deafness caused by the same gene that makes the cat white.

Turkish Angora - Photo copyright Helmi Flick

This cat has startling eyes. They are a gorgeous pale green that is so well matched to the steely gray coat. He has a quizzical face.

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Next we have a plumed tail that is a big WOW!

Turkish Angora - Photo copyright Helmi Flick

This is a silver tabby Turkish Angora (TA for short). I think he or she is a mackerel tabby. The spots on the back merge to stripes on the flanks. The tail has one large band or blob at its end.

The eats are straight up which must be a requirement of the breed standard. They have slight lynx tipping which gives a sharpness to the shape. The eyes are also a pale green or is it hazel? The accepted eye colors for the TA are: copper, gold, yellow, hazel, green, blue and odd-eyes.

See a quick guide about this cat.