Felidae+-+Cote

﻿The Turkish Van (Swimming) Cat



__//**﻿Family: **//__ Felidae  __**Characteristics**__- All cats have fine fur, elegant heads, pointed ears, and large eyes. Also, these carnivores have a tail, and most cats can retract their claws. **__Examples__**- Some kinds of cats are the lions (//Panthera leo//), the cheetahs (//Acinonyx jubatus//), Maine Coons (house cat- //Felis Catus//), and the Birmans (house cat- //Felis catus//).  **//__Animal: __//** (house cat) //Felis catus//   __﻿__ __**About the Cat**__- Turkish Vans have a colored patch on each of their ears and on their feathery tail. The rest of the body is a pure white. The colors of the pattern will vary. __**How they eat**__- In the wild, a Turkish Van would kill prey by stalking, leaping on the back, and then biting into the prey's neck. In a house, the Turkish Van would lick up the food with its rough tongue, chew, and swallow. **__What they eat__**- Wild cats eat prey smaller than themselves, but indoor cats will eat the generic food (wet or dry). When giving dry food, always make sure the cat has water. If a Turkish Van is spayed or neutered, the cat is prone to getting overweight. __**Movement**__- Turkish Vans are agile, able to leap with power, not good at running long distances, and, in need of speed, will push off the ground with both hind legs. When walking, diagonal legs move together. (Ex: Right front leg moves in unison with left hind leg.) Also, the caat's nervous system has evolved to protect its important parts, like the head, so the cat has the ability to turn in mid-air. __**Leaping**__- Basically, the cat will put its paws together, stand on its hind legs, leap, touch the ground with forepaws, and finally, bring hind legs forward. The cats' body has a collarbone, which prevents the cat from hurting itself in a leap. __**Gender Difference**__- In Turkish Vans, the male is larger than the female, and the jowls (fat in cheeks or muzzle) can be seen in the adult males. __**Response to Stimuli **__<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">- The Turkish Van may bite if startled, flatten its ears, raise hair, and arch its back. Also, the pupils in the eyes widen or contract to adapt to the light, and nerves are on the end of a cat's whisker that back up the cat's sight. __**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">Growth and Development **__<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">- The Turkish Van can be up to 7-19 lbs, be 3 ft long (head to tail), and usually reaches full maturity at 3-5 years. __**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">Reproduction **__<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">- The kits gestate for 100-119 days, and there are usually four kits in a litter. Male Turkish Vans will mate with the female for a few days in a row. Mating only takes a couple seconds. __**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">Extra Information **__<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">- Turkish Vans enjoy swimming and playing games. They are said to be dog-like in mannerism. The Van cat can live with other pets and children. In affection, this cat will give a head-butt or love bites. Sometimes, a Turkish Van will bond with one person more than anyone else and follow him or her around. These cats will live for 9-15 years. __**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">Qualifications **__<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">- Some cats may have the amazing "Van pattern", but are not pure Vans. They are "Van-alike". Pure Turkish Vans can be traced back to their ancestors (there are not very many Vans, so all are registered.), and no cross-breeding is allowed (combination of two species). The patches on the head region must be separated by a strip of white, but the cat may have color on the legs and body, but only if it is not on more than 1/5 of the body. Also, Vans have no undercoat, and a sturdy, muscular, medium-sized body. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; line-height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Resources: <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">1) [|www.swimmingcats.com/index1.html]  <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">2) [|www.vantasia.org/turks.html]  <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">3) [|www.catbreedsjunction.com/turkish-van-cat.html]  <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">4) [|www.all-about-cute-kittens.com/turkish-van-kittens.html]  <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">5) [|www.petplanet.co.uk/cat_breed_profile.asp?cbid=24]  <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">6) []  <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">7) book- EYEWITNESS BOOKS Cat
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">Kingdom __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">- Animalia
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">Phylum __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">- Chordata
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">Class __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">- Mammalia
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">Order __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">- Carnivora<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">[[image:threehappycats.jpg width="286" height="211" align="right" caption="from: www.swimmingcats.com"]]
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">Family __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">- Felidae
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">Genus __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">- Felis
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">Species __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">- //Felis catus//
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">Appearance __**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; overflow: hidden;">- Turkish Vans will be mostly white with the pattern on the head and tail in red, black, tortoiseshell, and many more colors. The pattern may also be in tabby (ex: red tabby markings). The eyes of a Van may be blue, amber, blue and amber, or a new color, green. The Van pattern (on the ears and tail) is resulted in the presence of a domina[[image:blackandwhiteturkishvancat.jpg width="229" height="227" align="left" caption="from: www.swimmingcats.com This is a black-colored Turkish Van"]]nt piebald gene. [[image:Odd-Eyed-Turkish-Van-Kittenfrom_www.all-about-cut-kittens.com_(2).gif align="right" caption="Odd-eyed Turkish Van from: www.all-about-cute-kittens.com"]]