VAN CAT

I remember my great aunt petting a beautiful white cat with silky hair on her lap for hours. The purring was endless. Obviously the joy was mutual. But I felt sorry that this cat had two different colored eyes. Auntie told me that the beauty of this cat was her eyes. There was nothing wrong with her.

She was a special breed called VAN cat. They come from the city of Van in the eastern part of Turkey. Van cats have mostly long white silky hair. They are energetic and playful. They are born with grayish eyes but within a month their eye color starts changing and after forty days the color of their eyes becomes permanent. The colors of the eyes can be both blue/turquoise or both amber or one eye blue/turquoise and the other eye amber.

Aside from being so docile, they love being in a family. The more they are loved the more they retun love.

They are very fond of water. It has been said that this is the only breed of cat who can swim and play with water. Van cats can be easily trained. One other trait they have is to test their food with their paw to see if it is the right temperature.

Van cats are a protected breed. There is a special house built for them in Van University.

Although I am a dog person and will always remain loyal to my Ginger's memory I wouldn't mind owning a beautiful Van cat if I could get one. They are fun, clean and intelligent. I will always remember the rolling purr my aunt's cat made when she was with her.