THE TURKISH VAN STANDARD

The Turkish Van is a natural breed from the rugged, remote and climatically varied region of the Middle East. The breed is known for its unique, distinctive pattern..the term "van" has been adopted by a variety of breeds to describe white cats with coloured head and tail markings. The Turkish Van is a solidly-built, semi-longhaired cat with great breadth to the chest. The strength and power of the cat is evidenced in its substantial body and legs. This breed takes a full 3 to 5 years to reach full maturity and development, therefore allowances must be made for age and sex. Despite age and sex, as adults, individuals should convey an overall impression of a well-balanced and well-proportioned appearance in which no feature is exaggerated to foster weakness or extremes. Turkish Vans are very intelligent and alert cats, and as such feel more secure, and handle better with all four feet on a solid surface.

HEAD: Short to medium wedge, entire top of skull is medium width. Smooth taper from outer edge to ear to chin. The neck is slim and graceful and medium in length.
EARS: Well feathered, large, upright and set fairly close together.
EYES: Large and oval shape, slanting slightly upwards.
NOSE: Medium long, with a barely perceptible dip in profile.
CHEEKS: Very slightly rounded cheek bones.
JAWS: Slightly rounded muzzle. Allowances must be made for jowling in adult males.
CHIN: Firm in a straight line with the nose and upper lip.
BODY: Long, but sturdy. Females may be smaller overall. Males should be particularly muscular on neck and shoulders.
LEGS: Medium in length.
PAWS: Neat round feet with well tufted toes.
TAIL: Full, medium length, carried lower than the back, but not trailing.
COAT: Semi-longhair with a cashmere-like texture; soft to the roots with no trace of undercoat. Due to the extremes in climate of their native region, the breed carries two distinctive coat lengths and allowances must be made for the seasonal coat. The summer coat is short, conveying the appearance of a shorthair; the winter coat is substantially longer and thicker. Facial fur is short. A frontal neck ruff and full brush tail becomes more pronounced with age. The above description is that of an adult, allowances must be made for short coats and tail hair on kittens and young adults.

TURKISH VAN COLOUR STANDARDS
COAT COLOUR: Auburn, Cream, Black, Blue, Tortoiseshell and Blue-Cream Chalk white with no trace of yellow. Colour marking on face with white blaze.
EARS: White, inside of ears delicate shell pink.
EYE COLOUR: For all coat colours.
Amber - rims pink skinned
Blue-eyed - rims pink skinned
Odd-eyed - one amber, one blue with equal colour depth in both eyes. Rims pink skinned.
NOSE LEATHER: Shell pink
PADS: Shell pink
PATTERN: Van pattern on chalk white body with colour markings confined to the head and tail desirable. One or more random markings of colour up to 20% of the entire body are permissible. Random markings should not be of a size or number to detract from the Van pattern.

FAULTS: Refer to GENERAL LIST FOR ALL BREEDS Plus:

Any evidence toward extremities ie., cobby or svelte bodies and fine boning.

WITHHOLD: Total absence of colour on head or tail

Head	25
Eyes	10
Body	10
Tail	10
Coat & Colour	35
Condition	10
TOTAL	100

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