The Turkish Van is a longhaired breed of domestic cat that is descended from the landrace of Van cats found near Lake Van in modern Turkey. The breed is rare, and is distinguished by the van color pattern, where the color is restricted to the head and the tail, and the rest of the cat is white; this is due to the expression of the piebald white spotting gene, a type of partial leucism. A Van may have blue or amber eyes, or one eye of each colour . Also known for its unusual love of water and swimming, the Turkish Van is nicknamed the swimming cat. The breed was developed in Britain from a... selection of Van cats obtained from Eastern Turkey in 1955. It was first recognized in Britain by the GCCF in 1969. Breed standards allow for one or more body spots as long as there is no more than 20% color and the cat does not give the appearance of a bicolor. A few random spots are acceptable, but they should not detract from the pattern. The rest of the cat is white.
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| Temperament: | Dog-like, People-oriented, Dominant, Playful, Intelligent, Energetic |
| Place of Origin: | Turkey |
| Also Known As: | Swimming Cat, Van |