Turkish Angora Cat
Introduction This breed of cat is related, it seems, to the Turkish Van and she certainly has an equally distinguished and long history that marks this cat, and the Turkish Van, out from most other purebred cats (the Chartreux being an exception) in that regard. This is a natural breed, therefore. Of course the breed's naturalness would only extend to the time, in the early and mid 20th century when mankind got involved and started breeding the cat.The history is outlined in tabular form below. In short the Turkish Angora can be traced back to the 16th century and had presumably evolved naturally, until relatively recently (1917), in an area that used to be called Anatolia. Anatolia would seem to be centered by Turkey (see map below - Anatolia is marked in red).  {This file is in the public domain because it was created by NASA. It has been modified by en:User:Denizz (drawn a rectangle around Anatolia) and by me (cropped the image to fit this page) There is a possibility that the Turkish Angora evolved from the Manul cat, which was a pet of the Tartars. Also, the breed possibly evolved in mountainous regions, hence the semi-longhaired coat.
History
Health issues HCM is a heart condition that can affect the Turkish Angora Cat and many other breeds (HCM and Bengal cats). Ataxia is another inherited condition found in this breed (recessive gene). The symptoms of Ataxia are grossly uncoordinated movements.
Special Interest Cats are routinely used in scientific research, something that is not widely recognised. Indeed some of the major pet food manufacturers do animal testing to improve their products. For example, six magnificent Safari cats have been animal tested to destruction.The Turkish Angora is another purebred cat that has been used in the furtherence of science (or so it is meant to be). Not that purebred cats are any more important than any other creature, but I wonder why they used purebred cats and not cats that would otherwise have been put down or cats from the Moran Market outside Seoul, where cats and dogs are sold as food and treated appallingly (makes me shudder). South Korean scientists cloned Turkish Angora cats by apparently manipulating a flouresent protein gene. The cats glow in the dark. This may be an attempt to re-establish the damaged reputation of their bio-engineering industry due to a faked earlier programme. I disagree with this and I am not impressed by it.
Appearance and Character Intelligent and elegant best describes this cat. She is therefore a curious
I think she has a nice fine and elegant bone structure, which is very attractive. The classic coat is silky white with odd amber and blue eyes. This conformation is the most desirable to the Turkish it seems. Although many colors and patterns are now acceptable to the cat registries. The coat has no undercoat so it is close to the body and therefore easier to maintain. They are not in the same size bracket as Maine Coons (which are large cats). This breed typically weighs about 5-9 lbs, which in fact is on the light side. See a bundle of Helmi Flick photos of this cat breed in a massive slide show plus reference to the CFA breed standard by clicking on this link: Turkish Angora Breed Standard. Breeders Top 2 listed catteries on Google Search (3 pages):Turkish Angora Cats Located ini Southern California, USA. Runby Michael and Lorraine Shelton. Lorraine Shelton is a co-author of Robinsons, "Genetics for Cat Breeders & Veterinarians", a well known book on cat genetics. Antioch Turkish Angoras Located Central Ohio, USA.
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