Standards

General  

The Turkish Van is a naturally occurring semi-longhaired breed from the rugged region of the Middle East centred on Lake Van where the climate varies to extremes.  The Turkish Van is known for its distinctive pattern - a white cat with a strikingly coloured head and tail.   

Points 

Head:  

20 

Shape  

Top of head 

The head has the shape of a broad blunt wedge with gentle contours, of medium length.  

7 

Muzzle and chin 

The muzzle is rounded, the chin firm. 

5 

Profile  

The profile is almost straight, with just a slight dip below eye-level. Nose medium long, straight. 

8 

Eyes 

Large and oval, alert and expressive. Set at a slight slant. They are light amber, blue or odd eyed colour with pink rims. 

15 

Ears 

The ears are moderately large, with a broad base and slightly rounded tips. They are straight set, rather high and upright on the skull. 

10 

Body: 

20 

Size and boning 

The medium sized to large cat has a muscular body with a medium heavy bone structure. 

5 

Torso 

The chest is massive and solid, ribcage rounded, pelvic area solid. 

5 

Neck 

The neck is muscular. 

5 

Legs and paws 

The legs have medium length, the paws are round. 

5 

Tail 

The tail is of medium length and furnished with a brush appearance. 

5 

Coat: 

25 

Length 

Medium long 

5 

Texture  

The coat is silky without a woolly undercoat. It is shorter on the neck and the shoulders and longer at the breeches and on the tail. It should be noted that the winter coat of the Van is longer and heavier than the summer coat. Longer coated cats are to be preferred. The neck and chest ruff should become more pronounced with age. 

10 

Colour 

Red, cream, black, blue, tortie, bluecream and all those with tabby markings are recognised. Tabby patterns are not specified. The body colour is chalk white with no trace of yellow. Colour markings on the head but not below the level of the eyeliners or beyond the base of the rear of the ears; the colour on the head should be separated by a vertical white blaze.  White nose. Ears should be white with delicate shell pink inside. The brush is coloured. 
The white variety has no colour markings. Head, tail, body, legs and paws are chalk white.
Nose leather and paw pads pink. 

10 

Condition  

See general part 

5 

Total  

100 

Special breed faults 

Orange or copper eyes in adults.
Too little or too much colour on the head. 

Without certificates 

Siamese, Persian or British type.
A partially white tail. 
Absence of a vertical white blaze between the coloured head markings. 

Disqualify 

Total absence of colour on the head and/or tail (whites excluded). 

Remarks 

Small, irregular, coloured patches on the body should not disqualify a cat, which is otherwise good. 
Tabby markings in the solid red/cream coloured patches should be tolerated. The eye colours may fade with age, the amber particularly taking on a greenish tinge, which likewise should not penalise an otherwise good specimen. 

Outcross 

Cross-breeding with any other breed is prohibited.