Turkish Angora

Angora cat
Standard FIFe: TUA, GCCF: 62
Shoulder height
length
Weight	Male: Ø kg female: Ø kg
allowed colors	White, black, red, thinned and silver varieties of these colors, with and without spotting, with and without tabby.
colors not allowed	Chocolate, Fawn, Lilac and Point
permitted coat drawing
not allowed coat drawing
List of cat breeds

The Turkish Angora is a breed of cats .

The Angora cat , which originally came from Turkey , is, according to genetic studies, the oldest long-haired breed of pedigree cats and thus also the primal mother of all long-haired breeds. This oriental breed has a natural origin, as it was created by the mutated longhair gene. She is one of the oldest cat breeds in the world. Turkey even made them their national cat. ( Angora is the old name of Ankara and the associated province at that time , today's capital of Turkey). In her home country she is called "Ankara kedisi".

History / history

The Turkish Angora has been known as a separate breed in Turkey since the 15th century. She was the first longhair cat to come to Western Europe. Turkish sultans of the Ottoman Empire sent them as gifts to courts in England and France in the 16th century . As the first longhair cat ever in Western Europe, she was sure of success. Kings like Louis XV were admirers of these white cats with the mysterious eyes and passed them on to princes as a valuable gift. In the 18th century it was a status symbol at European courts. Numerous paintings from this period document this type of luxury gift. Princess Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein was the owner of such a white cat. Around the same time, the French naturalist Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc brought some of these cats from Turkey to France. It also came to Europe with Italian sailors .

In the 18th century, the breed came into vogue and became the darling of the nobility . It was omnipresent at the court of the French kings. Louis XV , Louis XVI. , Cardinal Richelieu and Marie Antoinette owned these cats that were very popular and famous at the time. In a book by the French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon , this breed of cats was mentioned and illustrated as early as 1756. The nobility revered this noble, long-haired and graceful breed of cats, as only the native, short-haired breeds were common in Europe at that time . It was highly valued and very high prices were paid for its acquisition.

A lot of time has passed since then. With the appearance of the Persian cat, the angora's star faded. In the 1960s the population of pure-bred Turkish Angoras declined to a threatening level even in their home country, Turkey. A few specimens were kept there in the zoos of Ankara and Istanbul to ensure the continued existence of this breed. In Turkey, the Turkish Angora cats are now considered the national cat and are bred in the zoos of Ankara and Izmir. There the white cats alone are considered noble.

In the 1950s, the first American breeders even imported a pair of Angora from Turkey in order to be able to continue breeding the breed, which is becoming more and more popular today. In 1954 the first Turkish Angora came to the United States. In 1973 the American cat breeding organization CFA recognized the white variety, the colored animals in 1978. In the 1970s, the first Turkish Angora came to Germany from the USA and Turkey. But the breeding was mainly based on Turkey imports in general.

In 1954 the American Lyn Pierce (Kenlyn Cattery) succeeded in importing a cat with the name Pucette Michelle (female odd-eyed white) from the Istanbul Zoo to America. This cat was not bred with, however, as it was said that really pure-bred animals can only be found in the Ankara area, and from there the first Turkish Angora were imported to the USA and Canada in the 1960s. Much later, zoo cats from the Istanbul zoo were accepted as this breeding stock also consisted of Ankara zoo cats.

In 1962, Kenan Taspinar (Taspinar Cattery) imported a white kitten with different eye colors from a private Turkish Angora breeder from Ankara. These Turkish breeders were involved in the Ankara Zoo program so that these animals were also related to each other again. In 1968 Mr. Taspinar imported five more Turkish Angora cats, including "Duman", a black-silver-tabby male. In 1970 he left his entire breeding stock to Gisela Stoschek (Tai-Phoon Cattery).

In 1963 Colonel and Walter Grant registered a pair of white Turkish Angora. These two went down in the history of the Turkish Angora by name. Their names were "Yildiz" and "Yildizcek", they were born a year earlier in the Ankara Zoo. The first offspring of these two cats sold the Grants exclusively neutered, because they wanted to ensure that their bred cats are only mated with Ankarazo cats or their pure offspring. To build a breeding line, the Grants imported another pair of cats from the Ankara Zoo in 1966. Years later, some breeders built their foundation on the offspring of these cats.

Almost at the same time, namely in 1964, Mr. Leinbach and his wife imported a pair of white Angoras from the Ankara Zoo to America. Their names were "Sam Oglum" and "Aliya's Snowball". The Leinbachs worked closely with Lee Thornton (Thornton Cattery in CFA, Thornton Desert Cattery in the other cat clubs) who helped them register these animals. In 1965 Thornton got another white, odd-eyed Turkish Angora girl named "Belkizar", who was mated a little later with a tomcat named "Sam of Mountain Home". The offspring of this combination together with some Grant and the Leinbach cats formed the basis of the Thornton Cattery.

Getting a cat out of these zoos was very difficult at the time. But cats were also imported from zoos in Germany and the Netherlands in the early 1970s. The zoologist Michael Reimann (Tha Makhuas Cattery) and Nadija Mardak (Cattery Ueskuedarsaray) played a not insignificant role in Germany. Reimann managed to import a couple from Turkey in the 1970s. These animals were called Türkiye-Ithal's (Turkey import). The animals bred from it by Mr. Reimann are called "Tha Makkuas".

The TUA, as the Turkish Angora is called according to international breed standards, is genetically related to the Van cat ( Turkish Van ). At first glance, these breeds look a bit similar. However, the Van Cat is larger and even likes to swim in the water. In 1955, two English photographers accidentally discovered cats with silky-soft, half-length fur in southeastern Anatolia, with red (auburn) markings on their heads and tails. This breed, which was initially thought to be a species of the Turkish Angora, was the Turkish Van cat. In contrast to the Turkish Angora, these were only kept by private individuals. The photographers received a tom and a cat as a present, which they took with them to England. When Vankatzen were imported again four years later, the planned breeding could begin in England. No Turkish Van was allowed to be exported without permission from the Turkish authorities.

Turkish Angora ( odd-eyed )

Appearance

Today's Turkish Angora is powerfully elegant with a medium-length, silky fur that lies close to the body. Therefore it also belongs to the category of semi-long hair cats . It is easy to care for and has no undercoat, as is known, for example, from Persian cats. The muscular yet graceful physique completes the overall picture of this medium-sized breed. While it may look delicate, it is still very sturdy. The head is uniform and wedge-shaped, with almond-shaped and mostly slightly raised eyes. A lot of attention is paid to the ears by some breeders today: they should be large, open and high on the head with fine brushes on the tip. The harmonious overall impression of the cat is just as important: slim, elegant and high on the legs. The tail is very bushy, which underlines its natural grace even more. The appearance of cats has changed over time. From the originally imported from Turkey, sometimes very strong cats, a graceful cat breed with a rather long, slim body has developed over the years. This type of Angora cats is not yet as uniform as other, established breeds, as there are not many breeders and lovers of these cats today.

relatively delicate build of a Turkish Angora

The silky, shiny and very fine fur is significantly shorter in summer than in winter. This is due to the hot summers and cold winters of the Anatolian and Caucasian mountain areas. So it is optimally adapted to its natural habitat. In winter she wears a thick collar. The hair on the belly is slightly wavy. She has tight “pants” on her hind legs. The paws are rather small and plump with fur in between. The fur is longer on the collar and tail. Frequent combing or brushing is not necessary.

Today the Turkish Angora is recognized by all clubs in the traditional colors: white, black and red, the diluted and silver varieties of these two colors, with and without spotting and with and without tabby. Today it is bred in almost all color varieties. Unwanted and recognized colors in this breed are: Chocolate, Fawn, Lilac and Point.

At first only the white cats were recognized. It was not until the beginning of the 1990s that the colored varieties were recognized by the FIFe (Fédération Internationale Féline: international umbrella organization of cat breeding associations) and also received champion status. The standard has not changed in FIFE since then.

In Turkey, the Turkish Angora is still only considered pure-bred if the cat has a pure white coat. The eye color does not matter.

character

Turkish Angora cat

The Turkish Angora is a rather uncomplicated breed. She has a good-natured character. They are very lively, strong and spirited animals, but without any aggression. She remains a playful and very curious cat all her life. The second side of the essence of the Turkish Angora is love and loyalty to its owner. If she has taken a person or a family into her heart, not a minute is wasted in seeking contact here. As a rule, the cats are always close to their fellow human beings. It is not uncommon for them to behave like dogs and for a walk with their master or mistress "on foot". Constant purring and cuddling are not uncommon and are very welcome. If she feels that she is receiving too little attention, she relentlessly demands her caresses. Their joy in playing knows no bounds. Therefore, they are also suitable for children. The Angoras skillfully retrieve a small ball or a fur mouse.

Despite their delicate appearance, their natural robustness is forgiving of any number of unwanted mistakes made by novice cats. She trusts the people around her completely, provided that she is not disappointed too much and too often. These character traits make them an ideal family cat. This cat is characterized by unconcern and seldom fearful, but rather comes purring loudly, with its tail raised high and its head flirtatiously thrown back towards people. Thanks to their balanced nature, they get along very well with all other conspecifics and also with dogs. However, a young cat is more likely to make new friends because it has not yet accumulated any prejudices.

The Turkish Angora has a reputation for being approachable, friendly, demanding, gentle, trusting, attentive, affectionate and intelligent. Sometimes she is shy and reserved, then again extroverted and sociable. One of the oldest descriptions of the breed comes from William Jardine in 1834 : “Angora cats are often kept as salon kittens in this country. They are considered to be gentler and kinder than common cats. ”Charles Ross provided another early description of the Angora in 1868:“ The Angora is a beautiful breed with silvery hair of a silky texture […] They are all wonderful creatures with friendly natures. ”They has lost nothing of its originality; and thus has a great instinctual security, even cats that have grown up under human care have not forgotten how to hunt and kill prey.

Diseases

The Turkish Angora has an autosomal recessive inherited ataxia , the genesis of which has not yet been clarified. Ataxia affects kittens who fail to learn to walk and die young. Adult cats can no longer get it.

In pure white cats, hearing loss, deafness, disorders of the sense of balance and trembling of the eyes are relatively common . These problems are not breed specific but are tied to the white color.

Breed standard

Breed standard Turkish Angora (Turkish Angora TUA), according to FIFe and CFA

Overall impression : The Turkish Angora is a semi-longhair cat of medium non-European type. The ideal Turkish Angora is a balanced, graceful cat with a fine, silky fur that shimmers under him with every movement of the firm, long, muscular body.
body part	description
head	Size: small to medium, in accordance with the length of the body and extremities. Shape: a medium-length, straight wedge (not a moderate wedge or wedge-shaped mouth, but a wedge from the base of the ears to the tip of the nose). Hangover cheeks should be tolerated. Profile: formed from two straight surfaces (straight lines) that meet at an angle above the eyes. No break.
Mouth	A continuation of the smooth sides of the wedge, neither with bulging whisker pads nor with a pinch.
Ears	Large, broad at the base, pointed and with brushes. They stand close together and high upside down, vertical and upright.
eyes	Large, almond-shaped, rising slightly, with an open expression, oblique, (Asian expression).
Eye color	The eye color can be any shade of green, gold, green-gold, copper, blue or odd-eyed. There is no relation between eye and coat color. Uniformity and depth of eye color should be included in the assessment of the overall impression. Deeper and richer colors should be preferred.
nose	Medium length, straight without break, slight bows / turns allowed.
neck	Thin, graceful and as long and bushy as possible.
chin	Firm, slightly rounded. The top of the profile is perpendicular to the chin.
body	Medium size but in line with the overall impression. The body of a Turkish Angora should always be long, slender and slender and have a firm muscle tone. Grace and delicacy of bone structure are more important than current size. Hangovers can be a little bigger than cats. The torso should be long and slender and have a narrow oval shape in diameter. Shoulders are the same width as the hips. The back is slightly higher than the shoulders. The tail is very long, but in proportion to the body. The whole effect should be length and delicacy.
legs	Long. Hind legs are slightly longer than front legs.
Paws	Narrow, round and delicate. Fur between the paws is preferred (so-called "snowshoes").
tail	Long and pointed. From a wide base to a narrow point. Fully hairy. As bushy as possible (foxtail), in proportion to the body.
hide	Without undercoat. The length of the body fur varies, but the tail and collar should be longer, fully covered in hair, of a fine texture and with a silky sheen. "Pants" should be found on the back legs. The Turkish Angora has seasonal fur. In winter, an adult animal has a full collar and tail, as well as longer fur on the body. In summer, the same cat can shed its hair to such an extent that it is difficult to find longer fur. The shorter-haired appearance is the norm rather than the exception.
Coat color	In the past, only pure white cats were allowed. Today the Turkish Angora is available in all colors: white, black, silver, red, cream, blue, piebald, tortoiseshell, tabby (classic or mackerel), smoke. Siam and Burma drawings are not known to her. The classic white with odd eyes (eyes of different colors) is still popular today. There is no direct connection between coat and eye color. All combinations are allowed. Chocolate, lilac and point (Siamese) are not allowed.
balance	Proportional in all physical aspects with a graceful, light appearance.
error	Obviously oversized, coarse appearance (like Persians).
disqualification	Coppy physique. Kinked or abnormal tail. Squint.

See also : Angora Cat  and Turkish Van

swell

1. ↑ http://www.hosca-kal.de/gesundheit_ataxie.htm

literature

• Turkish Angora Cats, Ursula Aust, Publisher: Paul Parey, ISBN 3-490-43112-X

Web links

Commons : Turkish Angora  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Race lore
• Turkish Angora - the grace of a ballerina