Turkish Angora

File:Persian aka Angora from 1894.JPG (1894), illustrated by Gustav Mützel]]

Like all domestic cats, Turkish Angoras descended from the African wildcat (Felis lybica). Their ancestors were among the cats that were first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent.{{cn|date=February 2024}}

Longhaired cats were imported to Britain and France from Asia Minor, Persia and Russia as early as the late 16th century. The Turkish Angora was recognised as a distinct breed in Europe by the 17th century.{{cite web |first1=Barbara |last1=Azan |first2=Sandralee |last2=Rodgers |title=The Turkish Angora: About This Breed |url= https://cfa.org/turkish-angora/turkish-angora-article-1994/ |work=CFA.org |publisher=Cat Fanciers' Association |access-date=5 December 2023}} However, there is a strong connection between Angoras and Persians. Charles Catton, in the 1788 book Animals Drawn from Nature and Engraved in Aqua-tinta, gave “Persian cat” and “Angora cat” as alternative names for the same breed.{{cite book |last=Catton |first=Charles |title=Animals Drawn from Nature and Engraved in Aqua-tinta |date=1788 |publisher=I. and J. Taylor |url= https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Animals_drawn_from_Nature_and_engraved_in_aqua-tinta#plate8 |chapter=The Persian Cat |at=Plate 8}}

There is a lot of similarity between Angora and Persian cat. Angora by British and American . In 1903, Frances Simpson wrote in The Book of the Cat:{{cite web |url= http://chestofbooks.com/animals/cats/Book/index.html |title=The Book Of The Cat |first=Frances |last=Simpson |publisher=Cassell |via=Chest of Books |date=1 February 1902 |access-date=26 January 2013}}{{Page needed|date=April 2013}}

{{quote|In classing all long-haired cats as Persians I may be wrong, but the distinctions, apparently with hardly any difference, between Angoras and Persians are of so fine a nature that I must be pardoned if I ignore the class of cat commonly called Angora, which seems gradually to have disappeared from our midst. Certainly, at our large shows there is no special classification given for Angoras, and in response to many inquiries from animal fanciers I have never been able to obtain any definite information as to the difference between a Persian and an Angora.}}

File:Angora turc import Turquie 1976 (cropped).jpg to New York (1976)]]

The Angora of the 20th century was used for improvement in the Persian coat, but the type has always been divergent from the Persian{{mdash}}particularly as the increasingly flat-faced show cat Persian has been developed in the last few decades.{{cn|date=February 2024}}

In the early 20th century, Atatürk Forest Farm and Zoo began a breeding program to protect and preserve pure white Angoras.{{cite web |url= http://www.kedici.com.tr/Detay.aspx?id=153 |title=Ankara'nın evcil hazineleri: Ankara kedisi |language=tr |work=Kedici.com.tr |date=24 February 2011 |access-date=26 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130510113007/http://kedici.com.tr/Detay.aspx?id=153 |archive-date=10 May 2013}}{{Cite web |title=History |url= https://turkishangorabreedcouncil.weebly.com/history.html |access-date=11 September 2023 |work=TurkishAngorabreedCouncil.Weebly.com |publisher=CFA Turkish Angora Breed Council}} The zoo particularly prized odd-eyed specimens; however, the cats were chosen only for their colour{{snd}}no other criterion was applied.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

The Turkish Angora, which was brought to Canada in 1963, was accepted as a championship pedigreed breed in 1973 by the Cat Fanciers' Association.{{cite web |url= http://www.cfa.org/client/breedTurkishAngora.aspx |publisher=Cat Fanciers' Association |title=Breed Profile: Turkish Angora |work=CFA.org |access-date=8 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121029014432/http://www.cfa.org/client/breedTurkishAngora.aspx |archive-date=29 October 2012}} However, until 1978 only white Angoras were recognised. Today, all North American registries accept the Turkish Angora in many colours and patterns. While their numbers are still relatively small, the gene pool is continually growing.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

The Angora has a silky coat that covers a long muscular body.{{cite web |title=Turkish Angora Standard |url=https://cfa.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/turkish-angora-standard.pdf |website=Cat Fanciers' Association |access-date=1 March 2024}} Though it is known for a shimmery white coat and posh tail, Turkish Angoras can display a variety of coat colours, with the only disallowed coats being chocolate, lavender, or colourpoint. The Angora's head is small to medium in size with a smooth wedge. The body is long and slender, with good fineness of the bone.

Eyes are large and almond shaped. The colour may be blue, green, amber, yellow, as well as heterochromatic. Ears are pointed, large and wide-set. The eyes are almond shaped, and the profile forms two straight planes. The plumed tail is often carried upright, perpendicular to the back.

File:Angora Cat (White).jpg|Solid-white adult with green eyes

File:Ebène de la Vallée de Göreme.jpg|Turkish Angora with black fur and green eyes

File:High Limit's Aida 7.jpg|Black tortoiseshell smoke adult

File:Cat (6672148713).jpg|Turkish Angora with hazel eyes

Turkish Angoras are playful, intelligent, athletic and involved. They bond with humans, but often select a particular member of a family to be their constant companion, whom they are very protective of.{{cite book |last=Shojai |first=Amy |title=For the Love of Cats |date=1997 |publisher=Publications International |location=Lincolnwood, Illinois |isbn=0-7853-1411-3 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/forloveofcats00iren/page/108 108–109] |via=Internet Archive |url-access=registration |url= https://archive.org/details/forloveofcats00iren/page/108}}

The gene responsible for blue eyes and white coat in the Angora can cause deafness.{{cite web |title=Turkish Angora |url=https://icatcare.org/advice/turkish-angora/ |website=International Cat Care |access-date=1 March 2024}}

There have been reports of kittens suffering from ataxia as well as adult cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

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| image2 = Angora Turc blanche KEWELL grande Championne.jpg

| caption2 = Western-type Grand Champion show cat

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Breeders in Turkey feel that the cat's fine-boned version of its natural breed is unrepresentative of the true Turkish cats, which are much sturdier. American "Turkish" Angoras have only a minimal remnant of the original Atatürk Forest Farm and Zoo DNA, and are only "purebred on paper".{{cite web |last=Hartwell |first=Sarah |title=The Domestication of the Cat |url= http://messybeast.com/cathistory.htm |access-date=21 December 2017 |work=MessyBeast.com}}{{Self-published source|date=December 2023}}{{Cite web |last=Hartwell |first=Sarah |title=The Tangled Tale of the Turkish Angora |url= http://messybeast.com/angora-debate.htm |access-date=11 September 2023 |work=MessyBeast.com}}{{Self-published source|date=November 2022}}

A genetic study of pedigree cat breeds (using DNA taken from pedigreed cats in the U.S. and Europe) and worldwide random-bred populations showed the Turkish Van as a distinct population from the Turkish Angora despite their geographical association. The Turkish Angora was grouped with the pedigreed Egyptian Mau and random-bred Tunisian cats. Turkish random-bred cats were grouped with Israeli random-bred cats, while the Turkish Van was grouped with Egyptian random-bred cats.{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.ygeno.2007.10.009 |title=The ascent of cat breeds: Genetic evaluations of breeds and worldwide random-bred populations |year=2008 |last1=Lipinski |first1=Monika J. |last2=Froenicke |first2=Lutz |last3=Baysac |first3=Kathleen C. |last4=Billings |first4=Nicholas C. |last5=Leutenegger |first5=Christian M. |last6=Levy |first6=Alon M. |last7=Longeri |first7=Maria |last8=Niini |first8=Tirri |last9=Ozpinar |first9=Haydar |journal=Genomics |volume=91 |pages=12–21 |pmid=18060738 |issue=1 |pmc=2267438}}

However, the UC Davis studied only American cat fancy registered Angoras rather than the "true" Turkish Angora or Ankara Kedisi directly from Turkey, and especially from the Ankara Zoo.{{Self-published source|date=December 2023}}{{Self-published source|date=November 2022}}

A genetic study published in 2012{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/age.12008 |title=Variation of cats under domestication: Genetic assignment of domestic cats to breeds and worldwide random-bred populations |date=2012 |last1=Kurushima |first1=J. D. |last2=Lipinski |first2=M. J. |last3=Gandolfi |first3=B. |last4=Froenicke |first4=L. |last5=Grahn |first5=J. C. |last6=Grahn |first6=R. A. |last7=Lyons |first7=L. A. |journal=Animal Genetics |pmid=23171373|volume=44 |issue=3 |pages=311–324 |pmc=3594446}} included a few cats imported from Turkey. The study found that "Turkish-versus USA-originating Turkish Angoras ... are resolved as separate breed populations." The American Turkish Angoras are categorised as descendants of European random-bred cats, and cats imported from Turkey "were assigned to the Eastern Mediterranean" group.

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.pictures-of-cats.org/The-Real-Turkish-Angora.html The Real Turkish Angora]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20040606153535/http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/profiles/turkish-angora.html The Cat Fanciers' Association: Breed description{{snd}}Turkish Angora]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090211172900/http://fanciers.com/breed-faqs/turkish-angora-faq.shtml Fanciers: Turkish Angora]

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Category:Cat breeds

Category:Cat breeds originating in Turkey

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