Felis

Interest in Turkey's unique Van cats is growing both at home and abroad, according to experts of the distinctive breed. 

Van cats, native to the eastern province of Van, are known for their unusual love of water. A pool has been designed especially for them. Click through for the story in photos...

Beauty competition to award most beautiful Turkish Van cats

Long before cats became the darlings of Facebook and YouTube, they spread through the ancient human world.

A DNA study reached back thousands of years to track that conquest and found evidence of two major dispersals from the Middle East, in which people evidently took cats with them. Genetic signatures the felines had on those journeys are still seen in most modern-day breeds.

Experts at a university center in the eastern province of Van are attempting to preserve the famous Van cat breed by implementing a new chip system that will facilitate the tracking and maintenance of the all-white felines.

The Van Cat Track System was initiated last year by the Yüzüncü Yıl University (YYU) Van Cat Research and Application Center to ensure the cats' pedigree.

Van cats, which are the most important living cultural beings of the eastern province of Van, have received great interest for their white fur and eyes of two different colors. 

A "cat town" has been founded by locals in the Black Sea province of Samsun to provide a healthy and comfortable living space for stray cats

The famous cats of the eastern province of Van appear set to escape extinction thanks to the efforts of the Van Cat Research and Application Center, which was formed under the auspices of Van Yüzüncü Yıl University in the 1990s.