The origin of the breed

A natural breed of Turkey and Iran, with several ages of history Turkish Angora is considered to be the forefather of all modern longhair breeds. It appears to be, that the breed is named after the turkish city of Ankara, “Angora” in greek. Evidently it were greeks and sea routes that have spread these felines all over the world. In the first quarter of XVII, italian scientist Pietro della Valle has brought a white semilonghair cat from abroad. A renowned german zoologist Bram describes the breed in his “Animal life” as a most beautiful breed, writing a lot about it’s soft pure white hair. Both the description and the gravure are dated with 1860, about the time when the Turkish Angora was divided from its russian and persian counterparts. Angoras were oftenly utilised by european fanciers to create new breeds, resulting in their nigh complete disappearance by the age XX. Then, in 1930-s the Turkish government has labeled the breed as national treasure and funded the development of the recreation programs. In Europe and the USA the re-development has started in 1950-s, using the felines brought from Turkey, the first among them was a cat brought by Linn Perris from the Istanbul's zoo in 1954. Since that the breed is named the contemporary way for it to not to mix with the British Angoran.

The breed was officially acclaimed for the first time in 1973 by CFA, however only the white coat was approved, with other colour options following later. This breed is rather popular in Russia and the Far East have long fancied this breed, making it more popular in that locale than anywhere else.

Appearance

A mediocre-sized flexible and elegant feline with elongated body and a particularly long tail pointing upwards, it is long enough to touch the head of the feline at times. This breed is affected by sexual dimorphism to a great extent, with males weighing almost twice more than females, having longer body and being generally more active.

Head: Narrow, modified wedge shaped and neat. High jawline and a flat skull, straight nose and a profile defined by a ramp on a nose bridge. The ching is strong and is perpendicular to the nose.

Eyes: Large, walnut shaped, set wide and at a slant. Wide open, they may have blue, amber or odd colours.

Ears: Large, broad at base, tapering into pointy tips, set high and standing straight. Auricles have thick and developed hair inside, as well as lynx tufts on top.

Neck: Medium-long to long, graceful and elegant.

Body: Medium in size, elongated, slim and articulate. Rump is placed higher than the shoulders.

Legs: Long and slim. Hind legs are slightly longer than the forelegs.

Paws: Small and neat, oval in shape. Hair tufts between fingers are desired.

Tail: Quite long, broad at base and tapering to a pointy tip. Fluffy throughout it’s length, including the wedge-shaped tip.

Coat: Semilong, silky and somewhat wavy, longer on collar and pans. Together with missing undercoat, this coat structure is a defining feature of the breed.

Colours: Both solid and shaded patterns are allowed, tabby and bicolour. Colours options include brown, red, blue, cream and white, with the latter being a more classic option.

Flaws: Present undercoat; excessively elongated, oriental body; rough look and larger than normal size;

Disqualification on shows: Stout or persian build; cryptorchidism; tail kinks.

Universal disqualification: Amputated claws, cryptorchidism, tail kinks.

Character traits and features

Turkish angora is defined by it’s independent character. Being cool and even phlegmatic at times it is wayward, demanding and hungry for your attention, constantly “talking” to get it. It meows humbly, yet relentlessly when needed. For a feline as social as this one, meeting guests or living among other pets is no problem, generally speaking it is rather smart and would adapt to any conditions, preferring the ones with accessible open air. It is extremely playful, constantly ambushing everything and everyone, you can even teach it to bring you everything you throw at it. These felines are blessed with great health an lack of pathologies, yet are prone to deafness having blue eyes and white coat combined.

Maintenance and care

These felines are not hard to look after thanks to their lacking undercoat, it is still recommended to brush them on a regular basis, and on a daily basis during the molt. For the showcats, a professional groomer’s aid is sometimes required, as well as the observation of teeth and gums to prevent the calculus growth.

Nutrition choices

A well balanced nutrition plan is recommended..

Selection and breeding

Allowed crossings: none

Breeds relative or derived from Turkish Angora: none

Alternative and obsolete breed names

Angoran;

Angolan (obsolete);

Ankara (obsolete);

Russian Angora (green-eyed variety)