Van Cats

The Van cat is a landrace of the region: a large, semi-longhaired, chalk-white cat with a distinctive silky coat that lacks much undercoat, and frequently with odd eyes - one blue and one amber - which is a pigmentation trait, and one that carries a known association with deafness on the blue-eyed side in white cats. They are also, unusually for cats, generally comfortable in water and will swim, which local accounts attribute to the lake. Numbers of the true type fell sharply in the twentieth century, and Van Yüzüncü Yıl University set up a research and breeding house on its campus to maintain the population, study the genetics and place kittens; it is open to visitors, with enclosures, an information display and a great many cats. It is a research facility rather than a petting zoo, and handling rules apply. The commercial "Turkish Van" breed recognised abroad is related but not the same population.

What you actually see

• The odd-eyed cats - one blue eye and one amber.
• The research house - the university's breeding and study facility.
• The white coats - the silky, undercoat-light fur.
• The information display - the genetics and conservation work.

When to go

Year-round; the facility keeps university hours and closes on some days. Kittens are most numerous in spring and early summer.

Honest expectations

It is a research institution with rules on handling, not a café or a petting attraction. Odd eyes are common but not universal. The facility is on a campus outside the centre; a taxi is easiest.

Nearby

Van Castle and the breakfast street are in the city; Akdamar island is on the lake.