Turkish Angora
From Ankara, and preserved by a Turkish zoo programme when the breed nearly went. A single silky coat rather than a double one, and often odd eyed.
Photo by Moyan Brenn from Italy, CC BY 2.0
Overview
The Turkish Angora is one of the oldest natural longhaired breeds, from the region around Ankara, and it very nearly disappeared. It was saved by a deliberate breeding programme at the Ankara Zoo, which maintained the breed when numbers in the West had collapsed into Persian bloodlines.
The coat is single, silky and without an undercoat, which is why it lies flat and flowing rather than standing out, and why it is far less work than a Persian's.
Temperament
Active, clever and firmly in charge. Turkish Angoras are affectionate and social while being distinctly opinionated, and they tend to attach to one person and supervise them.
They are athletic, they climb, and many of them enjoy water. They are vocal, playful well into old age, and they do not like being ignored.
Care and grooming
A comb through once or twice a week. With no undercoat the coat rarely mats, and it moults seasonally rather than continuously.
Two things matter. White Angoras with blue eyes carry a real risk of congenital deafness, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and an ataxia affecting kittens have both been recorded in the breed. A breeder who BAER tests white kittens is the one to look for.
Living and exercise
Height, space and interaction. They are among the more athletic longhaired cats and they use every surface in a room.
They are good with children and other pets given a household that is not too quiet for them. Twelve to eighteen years is the usual expectation.
Something here wrong or out of date?