# Hello from Canada! Breed gurus wanted!!



## BellaCr (Oct 12, 2012)

Hi all! I joined this site to get in touch with some breed gurus. I have 2 cats, one dog(Maremma Sheepdog) and a Horse.

On Thanksgiving I found 2 extremely emaciated kittens in the forest. They were infested with ticks and fleas, and basically on deaths door. I don't think they would have lasted another day outside. There were no older than 4 weeks old. I brought them home, bottle fed, cleaned them up, took them to the vets, and got rid of the fleas and ticks. We fostered them through the SPCA until old enough to adopt out, and by that time we were already too attached, and officially adopted the pair of siblings(brother and sister).
This October(Thanksgiving) they will be 17 years old 

For years I've been trying to get an idea of what breed they are. I know I'll never 100% find out, but it's fun to guess! Anyways, I've spoken with vets, groomers, etc. I always seem to get Ragdoll/Siamese cross. To me, they don't look like either breed...at all. Over this last year I began to look into breeds more, and think I've found one that actually fits. I spoke with a friend who is a vet tech(but hasn't seen the cats in person before) and told her I thought they were Turkish Vans, or some kind of cross. She said it was highly unlikely that that breed would be found out in the forest basically dead. That it just didn't happen.

So what does everyone think? Turkish Van? Cross? Something entirely different?


The female is the spotted one with the amber eyes, and the male is the white/orange one. He has light blue eyes, but they are seemingly hard to catch on camera 
Also, excuse the patchy coats in some of the pictures. If they don't get shaved in the summer the overheat and get sick!


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## Heather102180 (Nov 19, 2003)

Welcome! How nice of you to save them and raise them. 17 years, wow!  I'm not sure the breed...could be a mixture of a lot of different things....Domestic Long Hairs is what I would call them.  They are adorable! I understand about the patchy coats...mine gets shaved into a lion as well.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Welcome and congrats on finding these two gorgeous siblings!

It's unlikely that they contain any significant percentage of a purebred cat. Most purebreds are not permitted to wander un altered.

They are very beautiful Domestic Long Hairs.


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## sheiladoreen (Jul 11, 2014)

Beautiful cats! You'll always be told they're domestic long hairs without papers, but they could be a mix of anything! I don't know anything about breeds outside of my own (Orientals) but I thought ragdoll when I first saw them.


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

Very beautiful Domestic Longhairs.....the female does display the "van coloring", the dam could have been similarly marked; the male looks to me in his longer coat a cream and white bi-color. Turkish Vans are a relatively rare breed, known for their fondness for water (swimming).


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## Mandy and Ellie (Oct 22, 2013)

Welcome to the forum!!  WOW, you lucked out finding these beauties! They are too adorable for words.

I'm not sure what breed they are... but one thing's for sure, they have some sort of breed in them, even if it's further back in their line. Those coat patterns and eyes are gorgeous! Possible some Ragdoll or Maine **** in the genetics? Actually, now that I looked up Turkish Van that does seem possible! They match the description perfectly.

Also, although finding purebreds/mixes as strays is rare... is DOES happen. My aunt found a Snowshoe purebred/possible mix that was GORGEOUS who walked up to their yard, starving. Sadly, she passed away from a stomach cancer a year or two later... they assumed that the previous owner knew of the disease and didn't want to deal with it so they just dumped her.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

It's a misnomer to call cats of unknown background a "mixed breed". There are a handful of natural breeds (breeds that appeared naturally within the cat population) such as Maine Coons, Russian Blue, Norwegian Forest Cat etc. The rest of the breeds have been developed by taking "general population" cats with specific characteristics and breeding them until those traits are exhibited consistently. Those general population cats are what is known as Domestic Short Hair or Domestic Long Hair (Domestic Medium Hair is also used but technically there is no medium gene).

So a DLH may exhibit traits of a breed, but it doesn't mean that it has a purebred cat in it's heritage. It just means that it has characteristics in common with the foundation cats for a certain breed. 

These two cats are adorable, but the only thing they probably have in common with a Turkish Van is a white masking gene.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Or the purring sound of the engine of an actual van in Turkey.

Gorgeous cats. :grin:


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

marie73 said:


> Or the purring sound of the engine of an actual van in Turkey.
> 
> Gorgeous cats. :grin:


Marie, I have absolutely no idea how you think up these ideas but have you ever considered doing stand-up for feline lovers? You're too funny to be a mod!;-)

BellaCR,
Your kitties are so~ plush and fluffy! Wow, I don't think I ever wanted a long-haired kitty until I saw your two! I just want to nuzzle my face in their soft fur!! Perfect for Fall weather, BTW! You are indeed lucky to have found these gorgeous duo, as your kitties are too, having both being rescued by you. Welcome to the CF!


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## BellaCr (Oct 12, 2012)

Thanks for all the replies! Sorry I haven't replied sooner. Internet conked out on me(urgh!)

The male was nearly white when he was first found(except for the ringed tail, and his mask). I noticed the more he was shaved, the more color he got(of that makes a difference?). Upon looking up characteristics of the Turkish Van, they share a LOT of them, which was why I was leaning towards maybe some sort of cross? But you can never bee 100% sure. They are both friendly, but seem to have picked me as the favorite in the family(sleeping in my bed/under the covers, following me around the house, and ultimately have to be where ever I am, and if they can't, throw a fuss(meowing, scratching at the door, and running up and down the hall until I let them in)).

The female definitely has an affinity for water, more so than her brother(although he has been known to explore the toilet if the lid has been left up). The both of them are extremely smart, and the both of them do play fetch! Both are 18-20lbs, and huge. Standing on their back feet they can swipe anything off the kitchen table... 
The male has an affinity for opening doors. I can never seem to keep him locked in a room for long.
The two often remind me of a dog with their antics. Waiting at the front door when I leave, waiting in the window to greet when you return(and the following everywhere). They both seem to be loyal to their one 'person'.


I suggested that breed as it was the closest thing to their looks/characteristics that I could find. I know I'll never know what exactly they are, I still love them the same.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Yes, the thing is when a cat is a particular breed you can expect to see the characteristic associated with that breed. However, the reverse is not true...personality characteristics cannot be used to determine a breed.

My first cat Onyx had all the traits you describe except size and she was an all black short hair. My Holly has every characteristic you describe (except the weight, she's a bag of bones) and she's a Maine ****. In fact, your cats are much more likely to be related to Maine **** foundation cats than Turkish Vans.


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## BellaCr (Oct 12, 2012)

Thanks for the input! On another note, I was able to get better pictures that better shows both of their eye colors. I love, love LOVE the eye color of my male. Such a beautiful blue 

Also, anyone ever notice the color of their cats nose change with their moods? My female usually has a soft pink nose, but when she's irritated or playful it gets very red. Is this a normal thing, or is she just weird? Her brothers nose doesn't do that, only her.

And yes, they are *very* naked right now. We had a hot summer and they didn't do all that well in the heat, so they got a really close shave(they were almost pink for a few weeks, haha).


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## Gandalf&Endor (Jun 9, 2014)

Beautiful! You are so lucky to have found them.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

I call MowMow's pink nose his 'mood ring'. It's usually a very pale pink but when he gets excited it gets VERY bright pink. When he's riled up and beating on his brother it turns BRIGHT RED.

I always know when he's becoming excited/agitated.


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