Turkish Angora

No one is really sure where or how the Turkish Angora originated. Often recounted is the theory that the Angora developed from the longhaired Pallas cat (Felis manul), an Asian wildcat about the size of the domestic, but this is doubtful. The Pallas has fundamental differences from the domestic feline and, unlike today's affectionate Angoras, is virtually untamable. It is likely that the Turkish Angora developed from the African wildcat, like all other domestic cats. Possibly some crossbreeding occurred between the two.

The recessive mutation for long hair in felines probably occurred spontaneously centuries ago and was perpetuated through interbreeding in confined, mountainous areas that would limit outcrossing, like the Lake Van region in Turkey. (The French naturalist De Buffon, writing in the later part of the 1700s, wrote that cats with long fur came from Asia Minor.)

However they developed, long haired cats have been noted in Turkey and the surrounding neighborhoods for centuries. According to the legend, Mohammed (570?632 A.D.), founder of the Islamic faith, was so fond of cats that he once cut off his sleeve rather than disturb his beloved Angora Muezza, who was sleeping in his arms. Formerly called 'Ankara' cats (the name of the Turkish capital was changed from Angora to Ankara in 1930), Ankara is also home to long haired Angora rabbits and goats prized by the Turkish people for their long, fine hair.

Long haired cats were imported to Britain and France from Turkey, Persia, Russia, and Afghanistan as early as the late 1500s. The Angora had definitely found his way to Europe by the early 1600s, and by the late 1700s Angoras were being imported into America.

In the early days of the cat fancy, Angoras were highly prized. As the story goes, one Angora owner turned down an offer of $5,000 for her beloved Angora at an 1890 cat show in London.

Gradually, however, the Persian became the preferred type of cat in the European cat fancy. The Angora was used extensively in Persian breeding programs to add length and silkiness to the Persian coat. Later, the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy decided that all long haired breeds should be simply called 'longhairs'. Also confusing was the tendency of cat fanciers to call any longhair a Persian or Angora, despite his bloodline. Persians, Angoras, and Russian Longhairs were bred together indiscriminately. Except in their native land, Angoras ceased to exist as a pure breed. They stopped appearing in the show halls and from registration records. By the 1900s Angoras had virtually vanished.

In the early 1900s the government of Turkey in conjunction with the Ankara Zoo began a meticulous breeding program to protect and preserve the pure white Angora cats with blue and amber eyes, a program that continues today. The zoo particularly prized the odd-eyed Angoras (cats with eyes of differing colors), because they are believed to be touched by Allah. Mohammed's Angora, Muezza, was reputed to be an odd-eyed cat.

Because the Turkish people valued the cats so highly, obtaining Angoras from the Ankara Zoo was very difficult, but in 1962 Liesa F. Grant, wife of Army Colonel Walter Grant who was stationed in Turkey, was successful in importing a pair of the zoo's Turkish Angoras to America, complete with certificates of ancestry. These imports revived interest in the breed and soon other breeders began developing the breed. The Grants were instrumental in achieving CFA recognition for the Angora.

In 1970 the CFA was the first U.S. registry to accept the Turkish Angora for registration. In 1973 the CFA accepted the Angora for Championship, but until 1978 only pure white Angoras were registrable. Today, all North American registries accept the Turkish Angora. While numbers are still small, the gene pool is growing, with the registration totals gaining ground each year.