My Turkish Angora

A lot of people refer to my fluffier cat as a domestic long hair. For lack of better understand of breeds, they are not entirely wrong. However, I would offer clarification that my cat is the Turkish Angora breed of domestic cat which have a long lineage coming from the Ankara region of Turkey. Since the breed has been in the history books for several hundred years, it is a pretty well documented and well defined breed.

One of the key features of the Angora is their long fur coat, this turned out to be a disaster because it almost drove them to the point of selective breeding extinction. This happened because they were bred to improve the Persian cat and distinctions between the two became softer until Angora's were almost ruled to be no different from the Persian.

People who have persian cats will know the difference is quite drastic because the Persian cats tend to have flat faces, stockier but shorter builds.

Meanwhile, Angora cats have long fur like their Persian counterparts but instead of the stockier short build, have longer slender figures. In the early 20th century, it was decided by the Ankara Zoo that the Angora must be protected and thus they began breeding odd eyed versions of the Angora where the eyes may be blue, green, yellow or a combination.

In terms of behaviour, the Angora cat has a lot to offer. They are very well adjusted to humans and form very good bonds with the people they select. They are also highly intelligent and will react to owners commands if trained. They have a tendency to climb high so you will find them in high up places in your home, or if outside, on roofs.

Take home message? Persians are not Angora's, and domestic white cats include the Turkish Angora but are not limited to this single breed. I have found immense pleasure forming the bond with my Angora, none of my other cat's have quite the same engagement.