Mind bending cats that love to swim...

The Turkish Van is one of the oldest breeds of cats known to man. They were discovered in Turkey in the 50's where they survived extreme cold and extreme heat for many centuries. Their love of playing and swimming in water has never failed to intrigue cat lovers. They are extremely intelligent and manipulative. Showing them is a big challenge as they more often than not test the limits of judges and handlers. Turks adore children and are excellent creche managers. Ask any owner - once a Turk lover - always a Turk lover.
Pictured here is Karnaki Kemal of Wizz - also known as Lurkel. He achieved the phenomenal title of South African Cat of the Year in 2001 - a particularly big achievement for this breed in any country. Lurkel is owned and always beautifully presented by Rita Wiseman.

Butternut is officially called Bard's Barakat Basmat. She was bred by Bardine Levin who also bred my very first Turkish Van, Bard's Vanda. Vanda really made her mark with some beautiful offspring. Butternut is due to have babies soon so watch this space in a few weeks time.

Gagik is the first Black Turkish Van to arrive in SA. Anke Baks of the Netherlands kindly sent him all the way to us. Besides his unusual striking looks, he is the sweetest cat on earth. His first litters of Tortie Turks caused a riot on the show bench and did very well on show.

One of the most infamous Turks is KissKiss. She belonged to a friend and eventually came back to me after a year. Soon after she decided my house is not good enough and started charming - literally charming - the Bulldog Lily down the road. She would stop the dog on her walks and kiss and embrace her to the dog's total embarrassment. This continued for several months and pretty soon KissKiss moved in with Lily and Helen. The poor Persians who were the first residents had to make do with giving up the bed and moving to the lounge.