Understanding Your Cat

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Beautiful and rare, the elegant Turkish Angora is considered a national treasure in its home country of Turkey. The breeds name came from the former Turkish capital, Angora, now called Ankara. The Turkish Angora probably originated in the mountains of Turkey. This graceful breed may have descended from the Manul cat, which was a small cat domesticated by the Tartars. Turkish Angoras can be traced back in European writings to 16th century France.

The breed was enormously popular with French and British nobility in the 1700s. Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI as well as King Louis XV are said to have been Turkish Angora fanciers. The breed almost disappeared entirely in the early 1900s due to indiscriminate interbreeding with Persians to the point where nearly all longhaired cats were referred to as Angoras.

Fortunately, Turkish breeders continued controlled breeding of this lovely breed. In the 1950s, American servicemen discovered Turkish Angoras at the Read the rest of this entry »

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