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Turkey opens swimming pool designed for Van cats
Turkey opens swimming pool designed for Van cats
Van cats, native to the eastern province of Van, are known for their unusual love of water. A pool has been designed especially for them. Click through for the story in photos...
Van cats, known for their odd-eyes and fluffy white hair, have begun swimming in pools specially designed for them at the Van Cat House Villa run by the Yüzüncü Yıl University (YYU) in the eastern province of Van.
A native to Van, the cats are known to be friendly and have silky hair and fluffy tails. Unlike most cats, the Van cats have an unusual affinity for water. They are being protected with great care at the Van Cat House Villa.
The center looks after the endangered breed, where its officials have tried to replicate the Van cats’ natural habitat by building the pools.
In a speech at the opening of the pool, Van Governor Murat Zorluoğlu highlighted recent violent acts against stray animals in the country. He said the Van Cat House Villa was very important for protection of the cats.
He said the center guaranteed the future of Van cats by carrying out scientific works, adding, “We have seen regrettably that there are images of torture in some places in our country that have caused great discomfort. In this respect, there are very important things we need to do for animals. This center is very important not only for Van, but for our country as well.”
The director of the Turkish Van Cat Research Center, Abdullah Kaya, said they’ve been trying to make sure Van cats don’t face extinction. Kaya said they built the pools with the generous contributions of a businessman.
“We have to teach to these cats how to swim as they are capable of swimming. This feature of Van cats should not be lost. Tourists visiting Van want to see the features of the city. Van cats are the most important of these features because they are unique in the world. They are a very important cultural heritage of ours. The number of our visitors is increasing every other day. We host around 600 visitors a day,” he added.
Turkish Van cats can be categorized according to the color of their eyes and their furs. While some are odd-eyed—one blue and the other amber—others have a pair of blue or amber eyes.
Also, while some have completely white fur, others have a dash of brown above their ears, head or on their body.
Here are more photos from the center by Anadolu Agency...
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