Some Turkish Angoras have a genetic condition called heterochromia, which is linked to white fur. The humans call this look “odd eyes,” and white Turkish Angoras with these genes will have one blue eye and one green, green-gold, or amber eye. This rare look is prized by Turkish Angora lovers, but (as in other breeds) white fur and blue eyes can be linked to deafness. Not all odd-eyed Turks are deaf, but deaf kitties need love, too!

We Turkish Angoras are a very old breed. My earliest ancestors evolved naturally from the African wildcat – they lived in the Ankara region of Turkey (then called Angora). The humans think our long fur first evolved to protect us from the cold in the Turkish mountains. My ancestors came to Europe in the 16th century, and our grace and beauty made us popular among royalty in Great Britain and France. Queen of France Marie Antoinette famously loved our breed, and some humans believe that, when she was attempting to flee France during the French Revolution, she put her six Turks on a ship to America, where they bred with domestic cats to create the Maine Coon! In late-19th- and early-20th-century Europe, Turkish Angoras were featured prominently in cat shows, but the growing popularity of the Persian breed almost wiped us out. The humans saw how gorgeous our coats were, and they started breeding us with Persians to make their coats as nice as ours, but we almost went extinct as a separate breed in the process. Luckily, humans at the Ankara Zoo in our ancestral home of Turkey considered us a national treasure, and they started a strict breeding program to bring us back. The Ankara Zoo program focused on white Turkish Angoras with blue, gold, or odd eyes, and the striking looks of these traditional Turks caught the eyes of American servicemen who were stationed in Turkey. In 1962, the breeders at the zoo allowed Colonel Walter Grant to take two Turks back to America, where he started a breeding program. In 1973, the Cat Fanciers’ Association recognized us, but only white Turkish Angoras were allowed. The CFA didn’t recognize colored Turkish Angoras until 1978. While some humans still think my white brothers and sisters are the most beautiful, today all of our colors and patterns are celebrated by Turkish Angora lovers around the world.