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Breed guide · Cats
He took the top of the fridge in one jump. I moved the glasses.
Last updated 13 October 2026
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What they brought with them.
Tap a card to see what is going on.
At home
From the floor to the top of the fridge, and everything that was up there now on the floor.
What's going onA Van is a big, strong, very active cat, and injuries from all that activity can start in the junior years. Make their high places stable and keep their landings clear.
At home
Paws in the water bowl, or no interest in water at all.
What's going onThe name comes from one story about two kittens in the 1950s. Some Vans paddle in the bath, and many do not. If yours likes water, a fountain is a good way to get more of it into them.
At home
No answer to their name, then a jump when you touch them from behind.
What's going onWhite cats with blue or odd eyes can be born deaf. A BAER hearing test (a painless test of whether each ear hears) gives you the answer, and a deaf cat does well indoors once you change how you approach them.
At home
At your heels in every room, and ready to play the moment you sit down.
What's going onVans bond strongly with their people and want to be involved. They will follow you from room to room, and they will want to play when you do not.
At home
Stretched out in the brightest window seat in the flat, all afternoon.
What's going onA white coat and the Dubai sun are not a good mix, so keep them out of strong sun where you can. Give them a shaded spot they like just as much.
At home
A bad landing off the bookcase, then on with the day as if nothing happened.
What's going onCats hide pain, and a big, busy Van will carry on through a knock. Watch for small changes in how they jump, eat and use the tray, and call your vet about any limp.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their reputation
Built for: Famous as the swimming cat.
In Dubai: Many never go near the water.
Their energy
Built for: A big, powerful cat with a lot of energy.
In Dubai: Far less play and space than they need.
Their climbing
Built for: Climbing high, with a big cat's weight behind every jump.
In Dubai: A flat set up for a smaller cat.
Pet parents expect a swimmer and get a climber.
Give them more play and stronger places to climb, and check their hearing if they are white with blue or odd eyes. The ten things below are how.
Your plan is built around what a Turkish Van is prone to at every age, from their hearing to their heart, and the care that goes with each one.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Ten things that make their life better.
They are big and energetic. Without enough play, they make their own, usually on your shelves.
Every age, most of all 7 months to 2 years
Why
They are big and energetic. Without enough play, they make their own, usually on your shelves.
What to do
Use a wand toy and move it like prey, fast, with chases and jumps. Ten minutes, three times a day. Let them catch it at the end, then feed them. Teach a kitten early that hands are not toys.
Obesity (carrying too much weight) can be a risk from seven years old, and a clever cat needs the puzzle as much as the food.
Every age, most of all from 7 years
Why
Obesity (carrying too much weight) can be a risk from seven years old, and a clever cat needs the puzzle as much as the food.
What to do
Split their daily food into small meals, some in a puzzle feeder or hidden around the flat. Weigh the day's food. After neutering, ask your vet to reset their portion.
A strong jumper is not a safe one at height, and a deaf cat cannot hear a warning.
Every age, most of all kittens and juniors
Why
A strong jumper is not a safe one at height, and a deaf cat cannot hear a warning.
What to do
Keep them off the balcony unless it is fully enclosed with cat netting, checked for gaps. Fit restrictors or screens on every window that opens. Stay with them whenever they are out there.
Even the friendliest cat guards their tray, and in a shared home one cat can quietly keep another from it.
Every age, low-sided trays from 11 years
Why
Even the friendliest cat guards their tray, and in a shared home one cat can quietly keep another from it.
What to do
For each cat, a litter tray, a water bowl, a food bowl and a scratching post, plus one spare, in different rooms. Choose a large tray for a large cat. From 11 years, switch to low-sided trays.
Injuries from high activity can start in the junior years, and a wobbly cat tree under a big cat is how they happen.
Every age, most of all 7 months to 6 years
Why
Injuries from high activity can start in the junior years, and a wobbly cat tree under a big cat is how they happen.
What to do
A heavy, stable cat tree or wall shelves fixed into the wall, with clear landing space below. Move breakables off the landing spots. Add a box or covered bed to hide in, too.
Cats have a weak urge to drink, and if yours is one of the Vans who plays with water, use it.
Every age, most of all from 7 years
Why
Cats have a weak urge to drink, and if yours is one of the Vans who plays with water, use it.
What to do
Some wet food every day. Two or three wide, shallow bowls away from their food and tray. If they paw at water, try a fountain or a shallow tray they can play in. Never put them in deep water. From seven years old, call your vet if they start drinking noticeably more.
Cats hide illness, and the tray often shows it first.
Every age
Why
Cats hide illness, and the tray often shows it first.
What to do
Scoop daily and notice the number and size of the clumps. Call your vet if they go more often than usual or pass blood. A male cat straining, crying or going in and out of the tray with little or nothing coming out may have a blocked bladder. That is an emergency: contact your vet now. If a female cat is straining, contact your vet the same day. A urinalysis (a urine test) is in your plan from their junior years.
White cats with blue or odd eyes can be born deaf, and a deaf cat cannot hear you coming.
Every age, test as a kitten
Why
White cats with blue or odd eyes can be born deaf, and a deaf cat cannot hear you coming.
What to do
If they are white with blue eyes, a BAER hearing test (a painless test of whether each ear hears) is in your plan as a kitten. If they are white with odd eyes, ask your vet about one. If they are deaf, approach where they can see you, tap the floor before you touch them, and keep them indoors for life. Whatever their hearing, leave the carrier out as furniture, so a trip to the vet starts calmly.
Dental disease is a risk from the junior years, and cats keep eating with a sore mouth.
Every age, start as a kitten
Why
Dental disease is a risk from the junior years, and cats keep eating with a sore mouth.
What to do
Lift their lip and look at their teeth and gums. Brush a few seconds at a time with cat toothpaste. Call your vet if they drop food or chew on one side. An annual dental evaluation (teeth and gum check) is in your plan from their junior years.
Weight is often the first clue, and from seven their heart needs watching too.
Every age, most of all from 7 years
Why
Weight is often the first clue, and from seven their heart needs watching too.
What to do
Weigh them once a month: stand on the scales holding them, then without them, and write down the difference. Notice where they sleep and whether they still jump up. Call your vet about any steady loss or gain, or if they stop using their high places.
Three of these are in your plan. The rest you can do at home.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Their health, at every age.
How old are they?
Their age
the first six months
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 months to 2 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
2 to 6 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 to 10 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
11 to 14 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
15 years and over
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Breed predispositions indicate an increased risk rather than certainty of disease. What is right for them always comes from their own history and an evaluation.
Before they come home.
Types of Turkish Van cats
Most Vans wear the classic van pattern: a chalk-white body with colour only on the head and tail. The all-white version is called the Turkish Vankedisi. Both have the same big, powerful build and the same soft, semi-long coat.
Colours
The traditional Van wears auburn on the head and tail. Cream, black, blue, tortie and tabby markings came later, and the eyes can be amber, blue, or one of each.
The first six months
Their vaccinations, microchip and Dubai Municipality registration come first. If they are white with blue or odd eyes, a hearing test is part of their kitten care. Start short play sessions now, get them used to the carrier, and look in their mouth while the adult teeth come through.
Kitten health, 0 to 6 months
Getting the home ready
Fit cat netting to the balcony before they arrive. Choose a heavy cat tree fixed to the wall, a large litter tray, a few wide water bowls, and a shaded spot away from the sunniest window.
Ten things that make their life better
Before you commit
A Van needs space, play and company every day, and stronger places to climb than most cats. If the kitten is white with blue or odd eyes, ask whether their hearing has been tested. Plan a first heart scan between two and six, then regular scans from about seven.
Before the clinics open
AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199. No payment now.
If it's a kitten: First 30 days with a new kitten · Kitten vaccinations in the UAE
When it is not behaviour.
He'll still own the top of the fridge. If he stops jumping up there, call your vet.
Before they were yours.
Eastern and southern Turkey
Large, semi-longhaired cats lived across Turkey long before anyone named a breed. Their semi-long coat, with no heavy undercoat, coped with hot summers and cold winters alike.
What they still carryA large, powerful, energetic body.
1955
Two British photographers working in Turkey were given a pair of white kittens with coloured heads and tails. They took them to England, and their kittens came out with the same markings.
What they still carryThe van pattern, and a pedigree built from a handful of cats.
1962
One of the photographers wrote that the kittens had walked into a stream and swum out of their depth. The press called them swimming cats, and the name stuck.
What they still carryA reputation. Some Vans play with water, and plenty never go near it.
1969 and 1994
Britain's Governing Council of the Cat Fancy recognised the Turkish Van in 1969, and the Cat Fanciers' Association in the US followed in 1994.
What they still carryA rare pedigree, still found through specialist breeders.
Today
An uncommon pedigree in the UAE, living indoors as one of the family.
What they still carryA big, strongly bonded, very active cat in a flat.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the Turkish Van suits you, so might these.
Turkish AngoraThe same kind of cat: from Turkey too, often white, slimmer and finer-boned, and just as involved in your day
Domestic LonghairThe same kind of cat: a semi-long coat without the pedigree, in a medium-sized cat with every kind of personality
Domestic ShorthairThe same mix of play, company and chat, in the everyday shorthaired house cat with no pedigree
BirmanA similar size and the same weekly brush, in a calmer, gentler cat with a pointed coat and white paws
