Editing Turkish Angora (section)

==History==
[[File:Persian aka Angora from 1894.JPG|thumb|left|"Angora cat" from ''[[Royal Natural History]]'' (1894), illustrated by [[Gustav Mützel]]]]

Like all domestic cats, Turkish Angoras descended from the [[Felis lybica|African wildcat]] (''Felis lybica''). Their ancestors were among the cats that were first domesticated in the [[Fertile Crescent]].{{cn|date=February 2024}}

Longhaired cats were imported to [[Early Modern Britain|Britain]] and [[France]] from [[Asia Minor]], [[Iran|Persia]] and [[Russia]] as early as the late 16th century. The Turkish Angora was recognised as a distinct breed in Europe by the 17th century.<ref name="about">{{cite web |first1=Barbara |last1=Azan |first2=Sandralee |last2=Rodgers |title=The Turkish Angora: About This Breed |url= https://cfa.org/turkish-angora/turkish-angora-article-1994/ |work=CFA.org |publisher=[[Cat Fanciers' Association]] |access-date=5 December 2023}}</ref> However, there is a strong connection between Angoras and [[Persian (cat)|Persians]]. [[Charles Catton the younger|Charles Catton]], in the 1788 book ''[[Animals Drawn from Nature and Engraved in Aqua-tinta]]'', gave “Persian cat” and “Angora cat” as alternative names for the same breed.<ref>{{cite book |last=Catton |first=Charles |title=Animals Drawn from Nature and Engraved in Aqua-tinta |date=1788 |publisher=I. and J. Taylor |url= https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Animals_drawn_from_Nature_and_engraved_in_aqua-tinta#plate8 |chapter=The Persian Cat |at=Plate 8}}</ref>

There is a lot of similarity between Angora and Persian cat. Angora  by British and American . In 1903, [[Frances Simpson]] wrote in ''[[The Book of the Cat]]'':<ref>{{cite web |url= http://chestofbooks.com/animals/cats/Book/index.html |title=The Book Of The Cat |first=Frances |last=Simpson |publisher=Cassell |via=Chest of Books |date=1 February 1902 |access-date=26 January 2013}}{{Page needed|date=April 2013}}</ref>

{{quote|In classing all long-haired cats as Persians I may be wrong, but the distinctions, apparently with hardly any difference, between Angoras and Persians are of so fine a nature that I must be pardoned if I ignore the class of cat commonly called Angora, which seems gradually to have disappeared from our midst. Certainly, at our large shows there is no special classification given for Angoras, and in response to many inquiries from animal fanciers I have never been able to obtain any definite information as to the difference between a Persian and an Angora.}}
[[File:Angora turc import Turquie 1976 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Imported white Turkish Angora from [[Atatürk Forest Farm and Zoo|Ankara]] to [[New York City|New York]] (1976)]]
The Angora of the 20th century was used for improvement in the Persian coat, but the type has always been divergent from the Persian{{mdash}}particularly as the increasingly flat-faced [[show cat]] Persian has been developed in the last few decades.{{cn|date=February 2024}}

In the early 20th century, [[Atatürk Forest Farm and Zoo]] began a breeding program to protect and preserve pure white Angoras.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.kedici.com.tr/Detay.aspx?id=153 |title=Ankara'nın evcil hazineleri: Ankara kedisi |language=tr |work=Kedici.com.tr |date=24 February 2011 |access-date=26 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130510113007/http://kedici.com.tr/Detay.aspx?id=153 |archive-date=10 May 2013}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=History |url= https://turkishangorabreedcouncil.weebly.com/history.html |access-date=11 September 2023 |work=TurkishAngorabreedCouncil.Weebly.com |publisher=[[Cat Fanciers' Association|CFA]] Turkish Angora Breed Council}}</ref> The zoo particularly prized [[odd-eyed cat|odd-eyed]] specimens;<ref name=":0" /> however, the cats were chosen only for their colour{{snd}}no other criterion was applied.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

The Turkish Angora, which was brought to [[Canada]] in 1963, was accepted as a championship pedigreed breed in 1973 by the [[Cat Fanciers' Association]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.cfa.org/client/breedTurkishAngora.aspx |publisher=[[Cat Fanciers' Association]] |title=Breed Profile: Turkish Angora |work=CFA.org |access-date=8 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121029014432/http://www.cfa.org/client/breedTurkishAngora.aspx |archive-date=29 October 2012}}</ref> However, until 1978 only white Angoras were recognised. Today, all North American registries accept the Turkish Angora in many colours and patterns. While their numbers are still relatively small, the gene pool is continually growing.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}