Van cats give birth to year’s last kittens

VAN

Van cats, which are under protection at the Van Yüzüncü Yıl University (YYÜ) Cat Research Center in the eastern province of Van, gave birth to the last kittens of 2020.

The center’s director, Professor Abdullah Kaya, said there was a decrease in the number of offsprings due to the pandemic and that they limited the number of breeding in order to prevent a possible health risk.

Van cats, world-famous for their different eye colors and white hair, are looked after carefully in the Van Cat Villa where they are under protection. Van Cat Villa, which receives visitors every season, has been closed to visitors for a while this year due to the pandemic.

The center has opened its doors to visitors again with the new normalization phase in June and they do not accept visitors who don’t comply with the social distance rule and don’t wear masks.

Kaya stated that they kept the number of breeding limited this year, and added, “Therefore, cats have just started giving births. About 25 of our newly born cats were born as the last kittens of 2020. Since we did less breeding due to the pandemic this year, the number of kittens also decreased.”

Stating that they increased their measures due to the pandemic, Kaya said, “From the first days of the pandemic, we closed the center to visitors until the controlled normalization phase that started in June. We have disinfectants at the entrances and exits. We don’t accept any visitors without masks. We strictly forbid visitors to contact animals. After the pandemic, the number of visitors decreased significantly.”