Graceful, playful, loving, loyal, and gentle are words enthusiasts use to describe this cat. Angoras are also extremely busy, always on the move. They'll check in with you for about five seconds--until something else catches their attention.

These resourceful cats will invent their own toys if none are provided and have been known to play with dust motes.

The glossy coat is medium-long and silky, with a thin undercoat that is not prone to matting. Hair is longest on the tail, ruff, and back legs. All-white Angoras may have been the most popular representative of the breed in the past, but Angoras of many colors and patterns are gaining in popularity.

This aristocratic-looking cat was exported to the estates of European nobility during the Renaissance. Angoras and Persians competed against one another at the early cat shows in England, but by the end of the 19th century, the Persian had edged out all other longhaired competitors, including the Angora.

In the 1940s the Turkish government (in conjunction with the Ankara Zoo) began a program to collect, preserve, and protect the traditional all-white Angoras. In 1962 an American couple bought a pair of the zoo's Angoras and imported them to the United States.

Other breeders followed suit, and by 1970 the Turkish Angora was reintroduced to the show ring.