Last spring, an Alaskan working in Tajikistan noticed a mama cat frequenting his yard, and sure enough, she gave birth. She was a Turkish Van, one of the rarer cat breeds. Her kittens are also Turkish Vans. This kind-hearted person wanted his new kitty friends to be safe, but he was leaving the country, and there is little in the way of care or compassion for cats there. So, he packed them up and headed to Istanbul where they received vet care and passports for traveling. From there, they zigged and zagged their way back to the good ol’ USA, and landed in Alaska!

The person brought them to the cat experts at Cat Tree and Barkery Kitten Rescue as they had a connection there. Fast forward several months, and two of the five Tajik cats have been adopted, but the other three, Maura, Sodapop and Two Bit (now a year old), weren’t getting any interest. So, we swapped a litter of newborn kittens (Cat Tree are specialists in little, tiny, baby kitties) for the three adolescent Turkish Vans. They are all amazing, good with other cats and would be OK with older kids. They will benefit from a quiet space to hide. Also, they love dogs! They are so beautiful and so lovely. If you are interested, please give call at 907-235-3141.