Fur flies as divided Cypriots fall out over breed of cats

Relations between Turkish and Greek Cypriots have been tense for more than 30 years. Now a row has erupted over a splendid new feline breed. The cats in question are the "Aphrodite giants", a beautiful, extremely large and gentle-natured creature, and the equally attractive St Helena breed. Unsurprisingly, the Cypriot Feline Society (CFS) is attempting to register the breeds as national cats, but allegations have emerged of a plot to claim the cats for the Turkish north of the country, depriving Greek Cypriots of breeds that have begun to win prizes abroad.

The CFS fears that Turkish Cypriots are keen on cross-breeding the Aphrodite and the St Helena with a Turkish cat and registering the new breeds as Turkish. The Aphrodite affair has quickly become another bone of contention. "The cat belongs to its people," judged the popular daily Politis. "The Cyprus Feline Society," it reported, "has taken the initiative to stop the efforts of foreigners – and particularly Turkey – to cross their own cats with the Cypriot kind, [efforts] that are aimed at perverting yet another of the island's historical realities."



Thirty-five years after the Turkish invasion, Cyprus remains a divided and suspicious island. But this is the first time it has come down to cats. The archbishop of Cyprus, Chrysostomos II, through his spokesman, has made his feelings clear: "It goes without saying that, as these breeds belong to the history and tradition of our country, the church will support in any way the effort being made [on behalf of the Cypriot cat]."

The eventual solution to the identity crisis may lie in the analysis of genetic specimens of the cats that have been hastily dispatched to the University of California, Davis, where the DNA of cats from around the world is being mapped. At the Cyprus Feline Society, the outcome of the tests is being awaited anxiously. "The results will be very important," said CFS founder Drita Sjekloca. "There are people – Turkish-Cypriots and Turks, English and Germans – who are interested in the breed. They want to claim the Cypriot cat as their own, which is why this has become a national issue."