Ojos Azules

Ojos Azules (German: Blue Eyes ) is a breed of cats based on a mutation. While in the well-known cat breeds, blue eyes are linked to the white coat color or the Siamese markings , the mutation of the Ojos Azules can occur with any coat color.

Appearance

The Ojos Azules looks like an ordinary domestic cat. Their typical feature are their deep blue eyes. There may also be individual white spots on the ends of the body (tip of the tail, nose).

history

The Ojos Azules are all descended from a single house cat Cornflower, which was discovered in New Mexico in 1984 . Cornflower was a tortoiseshell cat with blue eyes. It turned out that the blue eye color was inherited dominantly. In the early 1990s there were very few (around ten) ojos azules. The breed was approved for registration by the TICA in 1992 .

The Ojos gene as a semiletal factor

While cats that the Ojos gene heterozygous carry are healthy, are kittens who carry the gene homozygous, stillborn. Their fur is completely white and their skull and tail are deformed. Therefore, two carriers of the Ojos gene should never be paired with each other.

Web links

• TICA standard from Ojos Azules (in English), pdf
• Sarah Hartwell: Twisty Cats and the Ethics of Breeding for Deformity
• Illustrated article on the genetic background and history of the Ojos Azules