View source for Ojos Azules

{{short description|Breed of cat}}
{{for|the Latin American song|Ojos azules (song)}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox cat breed 
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| name          = {{lang|es|Ojos Azules}}
| image         = Ojos Azules from the USA.jpg
| imagecaption  = Red broken mackerel tabby {{lang|es|Ojos Azules}} cat
| altname       = 
| nickname      = Ojos    
| country       = {{US}}
| stock         = Feral cat population
| extinct       = yes
| notrecognized = yes
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'''{{lang|es|Ojos Azules}}''' ({{IPA|es|ˈoxos aθˈules|lang}}, 'Blue Eyes') was a [[cat breed|breed]] of shorthaired<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=The International Cat Association |author-link=The International Cat Association |date=2001 |title=Breed standard in the 2001 Semi-Annual Board Meeting |url=https://www.tica.org/phocadownload/2001-semi_2001.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230807092749/https://www.tica.org/phocadownload/2001-semi_2001.pdf |archive-date=August 7, 2023 |access-date=September 24, 2023 |website=tica.org |page=35 }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Ojos Azules |url=https://icatcare.org/advice/ojos-azules/ |access-date=September 24, 2023 |website=icatcare.org}}</ref> domestic [[cat]] with unusual blue or [[Odd-eyed cat|odd eyes]]<ref name=":2" /> caused by a dominant blue eye (DBE) genetic mutation. The breed came in all coat colors; however, only particolors ([[Bicolor cat|bicolors]] and [[Tricolor cat|tricolors]]), [[Point coloration|colorpoints]], and intermediate colors with a characteristic white tail tip were permitted.<ref name=":2" /> The breed also had a semi-longhaired coat variety, the {{lang|es|Ojos Azules}} Longhair.<ref name=":2" /> Due to the lethal side effects of the {{lang|es|Ojos Azules}} gene, breeders stopped working with this blue eye mutation.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Blue-Eyed Breeds / Dominant Blue Eye (DBE) |url=http://messybeast.com/DBE-ojos-azules.htm |access-date=September 2, 2023 |website=MessyBeast.com}}</ref>{{unreliable source|certain=y|date=January 2024|reason=Personal blog of some random individual with no qualifications; it was popular in its day, but is not a reliable source.}}

==History==

In the 1980s cats with dark blue eyes were discovered among [[feral cat colony|feral cat populations]] in [[New Mexico]]. The first cat with the characteristic, discovered in 1984, was a [[Tortoiseshell cat|tortoiseshell]] named Cornflower. She was bred to males without the trait, which proved to be dominant, as all her kittens showed it. The breed was founded and named {{lang|es|Ojos Azules}}, [[Spanish language|Spanish]] for 'Blue Eyes'.<ref name=":0" />

===Registration and popularity===

{{lang|es|Ojos Azules}} have always been a very rare breed. In 1992, only ten cats were known.<ref name=":0" /> The breed, in both short and long hair variety, was accepted for registration by [[The International Cat Association|TICA]] in 1991. The TICA {{lang|es|Ojos Azules}} Breed Group Standard is dated January 5, 2004. Only cats descending from the original foundation female ''Cornflower'' and expressing the deep blue eye gene have been called {{lang|es|Ojos Azules}}. It was discovered that cranial defects may be linked to the gene, and breeding was temporarily suspended. Eventually, breeders stopped working with cats bearing this blue eye mutation and the breed became officially extinct.<ref name=":0" />

== ''Ojos Azules'' gene ==
{{lang|es|Ojos Azules}} were remarkable for their deep blue eyes. The depth of color in the eyes is described as being greater even than that seen in a [[Siamese cat|Siamese]] and does not cause squinting, [[deafness]] or [[Esotropia|cross-eye]]. This eye coloration depth in {{lang|es|Ojos Azules}} is due to currently unknown polygenetic variations.<ref name=":0" />

Unlike the blue eyes seen linked to the genes in [[White spotting gene|solid white]], [[Bicolor cat|bicolor]], and [[point (coat color)|colorpoint]], all of which suppress pigmentation, this gene is not linked to any specific fur color or pattern,<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /> giving the opportunity to have cats with dark coats and blue eyes. The blue eye color seen in cats such as the Siamese and the {{lang|es|Ojos Azules}} is due to the same physical phenomenon, the absence of melanin in the iris.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Thibos |first1=L. N. |last2=Levick |first2=W. R. |last3=Morstyn |first3=R. |title=Ocular Pigmentation in White and Siamese Cats |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7372414/ |journal=Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science |volume=19 |issue=5 |date=1980 |pages=475–486 |pmid=7372414}}</ref> Although the cause of the absence of pigment differs between Siamese, white cats, and {{lang|es|Ojos Azules}}, the result is pigment loss and blue eyes. One indicator of the {{lang|es|Ojos Azules}} gene was a flattened, white tail-tip.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /> 

Following a genetic investigation by [[Solveig Pflueger]], breeding resumed in a small way with attempts to breed {{lang|es|Ojos Azules}} without the lethal genetic defects. It was discovered that when the gene is [[homozygous]] it caused cranial deformities, white fur, a small curled tail, and stillbirth. However, when the gene was [[heterozygous]], those lethal genetic mutations did not manifest.<ref name=":1" /> The result was that breeders crossed the blue-eyed cats with non-blue-eyed cats, assuring a litter of about 50/50 blue/non-blue-eyed kittens.

==Description==

=== Appearance ===

The medium-sized {{lang|es|Ojos Azules}} was known for its bluish eyes, which were large and round.<ref name=":2" /> The neck was arched. The tail was proportionate to the cat's body. The head was somewhat triangular in inscribe. It had a slightly rounded forehead and an angular muzzle. The nose had a slight break. The coat was short, fine, soft, silky, and shiny. The undercoat was not particularly developed, but most were dense in color. All colors were allowed. However, only particolors ([[Bicolor cat|bicolors]] and [[Tricolor cat|tricolors]]), [[Point coloration|colorpoints]], and intermediate colors with a white tail tip were permitted.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /> White markings were common on most extremities (tip of the tail, muzzle, and paws).<ref name=":2" /> However, belly spots or chest spots were not acceptable and were considered faults.<ref name=":2" /> Solid white coats were not desirable, as they could only be distinguished from common white blue-eyed cats with genetic tests.<ref name=":2" /> Solid white blue-eyed {{lang|es|Ojos Azules}} were susceptible to deafness, as is common in [[Congenital sensorineural deafness in cats|white blue-eyed cats]] without the mutation.{{cn|date=January 2024}}

== Revival of dominant blue eyed breeds ==
[[File:Lazuli01 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Modern dominant blue-eyed black tabby kitten of the Celestial experimental breed, which is approved by [[Livre officiel des origines félines]] (LOOF)]]
Apart from the extinct {{lang|es|Ojos Azules}}, several other dominant blue eye (DBE) genes have been found in cats worldwide. These are not {{lang|es|Ojos Azules}}, as they are not descending from Cornflower. The cats bear DBE mutations, and are developed into new cat breeds or approved as eye coloration variants in existing breeds by certain [[Cat registry|cat registries]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Blue Eyed Breeds |url=http://messybeast.com/blue-eye-breeds.htm |website=Messy Beast |access-date=January 19, 2024}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Domestic cat}}

[[Category:Cat breeds]]
[[Category:Cat breeds originating in the United States]]
[[Category:Experimental cat breeds]]
[[Category:Extinct cat breeds]]