OJOS AZULES – RARE CAT FOUND IN AUSTRALIA? IS “WOMBAT” AN OJOS AZULES?

by A.M. SCHNEIDER
(AUSTRALIA)

IS WOMBAT AN OJOS AZULES?

IS WOMBAT AN OJOS AZULES?

THIS CAT WOMBAT WAS FOUND BY US AS A KITTEN IN THE MIDDLE OF A COUNTRY ROAD NEAR WINDELLAMA N.S.W. IN AUSTRALIA OVER A YEAR AGO.

HAS SHE GOT THE SAME GENETIC MAKEUP AS THE OJOS AZULES?

IS SHE MERELY AN AUSTRALIAN FERAL MOGGIE OR HAS SOMEONE BEEN IMPORTING THESE RARE AMERICAN CATS INTO AUSTRALIA AND DUMPING THEM IN THE BUSH NEAR WINDELLAMA?

HOW RARE IS A CAT THAT LOOKS LIKE THIS? AT LEAST SHE IS PRETTIER THAN THE RATHER ORDINARY KITTEN WHICH IS THE ONLY OTHER BLUE EYED SOLID PICTURED ON THIS SITE.

WE HAVE NOT DESEXED HER YET AS SHE IS KEPT INSIDE AND WE WERE NOT SURE WHETHER ANYONE ELSE WOULD BE KEEN TO BREED FROM HER. SHOULD SHE BE KEPT ENTIRE AND BRED FROM OR SHOULD WE GO AHEAD AND GET HER DESEXED?


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OJOS AZULES - RARE CAT FOUND IN AUSTRALIA? IS "WOMBAT" AN OJOS AZULES?

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Mar 23, 2012 ojos azules with green eyes? NEW
by: Anonymous

i have a cat that really really looks like an ojos azules,im not sure of his breed though..the only difference is that he has green eyes!

i just got him from a stray cat {his mother)living nearby our house so i really have no idea about his breed.Is it possible that ojos azules could be green-eyed?


May 13, 2011 My blue-eyed stray, Mo
by: Anonymous

I adopted a cat named Mo from CARA Welfare Philippines October of last year. Mo is a white cat with black and red points. She was already spayed when I adopted her and was about 8 months old then. I was referred to this site by someone who saw the pic I posted of her at Cat Care Phils so I emailed a number of photos of Mo to you. I saw the picture of her sibling but it wasn't blue eyed at all.


Mar 31, 2011 calico cat with blue eyes
by: Anonymous

hi. i am nico from the philippines. i saw a blue eyed calico kitten two years ago from a bunch of feral cats living in a car wash station in manila and i took her home with me. now, she has matured to have really beautiful vivid blue eyes. having learned about the ojos azules breed, i wonder if the one i have is in fact, an azules. i bred her and now she has 2 male kittens.


Mar 21, 2011 thanks
by: SEO

This was spam and has been removed


Jan 15, 2011 i have that cat
by: Anonymous

omg i have that cat he's a kitten two
i can send a pic if you want


Dec 21, 2010 Wombat
by: Gryphonwood

Is Wombat still unaltered? I am a registered Birman cat breeder with an interest in pursuing the genetics of the Ojos Azules. Please contact me privately gryphonwood_birmans@yahoo.ca
Thank you,
Heather


Nov 09, 2009 Hi Erika
by: Michael (PoC Admin)

Message to Erica.

Thanks for the comment. Sorry for the delay in responding. If you would still like to send a picture or two please send them to this email address:

mjbmeister [at] gmail.com

Your English is great by the way!


Nov 08, 2009 DON'T!!!!
by: Noel

I would not get wombat desexed if she is one of that breed ,their the rarest cat I know of and so cute besides I've had cats desexed before and after they died of old age regerted it alot because I only had a few pictures to remeber them by , I'd wait and get her checked by a vet, rabies shots ext... then see if you can breed her it's a very pretty cat


Oct 31, 2009 Ojos Azules cat
by: erika

Hi,
I'm a cat lover as many of you are. I came looking in the internet about orange cats with blue eyes. Let me explain... I've had cats my entire life and I know about cat breeds, I have books on the matter... I'll get to the point. My boyfriend has a lot of cats, they breed with each other. the youngest litter of kittens were all orange in color- 3 with blue eyes. I thought they were going to change to green/hazel with time. but two of them did not. I adopted two, 1 - female with green eyes and her little brother - orange with blue eyes.
They are like 5 months now and I've seen little to the blue eyed one, there's only a little green in the center, not very noticeable. The rest It's bright blue.

I took a photo. I can send it to you if you want to examinate it. I'm not really sure if this is a "ojos azules" but I know that there's the rarest fur color/eye combination I've ever seen in cats.

By the way, I'm from Mexico. Sorry about my english.


Oct 09, 2009 Blue Eyes
by: Allison

It's a shame that blue-eyed cats tend to have health problems when they are bred (whether deafness, being crossed-eyed, etc.) because that eye color is very pretty. But health concerns must come first. We can enjoy the trait as a recessive one when it appears. I hope to have a blue-eyed cat one day, but I'll just get one from an animal shelter.

What I don't understand is the outrage against the Ojos Azules as a breed. If done well, there should be no problem establishing them as a breed. The manx breed has the same problem with lethal genes, and most accept it as a breed. Like the Ojos azule, the manx tail-less trait is a lethal trait when the manxes are bred to each other (it's a lethal homozygous dominat trait, I believe-- those with that genotype die as fetuses). To off-set this, breeders breed manxes to either tailed manxes (or stumpies) or even to Domestic shorthairs. That way the kittens only get one copy of the tail-less gene.

Oh well, everyone's entitled to their opinion, and hopefully breeders of this new breed will strive to create as healthy a breed as possible.

Wombat is adorable. I'm glad you decided not to breed her and had her spayed; there are enough cats out there that need homes, blue-eyed ones included. Enjoy her as a pet!


Nov 02, 2008 All of the below
by: Anonymous

Don't know how old this is but it is wise to get all animals to be fixed and not allow them to breed just for money or rarity. I'm 16 and have nine cats and all have been fixed to avoid any unwanted litters all my cats are in good health and thats all that matters, not cute little fluffy kittens being born every two month. Wombat everyone will agree that having the cat de-sexed is a good idea wereas if you let the cat have kittens any problem could arise such as a stuck birth, which can also be fatal for the mother and the offspring. Everyone here as the cats best interests at heart, and yes she is a stunning cat and will make a lovely cat, and i'm not saying you don't care but, if you loved Wombat so much it wouldn't bother you about getting her de-sexed.

One question does Wombat has a white tailtip? if so no doubt she is a Ojos azules


Sep 28, 2008 Re Pests
by: Jenny

I dont believe I ever said to kill any cats or harm them. I just wish to see them all desexed and not to be bred from. I dont blame the cat and I am fully aware that the problem was caused by man. Thanks for pointing that out though! By the way, I am a cat lover, and have worked in an animal shelter for the past few years so I have seen first hand cats destroyed due to lack of homes. Doesnt make sense to breed more when cats are on death row, does it?


Sep 28, 2008 Feral cats - Jenny's comment
by: Anonymous

Jenny, I think you have forgotten that people caused the feral cat problem that so upsets a large number of Australians.

As we created the problem we should deal with it in a human and reasonable manner. We shouldn't call feral cats "pests". There should be a gradual reduction in feral cat populations by the tried and tested trap, neuter, return process.

Inhumane and cruel killing of cats is I believe unacceptable and indicates a less than good standard in human behavior


Sep 27, 2008 Aussie Pests
by: Jenny

Desex 'Wombat' and any other cat in Australia. Cats are the most widespread pest in our country and we have no room for any more. Try rehoming some unwanted cats before considering breeding supposed rare or exotic breeds and spare a thought for our already overcrowded animal shelters packed to the rafters with unwanted moggies. Spare a thought for our wildlife and consider our unique country rather than the unique colouration of a killers fur or eyes.


Jun 26, 2008 Farewell Ojos Azules
by: Wombat

Hi, this is Wombat from Windellama, I am going in for my desexing today, the Ojos Azules breed is stuffed and they have missed out on the opportunity for me to have blue eyed kittens. I could have added new blood to the breed but now I never will. I resume my life as a pet - feral moggies of the world unite against these pretentious breed societies - we are just as pretty as any of your inbred, expensive freaks!


Jun 03, 2008 Unregistered cats
by: Anonymous

Hi,

Thanks for the posts after mine. I agree; it seems as if this is an Ojos Azules but further research needs to be done. This is a rare cat but that is on the basis of registered (with cat associations) Ojos Azules. There may be more unregistered than we think.

Thanks though for the original submission and the comments.

Regards
Michael
POC Admin


Jun 03, 2008 wow
by: Anonymous

Wow that is a rare cat.


Jun 03, 2008 do not desex wombat!!!
by: Anonymous

If Wombat is an ojos azules then the earlier post would be right. But that is not for sure. Wombat could have a separate mutation for blue eyes. Perhaps this mutation does not carry the deformities of ojos azules. If there is a way to find out i suggest you try it, but do not breed this cat to a ojos azule because if it indeeed is the same mutation it could be fatal to the litter. I do not know any other way to find out besides genetic testing, which is expensive. On the plus side this cat certainly has eyes of a deeper blue than the picture of the ojos azule. i would suggest you do not desex it yet as that is very final.


May 14, 2008 Breeding Ojos Azules
by: Anonymous

Hi, Thanks for your submission.

Yes, you seem to have found a rare cat as she/he has blue eyes and is not a color point cat.

Update Feb 2011: Please be wary about this breed. Your cat is a bicolor (white and solid color). The piebald gene (white spotting gene) is present. This gene produces blue eyes, odd eyes one of which one is blue. We don't know which genes cause the Ojos Azules blue eyes. So there is some doubt in my mind at least about this cat at a fundamental level.

If the Ojos Azules really exists according to my research this is one of the rarest cat breeds. See the page on rare cat breeds. It is extremely rare in fact. But does it exist!?

In answer to your question, please have another look at the Ojos Azules page on this site. You'll see that in my view it is not wise to breed this cat.

That of course is my view. Others may think differently. You might get a second opinion on this cat by the way. In seems that the genetic mutation that produces blue eyes in non-color point cats happens from time to time (it is recessive I understand) and all over the world.

In the West it is considered a rare cat breed. But your cat would not satisfy the cat associations as he/she has no pedigree (unless she is a lost purebred pedigreed cat). There are a lot of things to consider before embarking on breeding and my firm view is enjoy and care for this cat and do no more. You'll get a sure reward. Cat breeding is difficult and not very profitable if done to a high standard.

I would spay/neuter as this is considered the best course of action generally as cats can breed very successfully and whole cats can spray too much and be plain difficult due to mating instincts.

Michael
POC Admin


19 thoughts on “OJOS AZULES – RARE CAT FOUND IN AUSTRALIA? IS “WOMBAT” AN OJOS AZULES?”

  1. The author of the best comment will receive an Amazon gift of their choice at Christmas! Please comment as they can add to the article and pass on your valuable experience.
  2. I think that this mutation could easily be established in several breeds to have non white, pointed or piebald cats with blue eyes, just like you could potentially make any breed manx tailed (for want of a better example)And it would be easy to avoid homozygotes as you would only ever mate a blue eyed OA cat with a cat without blue eyes. Being a dominant mutation the gene is expressed visually and not hidden, so must be seen. I hope that someone somewhere dos manage to get a proper breed standard for then and get them established, after all every breed started somewhere. PS thanks for the link, I’ve read that one and it’s very informative.

    Reply
    • Above is the newest addition to the family, his name is Argo. He has the classic red pupil glow when you take his picture with a camera’s flash. I thought that his eyes may change until I noticed this in pictures. Not the same as an OA but IMO it’s prettier than blue eyed pointed cats and blue eyed pure white cats, but that’s just me :)Attached is Argo’s eyeshine with the flash.

      Reply
      • Argo has Van (after the Turkish Van) markings – the inverted “V” – and is a calico as far as I can tell. He should be a she! Calico’s are nearly always female.

        Reply
      • Argo is a cutie 🙂 The red eye glow, must mean he has colour point genes somewhere in his ancestry.

        Perhaps it’s worth sending Sarah Hartwell some photos of Argo as she might consider adding him to one of her articles.

        Is it possible to test cats to see which gene has caused their blue eyes? Surely potential foundation cats would need to be screened to ensure their blue eyes are due to OA and not, dominant white or white spotting genes.

        Apparently more genes which produce blue eyed cats (independent of coat colour) are being discovered in Asia. Perhaps we may yet make similar discoveries in other regions.

        Reply
  3. I think this dominant blue eyed gene that is independent of coat colour is very exciting and could open up a whole new array of purebred cats with non white coats and blue eyes. You could have black, ginger grey etc in all breeds that have those colours already but with bright blue eyes! The contrast would be spectacular compared to the blue eyes usually seen in pointed and white cats. And sometimes in piebalds….

    Reply
    • Dave, could you visit the TICA website and read their description of the cat and their breed standard (if it exists) and tell me if bicolor cats (white + a color) are excluded because if they are not there is nothing rare about this cat? Bicolors have blue eyes amongst the random bred population.

      Reply
      • Yes I agree that a true Ojos should show little or preferably no white to exclude the possibility of the lack of pigment being linked to a piebald pattern. But something I find interesting and odd is that even amongst piebald cats it is still quite rare to have one or two blue eyes. I’ve read that if white covers the eyes then very likely those eyes will be depigmented thus blue, but in all the piebald cats I’ve seen online very very few have this even if they are very high white piebalds why is this? And in the flesh I have never seen one…. Well until now. I recently adopted a spotted tabby piebald kitten and he has 2 bright blue eyes. His mother is the same colour as he is and she is a bi-eyed cat, one blue and one green. Dad is apparently a grey Persian mix. I wonder if there are additional genes at play that make even a piebald cats eyes blue (well the ones we see with blue eyes)

        Reply
        • TICA’s description of the Ojos Azules breed states that it may have some white patches on the face, feet or tail. That description could just as easily apply to any cat with non-Siamese, blue eyes. Their description of features appears to be based upon the photos they provide as examples of the breed. However we know that their photo of a longhaired OA, is actually a beautiful random bred cat named Apollo who was owned by Sarah Hartwell.

          From what I understand, the initial interest in developing the OA as a breed, was because of the spectacular cornflower-blue eyes that gene produces independent of coat colour. However it seems that this gene is lethal when a kitten inherits two copies. With so few foundation cats to begin with, the breed was never really destined to get beyond the experimental stage.

          Dave: Sarah Hartwell is a cat lover and feline genetics expert. Her Messybeast web site has interesting information on blue-eyed cats and you might enjoy the photos of the random bred tabbies and bi-colours.

          http://messybeast.com/whitecat.htm

          Reply
      • Why do you say that? From what I’ve read in it’s heterozygous state it does not cause any issues so as long as 2 Ojos Azures were not bred together you would not see any ill effects caused by doubling up on the gene (homozygous)It is really a trait not a breed but you could do all sorts of cool things with it…. for example you could have several breeds of black or solid style cats with the OA eyes.

        Reply
        • The reason why think this cat breed is not worth being a breed is because when you read the TICA profile about the breed they are describing bicolour cats with blue eyes and bicolour cats have blue eyes amongst the random bred population. In addition the cats are totally normal random bred cats in terms of appearance. I don’t see the purpose for the breed. Perhaps I had misunderstood but that is the way I think of it at the moment.

          Reply
  4. Hello, I am a hobby breeder of Selkirk Rex cats, specialized in odd- blue- and cracked eyed cats. For over a few years now, I have been searching for a breeder of the wonderful Ojos Azules cat. I would like to put some serious efford into breeding this amazing and rare breed.
    Hope to hear some good news!

    Kind regards, Peggy from Holland (The Netherlands)

    Reply
    • Hi Peggy, Nice to hear from Holland. I struggle with this cat breed as you might tell from the article. No one (or very few) is breeding this cat as far as I know but TICA recognise it under preliminary new breeds as you are probably aware but they don’t list a breeder on their website. I think you’ll struggle to find a breeder. TICA must have had a representation from the breeder who wanted TICA to recognise the Ojos Azules so I’d had thought you should email TICA and ask who that breeder is. Good luck.

      Reply
  5. Hello,
    I purchased a rather stunning caramel tortie pt siamese girl some time ago. Her name is Chella and she has the deepest blue eyes I’ve ever seen in a cat. She has white on her muzzle and toe but she is not especially pointed. I know she carries the red gene, because many of her offspring have been apricot pt males with blue eyes.
    There are many photos on : http://www.leospride.com

    I’m wondering if I’ve stumbled across the mutant ojos azules gene in Chella. What do you think?

    Tracey

    Reply
    • Hi Tracey. If your cat has white on her muzzle she has the white spotting gene that causes blue eyes. I don’t even believe in the Ojos Azules. Never understood it. Seems to be non-breed to me. Thanks for visiting.

      Reply
  6. I have a cat found in Norway who is a brown tortie with beautiful blue eyes. She has earlier produced a litter with 2 creme blue eyed, and 1 tortie normal. At the moment she is expecting a litter any day now 🙂 I hope too get in contact with a breeder of the ojos, to get more information about this breed.

    Reply

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