Gina the odd-eyed cat is a prize-winning champion - PHOTO

She may look otherworldy, but Gina the Sphynx cat is a born winner.The odd-eyed cat is a prime example of one of the hairless breed and a reigning quadrouple cat show champion.Her owner, Dublin-based feline fanatic Zivile Useckaite, loves the breed so much she has ten of them, and hopes for Gina to follow up previous wins this weekend at the TírNaTICA cat show in Dundalk.Zivile, 30, who has a full-time job in cancer research at St James's Hospital, Dublin, said that despite their unique appearance this breed of cat is as adorable as its furry cousins.‘I got one as a pet first and fell in love, so then I got two more and then it got a bit out of control,’ explains Zivile, who was born in Lithuania and came to Ireland at age 16.Ms Useckaite has set up The Sphynx Haven Cattery, in Stepaside, Co Dublin, where she breeds Canadian and Don Sphynx, whose pedigree can be traced back five generations. Her cats are show cats and are judged on temperament and breed standard.‘We currently have ten, we first started breeding them three years ago. I'm definitely not getting any more cats though, I'll stick with what I have and show them, there's such a huge amount of work involved that I couldn't possibly take on any more cats, especially when I work full-time.‘They are indoor cats and only got out of doors in the summertime, generally on a leash. They need a bath once a week, their nails clipped and their eyes and their ears cleaned regularly.’Zivile travels to shows in Ireland and the UK, and hopes to take some of her cats to shows in Russia and Canada this year.‘All the cats are show cats and are very high performing cats. For showing they just have to be groomed very well and then they are judged on temperament and the breed standard. If they are doing well, they have to be shown.‘I think people are coming to like them more and more. Originally it was Eastern European and foreign people who really loved them, but they are becoming more and more popular among Irish and British people, they make really great pets.’Despite their name, Sphynx cats are from Canada and Russia, not Egypt. And although they have no hair or whiskers they are warm to the touch.The first modern variety of the breed was started in 1966, in Roncesvalles, Toronto when a hairless kitten named Prune was born to a black and white domestic shorthair queen (Elizabeth) in Ontario, Canada. The kitten was mated with its mother (backcrossing), which produced one more naked kitten. Together with a few naked kittens found later it founded the first attempt to create a hairless breed.Sphynxes are known for their extrovert behaviour. They display a high level of intelligence, curiosity, and affection for their owners.(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az