A special look at Messi, the domestic Puma

Imagine having a wild animal in your home or cozy apartment? Well for a couple based in Russia, they didn’t only imagine it, they went ahead and adopted a Puma named Messi, and welcomed him into their home with loving arms.

For a few of you out there, Messi is already a famous wild kitty. He broke onto the scene back in 2017 when his proud momma and papa, Alexandr and Mariya Dmitriev, visited a zoo in Penza, a major Russian city.

Who is Messi the domestic Puma?

They were really taken aback by the cougar’s gentle demeanor and they just had to have him, as per Wikipedia. Mariya Dmitriev recalled how easy the process was in an interview a few years back with Caters News.

"“So we went to the zoo and started negotiations to buy Messi. We were surprised ourselves when they agreed.”"

Now if you’re having flashbacks to that episode of Mad About You when the Buchmans mistakenly have a Puma they thought was a regular kitten in their midst and all hell breaks loose, I more than understand, but apparently, and as documentation suggests, Messi the Puma is as gentle as they come.

The social media accounts dedicated to the cute and cuddly Puma do very well and the videos often go viral for very good reason. The images and videos posted show Messi in his home life, living amongst humans, and really, to watch the cougar, it is very similar to looking at a house cat…he’s pretty similar only he’s massive.

But get along with humans he does and get along famously at that. He apparently was trained at a local dog trainer and apparently acts more like a trained dog than a kitten, interestingly enough.

The Dmitrievs have had other cats on their property, including a Sphynx cat, as well as two cheetahs.

The Puma is also known as the cougar, the mountain lion and even as a panther. Its range is massive and spans from the Yukon north in Canada all the way down to South America.

The cougar is known as a hypercarnivore, which means it eats 70% meat proteins, which it gets at by either hunting or scavenging, but they also eat a plant-based diet…fruits and fungi, etc., according to Wikipedia.

As far as the dangers involved, the Dmitrievs know what’s up…

"“If you live with such a predator, then an attack is inevitable…Sooner or later when puberty starts, he will be judging who is in charge in the house, and in this situation he will be testing your strength…There was this division of spheres of influence, who is in charge in our family, who has the final word…At that moment we were sorting out the relationship and at the end I won.”-via The Economic Times"

Despite this, there have never been any incidents in which Messi was violent or hard to control. His adoptive parents knew what they were getting into and knew how to handle whatever came up, which is exemplary and what anyone should do when adopting an animal; this to make sure they can care for said animal as appropriately as possible…especially a wild species let alone a domestic species of dog or cat.

Any favorite Messi the Puma videos on YouTube you’d like to share that you’ve seen, dear readers? I’ve shared two in this piece and you can see them above if you already haven’t.