Puma Rescued From A Contact-Type Zoo Can’t Be Released Into The Wild, Lives As A Spoiled House Cat
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Mariya and Aleksandr Dmitriev share a one-bedroom apartment with one of the biggest names in soccer – Messi. No not the star himself, but his namesake – a 90lb puma. The Russian couple first spotted Messi at the Saransk Zoo in Penza when he was just eight-months-old and decided that they had to have him.
Image credits: l_am_puma
Messi was one of three cougar cubs born at the zoo. The other two, Suarez and Neymar, were also named after famous players to celebrate the Russian city hosting four matches of the World Cup. The wild cat was sold to the Saransk Zoo when he was three months old and suffered from health problems. Enamored with the sickly zoo animal the Dmitriev’s appealed to the owners and asked if they could buy him.
Image credits: l_am_puma
Image credits: l_am_puma
According to his wife Mariya, Aleksandr, 38, had always dreamed of owning a big cat, “He always thought about having a lynx – never a puma. It’s hard to explain but we believe that having this puma as a house cat is part of our destiny.”
Image credits: l_am_puma
“We had three days of thinking hard about whether it was moral to keep such an exotic pet, and whether it was common sense to have one. But nothing could fight our sudden wish,” Mariya, 28, told the Mirror. “So we went to the zoo and started negotiations to buy Messi. We were surprised ourselves when they agreed.”
Image credits: l_am_puma
Image credits: l_am_puma
Taking on the care of Messi was a challenge in many ways. Beyond being a wild animal, the cat needed extra medical attention and care, “‘he was quite weak and demanded a lot of attention,” said Mariya. Even though the couple has nursed the cub back to health, he is still only two-thirds of the size of the average puma.
Image credits: l_am_puma
Just like any other pet, Messi requires lots of exercise, which is why his human parents purchased a special coat and harness so they can take him on walks. “He is like a dog. We started taking him for a walk, step by step. The animal hadn’t been really active before, Aleksandr said in an interview with RT, “Now we walk a lot twice a day, as it’s supposed to be. It doesn’t differ much from owning a dog in this sense.”
Image credits: l_am_puma
Image credits: l_am_puma
However, unlike a dog training, this lovable giant was not easy. The couple tried to find a wild animal handler but were not successful.
Image credits: l_am_puma
Finally, they found a dog training school he could attend and now responds to about 10 different commands.
Image credits: l_am_puma
Image credits: l_am_puma
“He convinced us with his behavior that he’s a full member of our family and that he wouldn’t be doing anything bad apart from some small naughty things. He’s very kind and likes contact. He gets on very well with people,” says Aleksandr.
Image credits: l_am_puma
Having an exotic cat in your house is quite rare, so the Dmitrievs document life with their ‘housecat’ across social media – and people love it. While the real Messi has 100m Instagram followers, cat Messi still does pretty well with over 500k followers on his @I_am_puma account and over 170k subscribers on his YouTube account.
Image credits: l_am_puma
Image credits: l_am_puma
Even though the couple only lives in a one-bedroom apartment they have done their best to accommodate their large companion. Such as converting their hallway into Messi’s den – complete with a tree, bamboo walls, and a hiding hole.
Image credits: l_am_puma
“He is just an ordinary cat, but a big one. He has all the habits of a cat,” says Aleksandr.
Image credits: l_am_puma
As you can imagine some animal and environmental rights activists have objections to the Dmitrievs keeping an exotic animal in their home and believe Messi belongs on a wildlife reserve or in a sanctuary. While others note the danger of living with wild animal.
Image credits: l_am_puma
But the couple believes that he would not survive alongside other animals as he has never lived alone in the wild. “Of course it’s quite dangerous having such a large cat at home, but Messi is a special animal,” Mariya told the Mirror.
Image credits: l_am_puma
Image credits: l_am_puma
Image credits: l_am_puma
Check out Messi playing with his favorite toys
Or learn how to wash a puma
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Can you imagine a burglar breaking into that apartment and coming across not a guard dog, but a guard puma?
I can imagine a burglar shitting his pants..
No kidding, because even if Messi is grateful to the couple who took him in, he would feel no such gratitude towards a burglar. So you put a "Beware of puma" in your living room window, and if anyone still decides to try their luck, well...
Puma-ing his pants
No problem if it's a cat burglar^^
Great StarClan! if i was the burglar I'd most likely just be like F*CK THIS SH*T I'M OUT
SAME!!
Was just thinking the same thing. Ultimate burglar alarm!
I was thinking the same!!!
In that case it would serve the burgaler right
100% Animals can generally sense intentions by humans. It obviously knows the people that took them in to care for him.. A burglar would not last long sadly in the sick sense of law it would probably be put down which makes me mad.
I can imagine that burglar won't be able to leave the house breathing...
I'm torn between "how cute" and "how deadly".
Adorifying
I think adorifying is my new favourite word.
I think "deadly cute" would be the mid-point :)
Pumas are the largest of the Small Cats - purring cats. They really can be friendly, BUT, even if they're playing they can inflict severe damage. Not something I'd recommend people doing.
Just stick with 'did you see the size of those PAWS???'
Probably an impopulair opinion, but I think this is wrong. Its a wild animal, it should not live indoors but go to a special sanctuary. I think its typical that some people think they can just buy anything they want and not look at what is best for the animal (declawing for example is extremely cruel). And by posting tons of photos and vids online, other people will see this as normal and some might even want this too. Not a good thing if you ask me.
Yes, when my mom suggested we declaw our cat, I told her no. Yes, its dangerous for a puma to be in the house with claws, but if you have to declaw an animal in order to keep it, that just shows you probably shouldn’t have it. Cats are upsessed with their claws, its their pride and defense mechanism. Someone might ask “Why does a cat need claws if they aren’t going to live outside?”. Well, there are threats inside a home too;mice, bugs, children that are bothersome, and a cat loses some confidence when you take away their claws because they feel unsafe with out their natural weapons.
Also, declawing a cat is like cutting a person's finger at the last joint, bone and everything. It can cause many problems to the poor animal, including chronic pain and back malformations. It is terribly cruel. Many countries have banned this procedure, fortunately. Any person who says that his/her cat is perfectly happy without its claws should be forced to undergo the same procedure and see if they like the experience.
it's also like taking a bit of your finger off at the first knuckle
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I have an elderly cat that was declawed due to cat fights. She loves doing roundhouse thumps on dogs' heads,and terrorizes the pit bulls. She doesn't miss her claws, instead, she revels in the fact that she can 'scratch' anything and not get yelled at, something her younger 'siblings' can't claim. All cats are individuals. She'll be 18 this year, and going strong. She's also boss cat--and everybody else has claws!
It was raised in a zoo before it became their house guest. It would have never survived in the wild. Although I think their living conditions are too small for it, they do appear to be taking good care of it.
Have you read the story? Is there a guarantee that another place xan take better care of the cat? What if not? I don' t think they are promoting this kind of decision rather just sharing their experience. If the cat was not well taken care of and now is, I got no problem with that. And it doesn't make me want to own a wild animal just like movies about seri killers do not put killing thoughts into my head. For me it's just their uniqie story and I definitely won't be one shaming people for wanting to share it.
There are places that would take far better care of this creature than this couple... Big Cat Rescue comes to mind.
fair enough but in the end you should be angry at the zoo for domesticating in the first place. The family merely stepped in and did the right thing by looking after it. Putting it back in the wild would simply be a death sentence. If the couple took it out of the wild to domesticate it, it would be different. BUT they have done the right thing by the animal.
Then you clearly haven't paid attention to the story of Messi and I_Am_Puma. Messi is unfit to go back into the wild, and is actually incredibly small compared to other male Puma's. Do some research before saying this is wrong.
You're right about the declawing of animals, but how is it in any way wrong to take pictures with animals at a zoo or with your pets? But nobody says a thing about poachers on websites like Google, posing with dead innocent animals like wolfs, wild big cats and other wild animals on the extinction list. Sounds very ass backwards to me. I rather see people taking pictures with LIVE ANIMALS THAN DEAD ANIMALS THAT THEY'VE KILLED FOR KICKS!
I guess in this case the needs of the animal are put before the needs of humans. Which i am a fan of. Humans are no more or less important. putting this animal in the wild after domestication is far more cruel. In this case the survival of the fittest is not a fair argument as the puma has already been domesticated by people. it would simply be a death sentence for the puma. The issue is with the zoo to begin with. This family has essentially stepped in to love a creature that has already been abused by people. Would you leave a house cat in the wild after being domesticated.
It appears that you imply that THIS puma has been declawed. That is not true. Watch a YouTube videos - this puma has its full claws which (claws) are taking care of in a proper way - the same as performed for any cat or dog in Canada by a vet clinic. Please also try to provide “why” posting photos or videos online is not a good thing?
It's not an unpopular opinion in my eyes. I only wish more people thought the same way.
unpopular opinion it may be but doesn't make it correct either you should be using your holier than thou opinion on the zoo in the first place. The couple simply stepped in and did the right thing. They take it for walks take it outside feed it well and love it obviously. I am very pro animal life and nature orientated but the opinion reeks of ignorance and lack of research into the article
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Big deal. Every single animal we domesticated started out as a wild animal at one point in history.
Can you imagine a burglar breaking into that apartment and coming across not a guard dog, but a guard puma?
I can imagine a burglar shitting his pants..
No kidding, because even if Messi is grateful to the couple who took him in, he would feel no such gratitude towards a burglar. So you put a "Beware of puma" in your living room window, and if anyone still decides to try their luck, well...
Puma-ing his pants
No problem if it's a cat burglar^^
Great StarClan! if i was the burglar I'd most likely just be like F*CK THIS SH*T I'M OUT
SAME!!
Was just thinking the same thing. Ultimate burglar alarm!
I was thinking the same!!!
In that case it would serve the burgaler right
100% Animals can generally sense intentions by humans. It obviously knows the people that took them in to care for him.. A burglar would not last long sadly in the sick sense of law it would probably be put down which makes me mad.
I can imagine that burglar won't be able to leave the house breathing...
I'm torn between "how cute" and "how deadly".
Adorifying
I think adorifying is my new favourite word.
I think "deadly cute" would be the mid-point :)
Pumas are the largest of the Small Cats - purring cats. They really can be friendly, BUT, even if they're playing they can inflict severe damage. Not something I'd recommend people doing.
Just stick with 'did you see the size of those PAWS???'
Probably an impopulair opinion, but I think this is wrong. Its a wild animal, it should not live indoors but go to a special sanctuary. I think its typical that some people think they can just buy anything they want and not look at what is best for the animal (declawing for example is extremely cruel). And by posting tons of photos and vids online, other people will see this as normal and some might even want this too. Not a good thing if you ask me.
Yes, when my mom suggested we declaw our cat, I told her no. Yes, its dangerous for a puma to be in the house with claws, but if you have to declaw an animal in order to keep it, that just shows you probably shouldn’t have it. Cats are upsessed with their claws, its their pride and defense mechanism. Someone might ask “Why does a cat need claws if they aren’t going to live outside?”. Well, there are threats inside a home too;mice, bugs, children that are bothersome, and a cat loses some confidence when you take away their claws because they feel unsafe with out their natural weapons.
Also, declawing a cat is like cutting a person's finger at the last joint, bone and everything. It can cause many problems to the poor animal, including chronic pain and back malformations. It is terribly cruel. Many countries have banned this procedure, fortunately. Any person who says that his/her cat is perfectly happy without its claws should be forced to undergo the same procedure and see if they like the experience.
it's also like taking a bit of your finger off at the first knuckle
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
I have an elderly cat that was declawed due to cat fights. She loves doing roundhouse thumps on dogs' heads,and terrorizes the pit bulls. She doesn't miss her claws, instead, she revels in the fact that she can 'scratch' anything and not get yelled at, something her younger 'siblings' can't claim. All cats are individuals. She'll be 18 this year, and going strong. She's also boss cat--and everybody else has claws!
It was raised in a zoo before it became their house guest. It would have never survived in the wild. Although I think their living conditions are too small for it, they do appear to be taking good care of it.
Have you read the story? Is there a guarantee that another place xan take better care of the cat? What if not? I don' t think they are promoting this kind of decision rather just sharing their experience. If the cat was not well taken care of and now is, I got no problem with that. And it doesn't make me want to own a wild animal just like movies about seri killers do not put killing thoughts into my head. For me it's just their uniqie story and I definitely won't be one shaming people for wanting to share it.
There are places that would take far better care of this creature than this couple... Big Cat Rescue comes to mind.
fair enough but in the end you should be angry at the zoo for domesticating in the first place. The family merely stepped in and did the right thing by looking after it. Putting it back in the wild would simply be a death sentence. If the couple took it out of the wild to domesticate it, it would be different. BUT they have done the right thing by the animal.
Then you clearly haven't paid attention to the story of Messi and I_Am_Puma. Messi is unfit to go back into the wild, and is actually incredibly small compared to other male Puma's. Do some research before saying this is wrong.
You're right about the declawing of animals, but how is it in any way wrong to take pictures with animals at a zoo or with your pets? But nobody says a thing about poachers on websites like Google, posing with dead innocent animals like wolfs, wild big cats and other wild animals on the extinction list. Sounds very ass backwards to me. I rather see people taking pictures with LIVE ANIMALS THAN DEAD ANIMALS THAT THEY'VE KILLED FOR KICKS!
I guess in this case the needs of the animal are put before the needs of humans. Which i am a fan of. Humans are no more or less important. putting this animal in the wild after domestication is far more cruel. In this case the survival of the fittest is not a fair argument as the puma has already been domesticated by people. it would simply be a death sentence for the puma. The issue is with the zoo to begin with. This family has essentially stepped in to love a creature that has already been abused by people. Would you leave a house cat in the wild after being domesticated.
It appears that you imply that THIS puma has been declawed. That is not true. Watch a YouTube videos - this puma has its full claws which (claws) are taking care of in a proper way - the same as performed for any cat or dog in Canada by a vet clinic. Please also try to provide “why” posting photos or videos online is not a good thing?
It's not an unpopular opinion in my eyes. I only wish more people thought the same way.
unpopular opinion it may be but doesn't make it correct either you should be using your holier than thou opinion on the zoo in the first place. The couple simply stepped in and did the right thing. They take it for walks take it outside feed it well and love it obviously. I am very pro animal life and nature orientated but the opinion reeks of ignorance and lack of research into the article
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Big deal. Every single animal we domesticated started out as a wild animal at one point in history.