In Penza, Russia we find a two-year-old puma named Messi. This feline has an Instagram page and 300K followers viewing its mischiefs and good looks. But don’t expect to find this house cat at your local zoo or animal sanctuary – the furry fellow actually lives out his life in a typical apartment home with two people and one of their regular cats!
When the Dmitrievs first saw Messi, he was just a little baby. They instantly fell in love with him and wanted to know more about his life story so they asked the zoo owners for all of their information on this cute kitten.
In October of 2015, Messi’s mom birthed him at the Saransk city zoo. But he experienced lots of health issues when he was just three months old, so the petting zoo took him off their hands. Once they heard about his story and saw how sickly little guy looked, Dmitrievs asked to buy Messi from them – but not before giving up on buying a tiny lamb for themselves first!
When the Dmitriev family adopted Messi, they knew that he would have a lot of medical needs and be targeted by other pumas if released in the wild. So at home, they tried domesticating him which proved to be quite difficult for them as parents since it was their first time taking on such an endeavor.
Maria and Aleksandr knew how important Messi’s needs were to him, so they came up with an extensive list of ways that he could be happy. They added a tree in the corner for scratching purposes, since cats love trees; hung bamboo on the walls because it is calming like catnip; made scratchers out of door jambs using old wood from their building material supplies stash–anything was better than another scratch post! And finally, they set up a mirrored wall so that when Messi got bored or lonely he would have something entertaining to do…a mirror just makes everything look totally different!
When Messi was diagnosed with cystitis, he had to go potty a lot. His master decided that the best option would be to create an indoor litter box for him out of their bathtub by placing a step stool over it. The cat began his toilet training and now goes outside at designated times during the day too! However, there’s still one more issue: Messi is dealing with chronic health problems which need attention as well.
As a cub, Messi had muscular atrophy and rickets. The neglect he received caused his muscles to weaken as well as fractures in the bones–which made him limp when walking. Even after this time of care by loving owners, each day they would walk longer distances but it seemed that those early scars never left because these walks would cause pain every so often which is why they changed up their routine daily for an hour or two before dinner where instead of going out on long strolls like usual, Messi was given mineral and vitamin supplements while being walked around inside with short distance laps until dinnertime came near at nightfall once again
The Dmitrievs tried to find someone who could train him so he would be healthy and active again but was turned down by several animal handlers due to safety concerns. Then they met with bobcat trainer on one-on-one sessions at her school for dogs where she showed them how smart this wild cat can really be!
Messi was a playful cat who enjoyed being stroked and cuddling. He loved to play, but he learned not to claw or bite his humans while they played with him. Some people weren’t thrilled about having Messi around though!
The Dmitrievs already had six-year old Sphynx cat called Kira, which they got before their new pet Messi. When the two creatures met for the first time, Messi tried playing with Kira but she wasn’t into him. She lashed out at him using her claws and hissed louder than ever! The family thought that it might be just because of different personalities.
The Dmitrievs adopted this talented animal from an orphanage when he was only three months old after
When the Dmitrievs were trying to figure out what they could feed their new big cat, Messi, there was very little information available. They decided on raw meat for his diet and are now committed to a strict routine that ensures he lives a healthy life. But it hasn’t been all smooth sailing-the couple has had some setbacks along the way too!
Environmental organizations and animal rights activists have demanded that the Dmitrievs surrender Messi to a wildlife reserve or sanctuary. They believe that wild animals can be dangerous because they cannot truly become domesticated, but the Dmitriev family believes it’s doing nothing wrong by keeping him as their pet.
Messi is unable to live in the wild on his own even when placed in a sanctuary. The Dmitrievs firmly believe this, but they don’t encourage others to do what they did because Messi’s situation is unique. Other people disagree with their logic, but regardless of whether or not you agree he should be living among humans instead of other animals like himself- it seems that for now at least- he does better surrounded by human love and care than out there all alone where an animal could find him first as prey before realizing who/what he was!
With the laws in Russia being so limited to what may happen with animals, it’s no surprise that there are many who disapprove of an animal trainer and his family having a wild lion named Messi. As more people watch videos online or on TV about this unusual situation, they become divided as to whether he should be free or not – but regardless, we can all agree that these Dmitrievs have some crazy stories!
On Youtube, Messi has about 25 thousand followers but on Instagram, he boasts 295 thousand following him thanks to winning people over from around the globe with videos of him playing ball or showing off new moves. Although only 2 years old, this big cat adaptation especially well into domestic life as it can be seen how much they love each other at home when together- not surprising considering that since birth these couples have spent every day
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