Sickly Puma Rescued From Russian Zoo Now Enjoys Life As Pampered House Cat

Exotic pets are now becoming more common. But would you ever consider taking care of a feared predator? A couple decided to adopt a sickly kitten from a Russian zoo and it has now grown into a full-sized puma. Interestingly, the feline acts more like a spoiled little house cat.

Messi is 90lb puma who once lived at the Saransk Zoo in Penza, Russia. The kitten, who was named after soccer legend Lionel Messi, was initially weak when it was brought to the zoo. However, that all changed when Mariya and Aleksandr Dmitriev spotted the kitten and begged to buy it from the zoo. To their surprise, the zoo agreed and they brought Messi home to treat the kitty like an oversized house cat.

Messi acts like a regular house cat around his dad Aleksandr.

The couple admits that it wasn’t easy taking care of the kitten at first. Nevertheless, things got better when Messi healed and began falling in love with its new parents. “We were so happy, and even though he was quite weak and demanded a lot of attention, we didn’t regret our decision at all,” Mariya said.

Messi might be big for a house cat but Mariya says it is actually smaller than most pumas.

“Because of his health problems he is only two-thirds the size of a normal puma and only weighs 90lbs, but that’s still 10 times more than an average cat. Of course, it’s quite dangerous having such a large cat at home, but Messi is a special animal,” she said.

The pretty kitty might look sweet but its fully capable of taking down a large prey.

Interestingly, Messi’s parents believe that the puma is smarter than most cats. “Everyone who knows him thinks he is a human in a puma’s skin. He is very talkative and always answers when we speak to him. Sometimes he agrees with what we say, but sometimes he can be insulted. He’s an incredible animal,” Mariya said.

So are you interested in adopting a puma of your own? Mariya doesn’t recommend it. She claims that Messi is a special case and no one should attempt to domesticate any wild animals.

“We are so lucky he is like he is and we would not recommend having wild cats at home,” Mariya said.