User:SnowyCinema/Messi (cougar)

Messi (Russian: Месси, born 2015) is a pet domesticated cougar owned by the Russian couple Alexandr and Mariya Dmitriev. The family lives in a studio apartment in the city of Penza, Russia. Messi was adopted by the couple in 2016 from a local petting zoo. In 2017, the Dmitrievs started an Instagram account and a YouTube channel for Messi, and these became very popular by 2018. Messi is the first known cougar ever to be kept as a house pet.

Early life
Messi was born in late 2015 in a zoo at Saransk, Mordovia, Russia. He was one of three newborn cougars at the zoo to be named after professional football players for FC Barcelona; Messi was named after Lionel Messi, and the other two were named Suarez and Neymar. The cubs were given these names because Saransk was one of several cities proposed to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Messi was later sold to a petting zoo in Penza when he was three months old.

Messi was significantly smaller than other typical male cougars due to a health condition, so he could not be released into the wild. He had numerous other health issues as well, which deemed him unable to live in a zoo or wildlife sanctuary either. Furthermore, workers at the petting zoo originally planned to euthanize him.

In 2016, Alexandr and Mariya Dmitriev visited the Penza zoo and met Messi for the first time. The couple experienced "love at first sight," and noticed Messi's exceptionally gentle personality. The Dmitrievs considered adopting Messi as a pet, and deliberated for a few days, discussing together the morality and logistics of keeping this animal. The couple made the final decision to adopt Messi from the petting zoo. Alexandr later told MailOnline that he had always dreamed of owning a big cat, particularly a lynx, which was a motivation for adopting Messi. Messi was sickly at the time of his adoption, so the Dmitrievs worked to nurse him to decent health.

Domestic life
Messi lives with Alexandr and Mariya Dmitriev in a small studio apartment in Penza. The hallway of the apartment was modified and was designated as Messi's play area. Toys include empty bottles and balls. The couple also owns a sphynx cat named Kira, but the cat does not tend to take kindly to Messi's company, so the two are kept separated. Messi has a gentle and calm personality, and has never before attacked a person. The Dmitrievs sometimes refer to him as "kitten."

Messi is regarded by his owners as similar to a domestic dog. He is taken to a local dog training facility to be trained, and has learned around 10 commands. The Dmitrievs walk Messi regularly on a leash, coat, and harness through various environments. Messi has peacefully interacted with neighborhood dogs.

Messi is fed twice a day, and his diet mostly consists of raw turkey, beef, and chicken. It costs the Dmitrievs about 630 rubles per day to feed him. The couple regularly bathes Messi in a bathtub and sometimes trims his nails. While Messi often urinates outside, he also urinates in the tub when inside.

The couple plans to move to a bigger house in the near future, and also plans to adopt a leopard as a companion for Messi.

Media attention
In 2017, the Dmitrievs started an Instagram account and YouTube channel for Messi, both called "I_am_puma". Pictures and videos published to these social media accounts show various aspects of daily life with the cougar. Messi's social media accounts quickly skyrocketed in popularity; by January 2018, the Instagram account already had almost 150,000 followers and over 50 million views. The Instagram account currently has over 400,000 followers, and the YouTube channel has over 50,000 subscribers. Mariya is the manager of the social media accounts.

Despite mostly favorable attention on social media, some have criticized the Dmitrievs for keeping Messi under domestic circumstances. Opposers of the domestication of wild animals fear that Messi's wild needs will not be met, and that once Messi reaches sexual maturity he may become more prone to dangerous behavior. They advise the Dmitrievs to send Messi to a wildlife reserve or sanctuary. The Dmitrievs, however, believe that Messi would not be able to survive in wild settings. Also, while the couple discourages big cat domestication in general, they believe that Messi is a special case due to his calm personality.