He’s not your usual pet. But Messi, a two-and-a-half-year-old puma, lives like a coddled house cat with married couple Mariya and Aleksandr Dmitriev. The three share a one-bedroom apartment in Penza, Russia, with the hallway converted into the puma’s playpen. But it’s no mean feat housing this unusual house pet as the cougar has reached a whopping 90 pounds (approx. 41 kg) since being adopted.
Mariya and Aleksandr found Messi as a sickly cub at the Saransk Zoo in Penza in early 2017. He was 8 months old and suffered from health problems that he'd sustained since being bought by the zoo five months earlier. Messi was one of three cubs born together in captivity: the Saransk Zoo named all three cubs after famous football players to celebrate their city hosting four matches of the World Cup.
The couple are not unaware of the moral implications of their choice to keep Messi in their home. Animal rights activists have also made audible objections and believe that Messi should be living on a wildlife reserve. Others are more concerned for the safety of the couple.
When Messi arrived home, it became obvious just how much care and attention he would need. He was still weak and needed medical care, not to mention regular exercise and a specialized meal program. Mariya and Aleksandr have poured love and diligence into the well-being of their new heavyweight housemate, however, and have all but nursed the cub back to health. Still, owing to his history of poor health in captivity, he is still only two-thirds of the size of a puma in the wild.
And it turns out that Messi is something of a gentle giant. His conscientious owners attempted to find a wild animal handler to help them ensure that Messi’s behavior remains manageable, but they had no luck: dog training appeared to be the next best bet. They attended training, diligently, and Messi now responds to over 10 different commands.
As Messi has never lived outside captivity, the couple believe he is happiest and safest exactly where he is. “Messi is a special animal,” Mariya said, with love.