(Suggested by “Unknowable.” His cat’s a fan.)
This nice couple has a pet cougar named Messi. That’s him lounging on the couch. He also has his own cougar bed.
Jean-Pierre Hallet said just about any animal responds to love and affection; and to prove it, he tamed an adult rhino and used to ride around on its back.
Messi acts like a great big pussycat. It’s very nice that he hasn’t eaten either of his humans yet.
Oh, well. Iguanas are supposed to be fierce and grumpy, but mine was just a big green pussycat.
Careful Iquanas bite.
Wow, it looks very much like an ordinary house cat, but I wouldn’t be brave enough to try this.
As a fan of Messi, and having learned as much as I can about him, I will chime in.
Erlene is 100 % right; this is definitely not something I would recommend trying. Messi is an unusual case. He was born in captivity, in a petting zoo. Unfortunately, his health was precarious. The people who now care for him saw him at that zoo when he was 8 months old and fell in love, making arrangements to purchase him the very next day. The zoo felt that he was not viable without a lot of special care and had planned on euthanizing him. (That was painful to even type.) Messi’s new caretakers, Alexander and Mary, worked hard to restore him to health. Even so, Messi is only about 60-70% the size of the typical male Mountain Lion. He would not be viable living outdoors and even if he were, Mountain Lions are not native to Russia, so he cannot live in the wild.
Messi has shown no aggression towards his human caregivers, nor to visitors. I have seen videos where Alexander has restrained him, or even moved him, with no sign of aggression on the part of this 97 pound feline. It is notable that Mountain Lions have more in common with a house cat than they have in common with “greater cats”, such as lions, tigers, jaguars or leopards. They purr and act in a manner very familiar to anyone that has ever had a house cat. Obviously, like any feline, they can do a lot of damage, but tamed and docile Mountain Lions are not unknown.
Messi is loved and showered with affection. He is well behaved, including having taken obedience training such as is given to dogs.I’ve seen videos of Messi, one huge cat among many dogs. heeling, sitting, lying and performing other tasks on command, every bit as well-behaved as any dog. I’ve also seen a video when Messi was being given a shower and decided that he had enough and bolted. Alexander followed him and ordered him back to the shower. There was a hiss on Messi’s part, but with nothing more than a verbal command from his owner, Messi went back and finished his shower. I doubt greatly that my house cat would be so compliant, in the same situation
It’s obvious that I’m a big fan of Messi. This is in great part because of my love for felines of all sorts, but also because I look forward to the restitution of all things which will include mankind and the animal kingdom being returned to the state they had before the fall of mankind. Animals are a wonderful gift to mankind. Well treated animals can be very affectionate and very noble. In Messi, just as is the case with my own pet cat, I see a pure an innocent heart; a creature free of deceit or false motive. I see Messi as a perfect example of the future hope of restoration in the Kingdom of God, with Christ as king.
Thanks for this: I’d been wondering about his background story.
Oops, I forgot to subscribe.
I’m trying to imagine how big his litter box would have to be. 🙂
To say nothing of his food bill.
Messi is taken outdoors for a walk twice a day. If Messi needs a trip to the litterbox at other times he is trained to use the bathtub.
My mother had a cat like that. You always had to do a visual check of the bathtub before stepping in or even turning on the water. But he used the bathtub only for the (shall we say?) solid matter. Liquid went into the litter box.
If you want to take a shower, first look down.