For Someone With A Small One Bedroom Flat,

a cat is a good choice for a pet,

but I am not so sure about a cougar, the second-largest feline in the Americas, after the Jaguar, is such a great idea, but it did not put Aleksandr and Maria Dmitriev, a young couple from Penza, Russia, off of the idea of sharing their home with a mountain lion for the past three years, but Messi was born in a petting zoo and has spent most of his life as a house cat, so he basically behaves like an overgrown cat, photographs I_am_Puma/Instagram

in 2018, when they heard that a new born cougar cub at the local petting zoo in Penza was in serious need of medical attention, they couldn’t just sit by, the young couple knew that if they didn’t rescue the young mountain lion, it would likely die, but they also knew that the zoo wasn’t just going to give it to them. So they decided to buy him, and were surprised when the petting zoo actually accepted. They brought Messi home and managed to nurse him back to health, but it didn’t take long for them to realize that if they wanted to keep him, they had to make some adjustments around their home,

Aleksandr and Maria Dmitriev quickly realized that they needed a way to keep Messi in check if they wanted to live together in harmony, but training a mountain lion wasn’t something they were prepared for. Luckily, they found a dog trainer willing to include their unusual pet in one of their classes, and the results were impressive. Messi now follows basic commands like “sit,” “stay,” “come” and “no,” and even to walk on a leash,

the couple’s experience with Messi so far has been “incredibly positive”, but they both admit that living with a big cat does have its challenges. For one, the constant attention means that they can’t take vacations, or even hang out with their friends. A cat sitter for a cat this size is out of the question as well. Then there is the need for raw meat in Messi’s diet, which can cost up to $600 a month, Aleksandr and Maria’s next goal is to switch their one-bedroom apartment for a larger house, where they can offer Messi the space he needs. If they manage to accomplish this goal, they plan to also get a playmate for their pet, another big cat, hopefully a leopard, 

Messi has become somewhat of an online celebrity on social media, sporting an enviable 1.5 million followers on Instagram, 1.8 millions subscribers on YouTube and many more on other platforms, how neat is that, a pet mountain lion in a one bedroom flat? now there's an idea, as both Diana and myself love cats!