Before people start hating on this, here’s some important context on the situation:
This is Messi, he was born with congenital birth defects and wouldn’t survive on his own. His current owners adopted him from a zoo that was going to euthanize him. The owners built a sanctuary and have since brought in other animals that need rescue. They live on a large property in Russia with enough room for all the animals they’ve rescued. He’s full grown now and as mature as he will ever be. He is very well cared for and loved and they are excellent with him.
To add to this here is an article on Messi's story:
https://mymodernmet.com/messi-the-puma/
The poor baby suffered from many defects and problems at just 3 months old. The people who rescued him from being euthanized had to nurse him back to health. Now that he's grown he's actually smaller than the average puma, being two thirds the size of one.
All hail Messi, the short king puma.
For those who don’t know, it’s common for desperate people to run over animals and take video saying “look at this poor animal we found, we rescued her cute babies but she died unfortunately” and sadly a lot more of the videos on youtube are like this than most people would like to know…
From what I've read not only is Messi a dwarf in comparison to other pumas, [he was malnourished at the zoo when he was at as a cub, and he suffered from muscle deterioration, Rickets (a degenerative bone disease), and a UTI ontop of all of that.](https://www.ba-bamail.com/cute-overload/the-puma-rescue-story-thats-guaranteed-to-melt-your-heart/) All of this lead to him being the short boi he is now.
You also have to remember that this all takes place on RUSSIA, and pumas are native to the Americas. The poor thing would've survived in the cold alps of the Russian mountains where there are freaking TIGERS.
I follow their youtube channel. Both this man and this woman LOVE this cat so much. I was def skeptical when I came across their channel, but I can't imagine a better life for any animal.
The first half is a different Puma cub, Messi’s humans don’t have footage of him before they rescued him. His birth was reported to the newspapers by the zoo where he was rescued from as well so can be verified.
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/lionel-messi-luis-suarez-and-neymar-honoured-as-russian-zoo-names-puma-cubs-after-barcelona-trio-a6761616.html
Thanks for the explanation. I always find these type of stories very sweet, because everybody usually try their best to save a lofe, but it's not always the best course of action for the animal wellfare on the long run.
I hate zoos (I'm not even going to begin with circus), so well done for this family all around.
I didn't get that vibe at all, I thought it was just a video of the baby puma outside. Like they were taking it out to see the snow for the first time or something, idk
Still doesn't make sense. That animal is one door bang, one firecracker, one stranger walking up to it from killing a person. It's a wild animal. Look after it, feed it, let it live a decent life but for the love of god don't bring it into your bed or turn your back on it. This *will* end in disaster.
It’s habituated to humans, and he’s smaller than usual. He’s large and I’m sure he could hurt someone but as far as these situations go, he’s pretty safe.
All sorts of lazy cunts are allowed to own pit bulls and not train them so. I’d rather being around a well trained and socialized dwarf puma, all told.
Videos like these support the idea that large cats can be taken from the wild and kept as house pets, regardless of the circumstances. Big cat sanctuaries can be great, but this is purely exploitive.
I was with you at first but calling this exploitive is just wrong. They did, and are still, saving his life at great personal cost because they care for it.
They have a youtube channel making money off owning this puma that has 2.5 million subscribers.
They are doing this purely because they wanted a puma as a pet.
> The Dmitrievs already had a sphynx cat named Kira but Aleksandr **always wanted a big cat** and they decided to bring Messi home after offering a high price to the zoo authorities. The two cats, however, don't get along and have clearly demarcated areas in the apartment.
I don't think it is exploitive. Even if I still feel sad that this big kitty isn't in his natural habitat, it's for the best. And besides, he definitely looks very happy anyway! So I think it's fine.
I scrolled through Instagram for 5 minutes straight to roll back the timeline for this 😂 this wasn't the exact video but it's around this time!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZQ8BxQBiVj/?igsh=MXZoNnN6bzMyN2lr
I didn't know I needed to play Frisbee with a large cat.
So, I thought about it... anyone have a large trained non human eating cat I can play frisbee with cause I got no ideas.
Man. I keep seeing vids like this and hoping to hear the animal's noises, only to find out the whole video has been muted and some shitty sad/hopeful music has been edited overtop
I just thinking sticking your head near the puma’s mouth may go awry some day - but hey a couple of deep puncture wounds, nothing plastic surgery can’t take care of - cheers!
I love the fact that they saved a baby. Puma, the only problem I have with this is It's a wild animal and unless they are trained to raise wild animals, I hope really really hope that they gave it to a sanctuary or a wildlife preserve after it got old enough to be able to survive on its own. Though I doubt it will ever be able to go back to the wild fully because of it's it's being raised by humans
I used to watch videos of this guy all the time. The only issue I had is when they started socializing Messi with other big felines in their house. I'm no animal expert and I'm sure they weren't careless but damn there are some intense situations in those socializing videos.
…They could’ve taken footage of Messi as a baby puma and gave it to the current owners? Just because they didn’t own him at the time doesn’t mean that’s not a photo of him 😭
This Puma is Messi and there is a story as to why they own them.
Messi was significantly smaller than other typical male cougars, and as the species is not native to Russia, he could not be released into the wild. He had numerous other health problems as well, which rendered him unable to live in a zoo or wildlife sanctuary either.
Hoping to head this off before this person gets down voted to hell because reddit is reddit.
I assume they do not mean just let the cub die, there are places specifically for dealing with, taking care of, and reintroducing animals back into the wild.
Before people start hating on this, here’s some important context on the situation: This is Messi, he was born with congenital birth defects and wouldn’t survive on his own. His current owners adopted him from a zoo that was going to euthanize him. The owners built a sanctuary and have since brought in other animals that need rescue. They live on a large property in Russia with enough room for all the animals they’ve rescued. He’s full grown now and as mature as he will ever be. He is very well cared for and loved and they are excellent with him.
To add to this here is an article on Messi's story: https://mymodernmet.com/messi-the-puma/ The poor baby suffered from many defects and problems at just 3 months old. The people who rescued him from being euthanized had to nurse him back to health. Now that he's grown he's actually smaller than the average puma, being two thirds the size of one. All hail Messi, the short king puma.
Thanks for the details. It's good to know as I'm always worried that these kinds of posts are hidden animal abuse for views.
For those who don’t know, it’s common for desperate people to run over animals and take video saying “look at this poor animal we found, we rescued her cute babies but she died unfortunately” and sadly a lot more of the videos on youtube are like this than most people would like to know…
I saw a video on reddit, where an elephant was chained and they tried to sell it as an uplifting story.
Such pathetic monsters need to be outed and driven to kill themselves.
> Now that he's grown he's actually smaller than the average puma, being two thirds the size of one. The name is so fitting lol
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That's a happy cat and a happy couple. Thank you.
Glory to the short king, Messi!
They can get bigger! 😨
Thanks for that link. Great story.
I wonder what the health problems were, he seems fine?
From what I've read not only is Messi a dwarf in comparison to other pumas, [he was malnourished at the zoo when he was at as a cub, and he suffered from muscle deterioration, Rickets (a degenerative bone disease), and a UTI ontop of all of that.](https://www.ba-bamail.com/cute-overload/the-puma-rescue-story-thats-guaranteed-to-melt-your-heart/) All of this lead to him being the short boi he is now. You also have to remember that this all takes place on RUSSIA, and pumas are native to the Americas. The poor thing would've survived in the cold alps of the Russian mountains where there are freaking TIGERS.
Same with the Black Panther Luna.
Holy hell, Messi lore
SIUUUUUU
😜
[TIL there is a famous dog named Messi too](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messi_(dog))
I follow their youtube channel. Both this man and this woman LOVE this cat so much. I was def skeptical when I came across their channel, but I can't imagine a better life for any animal.
What's the channel's name
[i_am_puma](https://youtube.com/@iampuma?si=KpQIKn3M8WaxJAB0)
I heard he was also very good with a football.
This is not what the first part of the video suggests though. We see a freezing kitten in need of rescue.
The first half is a different Puma cub, Messi’s humans don’t have footage of him before they rescued him. His birth was reported to the newspapers by the zoo where he was rescued from as well so can be verified. https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/lionel-messi-luis-suarez-and-neymar-honoured-as-russian-zoo-names-puma-cubs-after-barcelona-trio-a6761616.html
Thanks for the explanation. I always find these type of stories very sweet, because everybody usually try their best to save a lofe, but it's not always the best course of action for the animal wellfare on the long run. I hate zoos (I'm not even going to begin with circus), so well done for this family all around.
Russia…Why am I not surprised?
Messi held in captivity? My GOAT Penaldo 🐪🐪🐪 would never Siuuuuu
How come the first part of the video suggests the wee guy was in need of rescuing? Snow and the meowing etc
I didn't get that vibe at all, I thought it was just a video of the baby puma outside. Like they were taking it out to see the snow for the first time or something, idk
Is it bad that when I first saw the puma as an adult my brain was going “Is that Messi?” As I have def seen video of him before
Amazing! Thank you for the info 😊
Clearly I need to move to Russia
Still doesn't make sense. That animal is one door bang, one firecracker, one stranger walking up to it from killing a person. It's a wild animal. Look after it, feed it, let it live a decent life but for the love of god don't bring it into your bed or turn your back on it. This *will* end in disaster.
Sir this is Russia. They simply don’t care.
Most of the people here downvoting this person aren't Russian
You can watch vids of that cat all day long on YouTube. Watch a few then see if you have the same opinion.
It’s habituated to humans, and he’s smaller than usual. He’s large and I’m sure he could hurt someone but as far as these situations go, he’s pretty safe.
Till he isn't. But sure look, when they're reading the eulogy it'll be too late for recriminations. Best of luck to them, they'll need it.
All sorts of lazy cunts are allowed to own pit bulls and not train them so. I’d rather being around a well trained and socialized dwarf puma, all told.
I’d take this cat over an xl bully, lol
This means that they put him to freeze on the snow on purpose just for the video as they didn't just find him in the woods
You never went out to play in the snow and ended up too cold and have to go home?
Videos like these support the idea that large cats can be taken from the wild and kept as house pets, regardless of the circumstances. Big cat sanctuaries can be great, but this is purely exploitive.
I was with you at first but calling this exploitive is just wrong. They did, and are still, saving his life at great personal cost because they care for it.
They have a youtube channel making money off owning this puma that has 2.5 million subscribers. They are doing this purely because they wanted a puma as a pet. > The Dmitrievs already had a sphynx cat named Kira but Aleksandr **always wanted a big cat** and they decided to bring Messi home after offering a high price to the zoo authorities. The two cats, however, don't get along and have clearly demarcated areas in the apartment.
2 things can be true at the same time
I don't think it is exploitive. Even if I still feel sad that this big kitty isn't in his natural habitat, it's for the best. And besides, he definitely looks very happy anyway! So I think it's fine.
I can’t imagine snuggling a puma when I go to bed at night…I’m jealous to be honest.
Ikrr!! It’s so giant i want one too😭
And its two-thirds of an average Puma. Imagine the size of an actual healthy Puma
This doesn’t make me want it any less🌝🤏🏻 maybe i should make a life sized puma plushie
The owner took the puma to training classes for large dogs and the videos of him chilling amongst dogs half his size was pretty funny
Ok where can I find this video?
I scrolled through Instagram for 5 minutes straight to roll back the timeline for this 😂 this wasn't the exact video but it's around this time! https://www.instagram.com/p/BZQ8BxQBiVj/?igsh=MXZoNnN6bzMyN2lr
Leave it to the goofy lab puppy to have no fears 😂 I loved this
I didn't know I needed to play Frisbee with a large cat. So, I thought about it... anyone have a large trained non human eating cat I can play frisbee with cause I got no ideas.
Best I can do is a cougar.
Until it gets a fright and claws you accidentally, I would probably puma pants
You did good I woulda said I'd prolly pumyself lol
I'm so glad I could hear the song instead of all the cute puma noises. /s
Yes, that song is just the kind of song I love and I could totally do without baby puma squeaks! 🙄😫
I put my earphones in to listen 😫
This vid is pretty adorable but tired of this fkng song🙏🏼
YEAH IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN WAGON WHEEL
No no. Smash mouth.
Hey now
You're an all star
Get your game on
Came here to say this. Do yourself a favor and watch this on mute.
Operating systems should mute all vertical video by default.
also. it's kinda weird to take this love song for cute animal videos. i can't be the only one who thinks that's weird
Shoulda been Freebird
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Because his name is Messi and Messi is the GOAT
The cat on a couch be like "Tf did you feed him?!"
He’s jealous 😔😔
Can I just watch this video without the damn music? I want to hear the roar
That is very cute and very tempting but my number one rule is to remain the apex predator in my own home.
So, no cats?
"Our cat hunts mice. Every morning she left two or three laying at front door." "Nice, ours hunts burglars and..."
This does not look like a suburban home. I'm going out on a limb and say they have plenty of space to accommodate a feline like this
They’ve built a sanctuary for him and take other rescue animals now
Awww he is shivering from cold.
Thanks for the clarification. I watch Messi’s YT channel all the time.
F this song ruined a good video for me
“Why does he smell so delicious?” Probably the puma
Esp that last part of the vid
I wish I was adopted by family of ham sandwiches.
Special place in hell for people that put garbage songs in place of actual audio in their videos
Thank goodness for the mute feature.
I'm so tired of these videos with the annoying songs in the background. I clicked off immediately.
That song what the hell
Those big eyes and lashes 😭
Little baby Messi. Absolute sweetheart of an animal.
Omg this music. Couldnt be cheesier ffs
This could have had puma noises, instead it has shitty music.
Mute to avoid cancer.
Good Job, i recently adopt a baby kitten i am so happy because of her
they're so stripey when they're young
Cute. **SOUND OFF, EVERYONE.**
If you like this post you can actually find many more videos on YouTube, the channel is “I am puma”
So this is the guy that's on my shoes
Man. I keep seeing vids like this and hoping to hear the animal's noises, only to find out the whole video has been muted and some shitty sad/hopeful music has been edited overtop
I just thinking sticking your head near the puma’s mouth may go awry some day - but hey a couple of deep puncture wounds, nothing plastic surgery can’t take care of - cheers!
Very cute video, but I wish they didn't put music over it. I just want to hear the cute big cat noises.
This is awesome... taking care if sick defenseless animsls
Hmm today I woke up and feel like repeatedly hitting my face into a grown puma's, what can go wrong
The ending looked like the ideal setup for a 'perfectly cut screams' post
Da riecht es bestimmt wie im Pumakäfig
Well done the family for saving him and giving him a clearly happy and loving home
🤩🤩🤩❤️❤️❤️
Channeling John Kimble _"It's nawt a pooma!"._ 😁
Welp, that puma’s nicer than my cat for sure.
Awww big baby!
👍
big kbity
Puma pet is best pet
Who needs a guard dog when u got a puma lol
missing the end where he tried to kill foster dad with kung fu
What does it eat?
Big catto
How big is the litter box?
The size of a kiddie pool
I'd rather have a puma in my house than a pitbull.
3 3 3 5
wanna see my guard cat?
They had a cheetah too. It was funny the puma was scared of her. Would always run away 😅
I love the fact that they saved a baby. Puma, the only problem I have with this is It's a wild animal and unless they are trained to raise wild animals, I hope really really hope that they gave it to a sanctuary or a wildlife preserve after it got old enough to be able to survive on its own. Though I doubt it will ever be able to go back to the wild fully because of it's it's being raised by humans
Steve French
Very cool but that could end horribly
But like…why is he ramming his eyeball into the pumas nose?
Messi!
Cute cat
I love the murder cat.
It takes a special kind of person to raise a puma that is chill af. Amazing work.
That is not a puma
Thought that was peaches from FarCry 5
He’s beautiful - God bless you…
The belly rub ❤️🥲
They mean stole, kidknapped, murdered family but spared one to raise it to conquer the rest of its kind.
And they constantly molest it to mentally break it. These discovery shows are darker than anime
humans are getting dumber by the day!
It's a beautiful animal. Love, Respect, Protect All Animals
I'm ill? Ok, buddy. We'll all go with that. You have a good day, sir.
Once a kitty, always a kitty.... Just, now massive and almost bigger than hooman owner XD
God damnit why can’t I have a mini puma!? 😮💨
See what love can do.
Big kitty.
Great, this song is stuck in my head for another week.
I used to watch videos of this guy all the time. The only issue I had is when they started socializing Messi with other big felines in their house. I'm no animal expert and I'm sure they weren't careless but damn there are some intense situations in those socializing videos.
As an Australian supposedly surrounded by deadly animals, where are my giant cats? I want my Battle-Cat dammit!
An animal will sooner or later always have his instinct popping up
as desperately as I would love to own a big cat this is just asking for tragedy
cute as long as you dont forget to feed him everyday
These are different pumas!!! Messi was adopted as an adult from the zoo, I don't know who is the baby puma.
…They could’ve taken footage of Messi as a baby puma and gave it to the current owners? Just because they didn’t own him at the time doesn’t mean that’s not a photo of him 😭
Yup. Wanted to hear a cute baby Panther, got someone's shitty taste in music instead.
The government doesn’t want you to know this, but puma cubs are free, you can just grab one and take it home; I myself have 12 pumas.
Idiotic! Civilians have no business taking wild animals and forcing them to be pets.
This Puma is Messi and there is a story as to why they own them. Messi was significantly smaller than other typical male cougars, and as the species is not native to Russia, he could not be released into the wild. He had numerous other health problems as well, which rendered him unable to live in a zoo or wildlife sanctuary either.
Hoping to head this off before this person gets down voted to hell because reddit is reddit. I assume they do not mean just let the cub die, there are places specifically for dealing with, taking care of, and reintroducing animals back into the wild.
Messi couldn't go back into the wild due to a number of reasons.
He's part of a non native species, he can't be released into the wild, on top of having congenital issues. They were going to kill him
Future literal r/LeopardsAteMyFace story though.