Majestic Puma Rescued From The Zoo Lives As A Spoiled House Cat

Mariya and Aleksandr Dmitriev share a one-bedroom apartment with an odd pet animal – Messi. No not the star himself, but his namesake – a 90lb puma. The Russian couple first spotted Messi at the Saransk Zoo in Penza when he was just eight-months-old and they decided to take a shot and have him.

Messi was one of three pumas born at the zoo. The other two, Suarez and Neymar, were also named after famous players to celebrate the Russian city hosting four matches of the World Cup. Messi was sold to the Saransk Zoo when he was only three months old and suffered from health problems. Enamored with the sickly zoo animal the Dmitriev's appealed to the owners and asked if they could buy him.