Russian couple share home with cougar

A Russian couple and their two-year-old cougar have been trending on social media.
The giant pet has become a social media celebrity, amassing more than 300,000 Instagram followers and earning thousands of views on his YouTube channel.

Alexandr Dmitriev and his wife Mariya have been sharing their small, studio apartment with Messi since they adopted the big playful cat in 2016.

Messi follows a strict grooming routine, including daily bath, having his nails trimmed, his teeth checked and receiving a special brush-down every day.

The house-pet eats twice a day with a diet consisting of turkey, beef, a bit of chicken breast and some bones. It costs 10 US dollars per day, according to the couple.

“The first time we saw him in the zoo, I think we both had the same feeling towards this animal,” Mariya Dmitriev told Barcroft, a Youtube channel. “It was such excitement, such tenderness. Like, I don’t know, it‘s impossible to grasp but it was very strong.”

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