A cat that size can easily kill an adult human being, but this male cougar (puma, mountain lion, catamount, whatever) named Messi seems surprisingly docile, uttering not a single peep while his owner gives him a thorough, professional washing, and the owner's wife/girlfriend gamely videos the entire event.
I come away with mixed feelings. First, it wouldn't surprise me if, a couple years from now, we were to read a story with a headline like "Russian couple killed by pet mountain lion for no apparent reason." There would be a reason, of course: the thing is a goddamn wild animal. At the same time, as I watched the big cat crane its neck and adjust its posture so that his owner could wash him down more easily, I couldn't help seeing the puma as a big cutie. And at the end of the video, when Messi retreats into his "doghouse," it's easy to give in to the delusion that the animal has been completely domesticated. This is obviously far from the truth: any wild animal in the home is a potential danger. Still, if the animal truly feels love and security, and if the couple are happy to keep tending to it, then I cautiously applaud this strange relationship for as long as it lasts. May it not end in tragedy.
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