Messi the Pet Cougar Shows us Big Cats CAN be Domesticated

Clips of Messi, Luna, and Irma belong to their copyright owners. They are included here for the purposes of education, comment, and criticism.
Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research.
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Check out exotic pet articles on PetHelpful (References and Sources provided!): pethelpful.com/@melissaasmith
~Education is Key~
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[@angelmartin7310]

I love that you made this video. I hate this war on exotic pet ownership. Few people are bold enough to speak out on this.
I'm so shocked to hear someone else theorize that big cat temperament is more mellow and friendly than small cats, ive noticed the same pattern. I've interacted with incredibly friendly lionesses and tigers. Lionesses especially have been the friendliest animals I've ever met in many ways. Even upon first meeting me.
I have a kangal, and as sweet as she is, it's laughable to think she is realistically less dangerous than a cougar. They have the same bite force! She lacks the claws although she doesn't seem to agree the way she likes to "claw" my cats lol. And i have seen multiple cases of pet cougars being the sweetest, most affectionate, most attached pets you can imagine. Not just Messi.
I too envy Russia. Sometimes it's like they are the free country now and we are behind an iron curtain.

[@nurtheon694]

hey I love your vids, I have some advice for you though, generally with this type of content, especially video essays and such, you can really benefit from something like a face cam/vutuber rig/ or just a PNG with some editing to establish a personality of the person behind the voice. it just adds somethin to look at and distinguish your channel from stock footage clips and such and I think it would boost your videos in the algorithm to have a mascot of some sort behind your vids, I love the content you make already but I think adding that would boost engagement imo and reach more people. much love !

[@Maspets]

Thanks, I'm new to the video essay opinion format, but it's apparent I need to explore more topics here. I've seen those avatar-type things and a lot seem to have professional-looking ones. Not sure how to go about that or what to choose.

[@ChessMasterNate]

I see the current situation with pets in the US as analogous to the situation with religions in ancient Rome. The government had to approve your religion, or it would not be permitted, and they only accepted religions that had been espoused for a long time, or many people around them already worshiped that god. Similarly, the government approves of your pet or bans it, mostly based on how long they have been domesticated, or how many people already have them. And it holds in other ways too. It is true that there are dangers with very young religions, just like there are dangers very early in domestication of uncommon pets.
Eventually, government advanced and provided freedom of religion. Maybe not completely free. We don't allow cannibalism, some forms of desecration, very young marriage, polygamy, killing of apostates, and a few other things that are common in uncommon religions/denominations. Maybe we will get sane pet laws at some point as well. Hopefully, before animals are extinct or the gene pools so low, there is little chance for domestication.
Fear and mythology also play a role in the public and government opinions of the dangers of specific religions or pets.

[@Splashstar216]

It's a shame that once an animal is officially endangered it becomes nearly impossible to get one as a pet. The opposite should be true. Pets are where a population will be sure to thrive and grow.

[@bestcoolmoneysausage]

exotic pets should be in hands of kind responsible owners only. so is true for non exotic pets too.

[@nonyabusiness9582]

Too bad it cooker isn't considered a big cat... I know it's large in size however it's not one of the big cats.. and that has been hand-raised and her parents came from a zoo it's different and it's not the same size as other cougars.. it's like a runt.. normal Mel kiper's get upwards of 200 lbs
Also where do people think we get are domesticated animals from at one point or another they got wild animals and they tamed them the same thing can be said for big cats it's just going to take multiple generations... However the repercussions are a lot worse because of their claws and bite . But I don't know who would want a big cat I mean cats already grumpy but holds the don't show much emotion in aren't like dogs they're happy and want to see you and bring a smile to you, cats just are needy angry brats

[@Splashstar216]

I want big cats as pets lol. Many others do as well.

[@PantheraOnca60]

This is an asinine video.
Messi's owners themselves have assisted in creating legislation in Russia to outlaw the private ownership of exotic cats. Messi is a very rare exception to the rule that wild cats are extremely dangerous. Even if they don't attack their owners, they play rough, and it only takes one dig, from one claw, to inflict a fatal injury.
Wolves are naturally social creatures; with the exception of African lions, cats are not. It has been 10,000 years since people began to domesticate wolves, and even nowadays wolf-dog hybrids are far more dangerous than ordinary domestic dogs. The idea that people ought to be able to own wild cats as pets is ludicrous -- and unfair to the an9mals themselves.

[@Maspets]

Okay, all the stupidity in your comment aside...seriously?? That would make Messi's owners pieces of garbage. Wish I had known that for sure. Disgraceful.