YOWZAH! SUCH A CAT

W

Willow's Mom

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Messi is so tiny! He is very loved and looks as healthy as he can be, though. The video I watched said he is under a hundred pounds and roughly half the size of a healthy Mountain Lion. That looks about right to me.

I've seen them while hiking and they are beautiful and amazing animals.
 
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doomsdave

doomsdave

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Mountain lions aren't pets, as magnificent as they are.

First off, they're large, and they can really hurt you, unlike smaller cats.

Second, and worse, they go after animals multiple times their size. Feral house cats, bobcats, lynx, etc., stick with relatively small, helpless (but abundant) prey. Like tigers, lions, jaguars, and leopards, Mountain lions can take down big animals like buffalo, elk and moose. And, they sometimes go after people. While their proliferation is celebrated here in the U.S. as a conservation victory (like wolves and grizzly bears), it's a mixed blessing. We have a number of them here in southern California, and there have been attacks on people from time to time.

There's even one lurking in the hills not far from my house. On the one hand, it's nice to know it's there. On the other hand, it's best far away from me.
 
W

Willow's Mom

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I encountered one in the wild (Headwaters Forest Reserve) while carrying a one year old baby on my back. It was both frightening and amazing. The cat was only a few feet away from me walking across the trail and I was, in all honesty, way past time to turn around and go back to make sure I got to the parking lot before dusk when my car would have been towed.

We saw each other, both looked rather embarassed as if we had forgotten to lock a public bathroom door and a stranger walked in while we had our pants down, and then we both turned around and walked the other way.

S/he was easily twice Messi's size or more. The baby would have been a tasty snack and there wouldn't have been a darned thing I could have done about it if the cat had wanted to eat him.

They had a poster at the trailhead this year letting people know that mountain lions had been sighted this year. I still hike there every week and take Willow and my Chihuahuas, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to carry some sort of pepper spray just in case.

I would not want to own an exotic pet because I do not personally have the resources to care for one but I admire these people for giving Messi the best life they can. He is not a normal or healthy Mountain Lion and I doubt if any sort of zoo would have been willing to spend that kind of money to keep him alive.

The couple emphasize, on the videos I watched (there are too many to watch them all) that Messi is not a normal mountain lion and his story is one of Xtreme love.

We don't always choose who we love and love, unfortunately, cannot conquer all (just ask anyone who has been married to an alcoholic or drug abuser) but it can sure do some amazing things when we respect the power of love.

I'm glad that Messi did not have to be euthanized but I'm head over heels smitten with my little dime-a-dozen moggie and so glad I decided to go with a DSH again this time, since she will most likely have to be an only cat and she's plenty of cat for me.
 
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