messi was a rescue. he was born in captivity and had too many health problems for the zoo to deal with so they were going to put him down. he had rickets as a kitten and his growth is severely stunted as a result. the family that adopted him have done a wonderful job at nursing him back to health but,hes like half the size of a normal puma due to his health problems. but his paws are like... normal sized so they're just so big in relation to his body.
hes a great cat honestly. his owners seem remarkably competent at what they're doing for him and he's very lucky to have them.