Years ago when I was in college, I got the opportunity to play alone for an hour with a 3 month old mountain lion cub. Long story, not important. The cub was about the size of an adult housecat, and he was feisty. Giving me his screech every few minutes, and fighting with me like a kitten would. An extremely powerful kitten. By the end of that hour, I had blood streaming in rivulets down my forearms. Playing with him was extremely painful—but how many people can say they’ve played with a mountain lion cub? So I stuck it out for an hour, then washed thoroughly and sprayed all my deep cuts with Bactine. Fun time for an hour. For a lifetime pet? Heck no.
Needless to say that was the last time I play-fought with him.
I did some work at a site and next door the guy had an adult cougar in a cage on his property. He said how the cougar used to live in the house, go out on their boat with him and his family, etc. Just like any other pet.
But then the rules got more strict and he wasn’t allowed out in public. Then he wasn’t allowed in the house. Then he wasn’t allowed to roam the fenced property. Although the guy said he still came in the house at night when no LEO might be coming around. Sad. (First they came for the cougars....)