A feline named ‘Big Floppa’ has captured the hearts of netizens with his green eyes, oversized nose, and tufted ears. However, the reality is that ‘Big Floppa’ is not a domestic cat and hails from Russia. A Moscow-based videographer named Andrei Bondarev shared an image of his “pet” enjoying a meal on Instagram in April 2018. The picture features a large short-haired cat with a distinctive elongated nose, striking green eyes, and lengthy tufted ears. After the photo went viral, the cat, along with his buddies Matvei and Zhora, became famous bloggers. In 2020, the feline rose to even greater popularity on social media sites like Reddit, where he is known as ‘Big Floppa’ or ‘Kot Shlyopa.’ The reason for this nickname is his enormous ears. But, in reality, the cat’s real name is Gosha, and he is a caracal, a wild cat that resembles a lynx. Despite being native to Africa, Asia, and India, Gosha was born on December 21, 2017, in a Ukrainian cattery that specializes in breeding exotic wild cats.
In the month of April, 2018, he traveled to Moscow and was welcomed into the Bondarev family. Andrei and his wife, Lena had been searching online for exotic animals and came across a picture of a wildcat. This sparked an interest in owning one and after a year of research and consultation with experts, they decided to adopt a caracal.
Georgy and his team of fluffy delivery partners embarked on a 24-hour road trip to reach Moscow. Upon their arrival, Gosha, the newest addition to the Bondarev family, was hesitant to explore the apartment and would often hide or hiss. However, he continued to eat without hesitation. Matvei, an older cat from an animal shelter, guided Gosha to adjust to his new surroundings. Zhora, the third cat in the house, was unhappy with the new arrival and initially ignored both Gosha and the owners for several weeks. Eventually, Zhora became friends with Gosha, and they now share a close bond. Although there were some challenges with litter box training, Gosha proved to be an energetic and playful kitten. Yelena confirmed that these issues are typical of feline behavior and can be quickly resolved.
Yelena makes sure to give her caracal, Gosha, a well-balanced meal that includes turkey, rabbit, offal, day-old chicks, and all the necessary vitamins. She explains that Gosha considers her to be his human property and is quite protective of her, displaying dog-like qualities and being very loyal. Gosha doesn’t like to be by himself and is always cautious around strangers.
Andrei has observed that Georgy’s behavior can be quite rough. Whenever he has some spare time, Georgy likes to tear up pieces of cardboard, which his owners Andrei and Yelena buy specifically for him to play with. Unfortunately, his destructive tendencies don’t stop there, as he also damages both the wallpaper and furniture in the process.
Andrei has shared that his pet cat, Gosha, has a tendency to wreak havoc and has even managed to claw through walls, reaching the concrete in some spots. Despite Andrei’s attempts to fix the damage, he eventually gave up. Gosha has also left marks on their TV while watching Animal Planet. However, despite his mischievous behavior, Gosha gained popularity on the internet earlier this year when a picture of him lounging on a windowsill with Zhora went viral. This led to an abundance of demotivational posters, memes, and edited photos that initially circulated on Instagram meme communities before spreading to Twitter and Reddit.
Yelena shared her story of discovering Gosha’s viral fame on the internet. They found out through a friend of her husband who also has a caracal. At first, they were happy about the attention Gosha was receiving and kept sharing pictures of him. But Yelena became uneasy when she saw Gosha being used in memes that spread contentious political views or offensive material like racism, homophobia, and Nazism. She finds it appalling and does not condone it.
In the Google Play App Store, a new app revolving around Big Floppa was launched in the spring of 2021. The app showcases an image of Gosha, also known as Gregory, who moves around when you tap on him. It has received numerous favorable reviews since its release.
A comment was made by a user stating that the game is absolutely amazing and not boring at all. The game has a thrilling storyline with some creepy moments that caught them off guard. The user was pleasantly surprised when they clicked on Shlyopa (Floppa) and he growled, which made them jump. Additionally, the game includes everything necessary without any requirement for additional content. Yelena also mentioned that while some supporters generously donate to assist other cats, it’s still insufficient to cover Gosha’s monthly expenditures of 20-25,000 rubles ($270-$340) which only caters for food and litter box filler.
In addition, Gosha gets a health check-up and vaccinations twice a year from a wild cat specialist. Despite this, the Bondarev family sees him as an ordinary cat with one exception: he requires more careful handling due to his size. Injuries sustained during playtime with him can be more serious than those of smaller cats. Furthermore, larger cats tend to create more damage in the household. However, Yelena emphasizes that regardless of where or how big a cat is, it is still a cat.
