Meet domesticated Caracal Pumba who literally lives his best life as a pampered house cat.

Deniss Jegorovs took in Pumba, now five, as a three-month-old kitten who loves being fussed, fed and cuddled at home.

It is legal to own Caracal cats in Latvia, where Deniss, 18, lives. He admits that although Pumba hisses at him a lot, he is an exceedingly kind animal and likes to rub against their feet and sleep next to them like any other cat would.

Despite the challenges of caring for a big cat, including massive food bills and ensuring that Pumba does not escape his territory - this big cat is one of the family and they wouldn’t have Pumba any other way.

Deniss said: “Pumba usually wakes up with us in the morning and begins to beg for food.

"In the summer he lives outside, but because we live in Central Europe in the autumn it gets pretty cold, so Pumba lives inside from middle of autumn until the middle of spring.

“Pumba hates being alone so he usually follows us during the day.

“He likes sitting next to us and watching TV in the evening. We usually feed him three times a day. He also likes spending time with our two other cats Maine Coo n and British Shorthair.