Dmitry Mikhnev left Moscow on February 22 and arrived in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with the intention of saving enough money to bring his TikTok-famous cat, Hunter, to live with him.
Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine two days later, spreading havoc in Eastern Europe. Mikhnev is anxiously attempting to earn enough money to get his cat to Dubai as quickly as possible, despite the uncertainties surrounding the conflict.
“The situation in Russia changes every day, and it is not certain which other restrictions await us,” Mikhnev told Insider in an email, suggesting that Russia might close its borders.
Thanks to their musical act, Mikhnev and Hunter have amassed a following of over 2.7 million people on TikTok. Mikhnev usually plays a famous song and gets Hunter to meow according to the beat by touching his cat’s nose at the proper time.
Hunter meows along to Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” and Justin Bieber’s “Peaches” in some of his most popular videos, which have received up to 70 million views.
Mikhnev claimed that he became famous by chance. Hunter, who is approaching ten years old, began to meow anytime he gently pressed his nose on his hand.
“I surprised my mother with this trick — when I pressed two times on his nose, he would say, ‘Mama,'” he said.
After he posted the first video of Hunter doing the trick along with the music it “blew up the internet,” he said. People from all over the world are now viewing recordings of Mikhnev and his cat. Celebrities are among their followers, with Justin Bieber himself sharing one of the videos.
Mikhnev stated that he had wanted to leave Moscow since he was a child, but that working and earning money had suddenly become more difficult. “I was tired of the grayness, aggression, and terrible weather,” he said.
He said he relocated to Dubai because he had previously visited the city and couldn’t afford to bring Hunter with him because of the costs of a veterinarian appointment, immunizations, tests, microchipping, flights, and more expensive accommodations in Dubai.
He intended to save enough money while working in Dubai to bring Hunter to join him, but with the conflict raging, he’s rushing to get it done.
As per Yahoo, Mikhnev also said the war in Ukraine was taking a heavy toll on his mental state.
“Thousands of people are dying there, no matter if they are Russian or Ukrainian,” he told Insider. “Ukraine had been, is, and always will be a brother country to me and the majority of the Russian population, I’m certain.”
Mikhnev is selling NFTs in order to raise funds for Hunter’s trip to Dubai. Pixel-art graphics of Hunter are included on the non-fungible tokens. Graphics depicting cats in various clothes, smoking cigarettes, and blasting lasers from their eyes are also included.
Michael is anxious to get Hunter out of Moscow now because he is concerned about the war’s impact on Russia, where the West’s heavy sanctions are likely to cripple a toll Russian economy.
Michael, for one, says he has no plans to return to his homeland.
“I’ve had enough of the ‘Russian world,'” he said, “and my goal is to never return there.”
