- Dmitry Mikhnev became famous for his videos of Hunter, his cat, singing along to songs.
- Hunter couldn’t go with the Russian TikToker when he moved to Dubai in February.
- As the war in Ukraine has made travel uncertain, Hunter is now scrambling to save money so he can reunite with Hunter.
Dmitry Mikhnev, a Moscow native, moved to Dubai on February 22nd, with plans of saving enough money for Hunter, his TikTok-famous cat.
Two days later Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine that caused chaos throughout Eastern Europe. Mikhnev is now desperately trying to raise enough funds to get his cat to Dubai in the midst of all the uncertainty.
“The situation in Russia changes every day, and it is not certain which other restrictions await us,”Insider was contacted by Mikhnev, who suggested that Russia may close its borders.
Mikhnev & Hunter have amassed a fan base of more than TikTok has 2.7 million usersThanks to their musical act, Hunter is able to do so. Mikhnev will often play a popular song, and Hunter will meow along by his touch of the nose.
His most popular videos have at least 70 million views and feature Hunter meowing with the camera. Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face”And Justin Bieber’s “Peaches.”
Mikhnev stated that he was accidentally viral. Hunter, who is now almost ten years old, began to meow when Mikhnev applied pressure to his nose.
“I surprised my mother with this trick — when I pressed two times on his nose, he would say, ‘Mama,'”He said.
It was posted by Hunter along with music after he had uploaded the first video. “blew up the internet,”He said. Mikhnev is now watched by people all over the globe who enjoy watching his videos with his cat. They have celebrities as fans, and Bieber even shared one of their videos.
Mikhnev stated that he wanted to leave Moscow from a young age, but that it was becoming harder to work and make money. “I was tired of the grayness, aggression, and terrible weather,”He said.
He stated that he moved from the US to Dubai as he had been there before. Hunter left his family behind because he couldn’t afford all of the expenses, such as vet visits, microchippings, flights, and other services.
While he was working in Dubai, he planned to save enough money to allow Hunter to come along. But with the war raging, he’s determined to get it done as soon as possible.
Mikhnev said that the war against Ukraine was taking a severe toll on Mikhnev’s 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 NFTsIn an effort to raise enough funds to transport Hunter to Dubai. The non-fungible tokens feature — what else? — Hunter pixel-art graphics. These graphics also feature images of cats in various outfits, smoking cigarettes and firing lasers from their eyes.
Mikhnev wants Hunter to leave Moscow right away because he is concerned about the effect of the war on Russia. Russia has been subject to severe sanctions by the West, which could have a devastating impact on Russia’s economy.
Mikhnev, for his part, says that he has no plans to return to Russia.
“I’ve had enough of the ‘Russian world,'”He said: “and my goal is to never return there.”
Translations by Oleksandr Vynogradov and Nikita Angarski