"About the cat. A source close to #Dorofei says he has not got lost anywhere. Thank you all for your concern!" Medvedev tweeted from a trip to Asia.
By then a newly created Twitter account in the cat`s name had almost 400 followers and attracted many remarks making fun of Medvedev`s subordinate relationship to President-elect Vladimir Putin.
"It`s simple. I ran away from Medvedev because he promised to hand me over to Vladimir Putin. Help me hide!" @KotDorofey tweeted in a play on words after Medvedev said this week he would pass on a message from U.S. President Barack Obama to Putin after talks in Seoul.
Medvedev was overheard telling Obama: "I will transmit this information to Vladimir." In Russian, the same expression is used to say "hand over to".
Reports that Dorofei had been lost spread after a tabloid newspaper, Sobesednik, said he was missing and that appeals to find him had been posted on telephone poles in the elite Moscow suburb near Medvedev`s official residence.
"Police are already nervous and searching for the cat under every shrub," it wrote beside pictures of the fluffy, blue-eyed cat, described as a rare Nevsky Masquerade acquired by his wife for about $1,000 in 2003.
Some Twitter users were sympathetic but many joked the cat showed good sense to make a break for it.
"`It`s now or never,` Dorofei thought," Anatoly Srakarny tweeted.
"Run, #Dorofei, Run!" was another popular tag line.
Alexander Gorbunov joked: "Dorofei`s owner should learn from his example. The cat has character and doesn`t need to agree his actions with anyone!"
(U.I027/H-AK)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
