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Humankind

This hiking cat rules the 'meowtains'

Erin Udell
Coloradoan
Q poses for a scenic picture

FORT COLLINS, Colorado -- The next time you're hiking in the Colorado outdoors and think you hear a meow, you're not crazy. In fact, you're probably about the meet Quandary Q Lotus Lady, adventure cat extraordinaire, ruler of the "meowtains."

Strapped into her harness or cozied up in a backpack, the bandana-clad black and white cat lovingly referred to as "Q" takes to Colorado's trails almost every weekend with her owners, Fort Collins couple Graham and Erin Shuee. And, with more than 13,000 followers to her Instagram account, Quandary's stealing hearts not only on the trails, but also across the Internet.

"The overwhelming cuteness plus the Internet equals Internet success," Graham Shuee, 25, said of the winning formula that catapulted Q to adventure cat icon status. Most of Q's pictures on Instagram garner hundreds of likes, sometimes even more than 1,000.

Followers have been able to go on Q's journey from the beginning, ever since Graham got down on one knee in the middle of a hike and gave Q to Erin, 29, as a "proposal kitten" last May.

You can read more about Q and her adventures here:

Meet Quandary: 'proposal kitten' and hiking pet

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