It didn’t require a leap of faith to convince Craig Armstrong to take his cat rock climbing. It happened very naturally.
After Armstrong brought Millie home from a Utah adoption center, she climbed up on his shoulders in classic cat fashion and made herself at home there. “It took about four seconds to realize we were now partners and would be going on many journeys together,” Armstrong wrote in an article for Backcountry.com where he works. Since then, the pair have been climbing rocks together and going on weekend hiking adventures in the wilds of the American West.
She literally loves to climb things … if there’s high-ground she’ll seek it out,” Armstrong said in an interview with Bored Panda. “She’s an incredible athlete but steep juggy routes just aren’t her thing. When bouldering, though, she’s done some pretty amazing gaps and dynos.”
The hard part, he said, was getting Millie to follow him and not to run off on her own. He prepared his feline friend by taking her to parks and other local outings. Millie has her own gear, including a harness for safety.
“She never complains, no matter how bad it gets,” he wrote on BackCountry.com. “She always wants to go higher, and she pushes herself hard.”
Armstrong posts photos of Millie on Instagram, where it is possible to see the dynamic duo practicing their climbing techniques and also just chilling around the house. They have a large, devoted following, and Millie is making a name for herself as a first-rate rock climber.
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