CIA Spy Cats

While it sounds unbelievable, the CIA thought about using domesticated felines as  spy cats, creating a special project called “Acoustic Kitty”. Although the idea was not successful, this famous American agency invested a lot of money, time and resources during the Cold War.

Since ancient times, animals have been used by humans in war conflicts. Think, for example, of Hannibal’s elephants, tigers and lions used by Darius and Xerxes, the Alans of the Spanish conquerors … Or even the war dogs, already used in the time of the Egyptians and today, for example, in Iraq and Afghanistan.

During the espionage war between the two US and USSR superpowers, government agencies were always looking for new ways to overcome each other. Often, the solutions adopted were as absolutely original as they were impossible to achieve. And among these, surely, also the attempt to create a group of  spy cats is included . In this article we will tell you how the facts went.

CIA spy cats: how were they born?

The idea of ​​using spy cats came after a mission in Asia, when some CIA agents noticed the presence of these cats, during some secret meetings .

Obviously, the main purpose was to make these domestic felines go unnoticed. In this regard, the CIA decided to  install a battery in the body of the cats, placing the antenna inside the tail. The costs for this type of intervention were very high and, moreover, of dubious ethical correctness. It seems incredible that “experts” paid thousands of dollars could have devised such an absurd plan. Among other things, playing with the health and life of poor defenseless animals.

The problems of spy cats

After weighing the ethical issues and the possible reaction of public opinion, the project was given the green light. The problem is that the great strategists of the CIA had not thought about how to train the spy cats to carry out their tasks …

It took a few weeks to understand that no training would ever be enough to have these animals operate in complete autonomy. In addition to being distracted by any noise, the animals left the registration area to search for food . To overcome these problems, hunger was even inhibited in these cats, with the hope that they would concentrate on the “mission”.

And, although they are silent animals with highly efficient senses, their nature makes them unsuitable for any type of training designed for other living beings, such as dogs. It is enough to see the large number of dog breeds that collaborate with humans, such as guide dogs, rescue dogs, anti-drug dogs, to understand this truth. Cats are different but, in their own way, they make great pets.

The failure of the spy cats project

The “Acoustic Kitty” project was soon shelved and closed in 1966. Although it may seem a bizarre and absurd, not to say ridiculous plan, it was taken very seriously by the CIA. Keep in mind that in five years,  between 15 and 20 million dollars were spent.

It was then that the CIA realized that these little cats were not suitable for spy work. A real fortune for the cats, who would have come out of the operating theaters by the thousands, with a battery in the belly and an antenna hidden in the tail. It’s really true, sometimes reality surpasses fantasy.