CIA Kitty

From Facebook History Page

In the 1960s, at the peak of the Cold War, the CIA's Directorate of Science & Technology embarked on a bizarre project known as 'Acoustic Kitty.'
The goal was to use the natural stealth of cats to spy on the Kremlin and Soviet embassies. They believed a cat could wander into sensitive areas completely unnoticed.

To achieve this, a veterinary surgeon performed an hour-long procedure to implant a microphone into the cat's ear canal, a small radio transmitter at the base of its skull, and a thin wire antenna woven into its long fur.

The project cost an estimated $20 million, but training the cats proved to be a massive challenge. The animals' independent nature made them difficult to direct, and they would often get distracted or wander off in search of food.

The first official field test took place in a park, where the spy cat was tasked with recording a conversation between two men on a bench.

Moments after being released, the specially trained feline walked into the street and was immediately struck and killed by a taxi.

In 1967, the CIA scrapped the project entirely. A declassified memo concluded that while the technology was a marvel, the environmental and security challenges of using live animals were too great to overcome.