The tragic tale of the CIA’s spy craft cat

In what sounds like a kid’s movie plot, the Central Intelligence Agency once tried to turn a fluffy cat into a secret agent feline.

In the early 1960s, the CIA spent around $20 million on “Project Acoustic Kitty,” rigging a poor cat with a radio antenna in its tail, a microphone hidden in its ears, and a transmitter installed at the base of the skull.

The hope was that the cat could get close enough to unsuspecting people to eavesdrop on them. Perhaps the most important skill for the typical spy is to blend in. Yet no matter how inconspicuous a person is, they’ll still draw some attention. The guy delivering flowers or the janitor mopping up a spill could be a spy eavesdropping. Is the cat sitting on the windowsill? No one expects Mittens to engage in spycraft.

On paper, cats might sound like the purrfect spies. They’re stealthy, can see in the dark, can easily surmount high walls, and perhaps most importantly, people tend to ignore them.

In practice, it turns out that cats make terrible spies. Ever heard the expression “herding cats?” While felines can be trained to understand some basic commands, whether they actually listen and perform those commands is another matter. Cats are also easily distracted; sadly, they don’t have nine lives.

Ultimately, Project Acoustic Kitty ended on a sad note. During an early trial deployment, the CIA released the spy cat from an unmarked van and directed it to spy on two people in the park. Tragically, the spy cat was struck and killed by a taxi while crossing the road.

Technology has both grown more powerful and become much smaller since the 1960s. If a modern intelligence agency decides to rig up another spy pet, it would probably be much easier these days.