cia tried to use cats as spies (NOT the Onion!!)-in honour of its 70th anny, one of their projects

[niyad]

The CIA Plan to Use Cats as Spies (and the Taxi That Ruined It)

The Internet has been going nuts over the news that a dog was among the elite commandos who raided Osama bin Laden’s compound and killed him. In response, Slate put together a slideshow of photoillustrations depicting the "Cats of War." Cats being used as agents of war by the government is no joke, though. Around the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Central Intelligence Agency was doing anything and everything to get an edge on the Soviets. Including turning to cats as agents of espionage.

The CIA figured the Soviets would never suspect a cat to be a U.S. spy, so the animal, implanted with audio recording or transmitting devices, could get close to foreign operatives unhindered and eavesdrop on them.It’s an idea that almost forces the eyes to roll. Even people inside the agency didn’t think very highly of the plan. Victor Marchetti, a former special assistant to the agency’s director, told The Telegraph that the project was a failure, and a gruesome one at that. “They slit the cat open, put batteries in him, wired him up,” Marchetti said. “They made a monstrosity.”
If only it were as easy as Marchetti makes it seem.

“Project Acoustic Kitty,” as it was called within the agency, actually took some five years to complete. No one seems to remember who first suggested spy cats, but once the Acoustic Kitty idea was fleshed out, it became a joint project between the CIA’s Office of Technical Services and Office of Research and Development.

The departments’ engineers and technicians had their work cut out for them. For the cats to be effective spies, the implants couldn’t affect any of their natural movements, lest the spies draw attention to themselves, or cause any irritation that would prompt the cats to try to dislodge the equipment by rubbing, clawing or licking it. All the components – a power source, a transmitter, a microphone and an antenna – would also need to withstand the cats’ internal temperature, humidity and chemistry. Working with outside audio equipment contractors, the CIA built a 3/4-inch-long transmitter to embed at the base of the cat’s skull. Finding a place for the microphone was difficult at first, but the ear canal turned out to be prime, and seemingly obvious, real estate. The antenna was made from fine wire and woven, all the way to the tail, through the cat’s long fur to conceal it. The batteries also gave the techies a little trouble, since the cats’ size limited them to using only the smallest batteries and restricted the amount of time the cat would be able to record.

Tests of the equipment’s capabilities and performance were run first on dummies and then on live animals. During these tests, the cats were also monitored for their reactions to the equipment, to ensure their comfort and make sure their maneuverability and behavior were normal. After the agency weighed potential fallout from negative publicity against the value of successful feline spies, they proceeded to wire up their first fully functional agent.

. . . . .

http://mentalfloss.com/article/27790/cia-plan-use-cats-spies-and-taxi-ruined-it

[TeapotInATempest]

1. I...don't even know what to say about this.

I was ready to laugh after that first paragraph, but that poor cat.

[niyad]

4. I am certain that Lady Bast dealt with them when they hit the other side!

[TeapotInATempest]

9. Let's hope so!

[Orrex]

2. Why the hell didn't they call it "Project Cat Scan?"

These silly MiBs have no vision.

[niyad]

5. come on. . . . that would have made sense!!

[populistdriven]

3. Who is going to F-Wit a feral cat roaming about?

This idea made sense for about 60 seconds but then, what the hell?

[niyad]

6. this IS the gov't we are talking about. . . common sense?????

[JoeStuckInOH]

7. Why in the world didn't they just install minature equipment into a collar.

Seriously. Flexible foil batteries, wire antenna, and miniature acoustic equipment in a nice little collar with a bell.

[niyad]

8. was that sort of equipment available in the 60's?

[JoeStuckInOH]

10. I mean, they can make the equipment small and unobtrusive enough to implant...

... but can't shape it in a fashion to wrap it into a 3/4" wide x 1/4" collar?
They had button-type silver-oxide watch batteries by that point in history.