The Acoustic Kitty project was a covert program initiated by the CIA during the 1960s, aiming to use cats for espionage purposes. The goal was to implant audio listening devices inside cats and use them to eavesdrop on conversations of Soviet officials. The project involved surgically implanting a microphone in a cat’s ear canal, a radio transmitter at the base of its skull, and a wire into its fur, essentially turning the cat into a mobile listening device .

The project faced numerous challenges, including the unpredictable nature of cats. For example, during the first field test, the cat was released near a Soviet compound in Washington, D.C., but it was quickly hit by a taxi and killed. This incident highlighted the impracticality and the high cost of the project, which reportedly amounted to around $20 million. Eventually, the project was deemed a failure and was abandoned .

The Acoustic Kitty project is now often cited as an example of the lengths to which intelligence agencies might go to gather information, and it underscores the sometimes bizarre and impractical nature of certain espionage efforts during the Cold War .

Sources: Smithsonian Magazine, The Atlantic