Operation 'Acoustic Kitty': Learn About The Hilarious CIA Fail Involving Training Cats To Be The Fluffiest Spies In The Cold War (Viral Twitter Thread)

Sometimes we wonder how much "intelligence" is in the CIA because, from our humble experience with cats, they are not most easily trainable. So the thought of training them as microphones to listen in on secret conversations in specific locations seems like a bit of a stretch to us, but hey, the Cold War was a different time. The CIA took a few cats and surgically implanted microphones and antennae in the cats ears, and then sowed them back up. The whole project was a terrible abuse of animal rights, but again, it was the 1960s, and animal rights weren't in the place that they are now.

The project was, of course, a failure. Shortly after one of the cats was fully trained, it was injured shortly after being released into the field. After a few more attempts, the CIA determined that the energy and resources required to train and implant the listening devices was not worth the time and money. The cats had their spy devices removed, and were released to live long and healthy lives (or so the CIA says). Scroll down to see the hilarious comments on this thread and learn more about the project!

Subscribe to the ICanHasNewsletter for a daily dose of cat purrfection!

Author image for Blake Seidel Blake Seidel
Advertisement

For a weekly dose of animal-themed community challenges - Subscribe to our Newsletter!

Can't get enough of ICanHasCheezburger? Find us on Instagram!

Tags

cat Cats animals acoustic cold war cia FAIL hilarious lol funny Fluffy spy true story viral twitter Twitter Thread training spies true facts funny cats
Scroll down for the next article

Also From I Can Has Cheezburger?

Trending Now

24 Soft and Comforting Cat Memes for a Purrfect Caturday

24 Soft and Comforting Cat Memes for a Purrfect Caturday

01
'I can't go home': Woman meets guy at a club, sleeps over and wakes up to his cat lovingly cuddling her face, now doesn't know how to leave because the cat has clearly chosen her

'I can't go home': Woman meets guy at a club, sleeps over and wakes up to his cat lovingly cuddling her face, now doesn't know how to leave because the cat has clearly chosen her

02
Woman adopts a meowjestic black cat that was being given away for "free" because she didn't like kids, the next day, she gets told the kids miss the cat and want it back, but no one shows up to take her

Woman adopts a meowjestic black cat that was being given away for "free" because she didn't like kids, the next day, she gets told the kids miss the cat and want it back, but no one shows up to take her

03
25 Mood-Lifting Cat Memes to Start the Day with Meowrific Energy

25 Mood-Lifting Cat Memes to Start the Day with Meowrific Energy

04
UPDATE: Hooman instantly bonds with a loving cat they find in the street, then, after finding ‘Lost Pet’ signs in their neighborhood, reluctantly return him to the original owner: ‘A happy ending to the story!’

UPDATE: Hooman instantly bonds with a loving cat they find in the street, then, after finding ‘Lost Pet’ signs in their neighborhood, reluctantly return him to the original owner: ‘A happy ending to the story!’

05
25 Purrfectly Sleepy Felines Peacefully Snoozing After Long Days of Being Adorable Minions of Chaos

25 Purrfectly Sleepy Felines Peacefully Snoozing After Long Days of Being Adorable Minions of Chaos

06
Advertisement