Operation Acoustic Kitty.

Good lord, what were these people thinking? I couldn't find any other posts about this on ATS but if I'm wrong, feel free to delete mods.

In the 1960's the CIA decided to create a new type of listening device. They wired a cat and trained it to listen in on other peoples conversations. They made its tail into an antenna and implanted the equipment into the cat.

During it's first deployment it was run over by a taxi.

Who comes up with this stuff???

Operation Acoustic Kitty.

Originally posted by mrwupy

During it's first deployment it was run over by a taxi.

I would have loved to have been a "fly on the wall", or better yet "kitty in the city" when that happened. I can just imagine the response.

"Uhm ... I guess it's back to the drawing board folks?" :shk:

The supposed MIBs have made some advancements, though. The had an entire Galaxy dangling from a cat's collar in the movie. I guess they learned something over the years.

Nice find, mrwupy.


[edit: to add]
Here's an edited PDF of the CIA memo regarding this "project".

www.gwu.edu...


[edit on 2-6-2007 by 12m8keall2c]

I'd like to know who's bright idea it was to use a cat, I mean cats are notoriously independent
and do what they want, using a dog would have been a better idea.


I actually feel sad for the cat though, having to go through such horrible operations to be
used for spying, than getting hit and killed in it's first mission.

So very bizarre.

Some things are just so much better than fiction.

I'm imagining two agents, after the fatality.

Bob : Dammit George, I TOLD you we should take her across the street.
YOU'RE calling this in to base !

George : Bob, it's a freaking cat. We can get more.

Regards,
Lex

Edit because I forgot how to spell "bizaare. Geez.

[edit on 2-6-2007 by Lexion]

I think its a good idea. I haven't figured out why "remote control" dogs trained to respond to a remote robotic stimulation guidance system haven't been used in Iraq to sniff out bombs . Once found they could then be detonated by other means.

Originally posted by Heckman
I think its a good idea. I haven't figured out why "remote control" dogs trained to respond to a remote robotic stimulation guidance system haven't been used in Iraq to sniff out bombs . Once found they could then be detonated by other means.

We have robots that do that, so using an animal, which apart from being inhumane,
would be a waste of time and money.

I just wonder how they got the funding for this, imagine the conversation:

"Yes sir, we want to hotwire a cat to listen in on other peoples conversations."

"How do you train a cat?"

"Well sir, we think we can do surgery to make it do as we say it should do."

"I'll authorize a billion dollars for this, not a penny more!"

"We won't let you down sir."

Then Joe the taxi driver comes along and runs over the cat.....

We have robots that do that, so using an animal, which apart from being inhumane,
would be a waste of time and money.

We dont have robots that have sniffers that are as good as a dog. Also dogs can jump up on or over obstacles much better than robots. I dont see how it would be inhumane at all. I'm not talking about useing puppies to detonate bombs... Only to sniff out the bombs so that they could be detonated with robots or projectiles. I think that saveing human lives is the very essence of being humane. Do you think that using police dogs to incapacitate armed criminals is inhumane?

[edit on 2-6-2007 by Heckman]

Best thread in months!

Not only did the thread title conjure up images of some poor tabby lashed to receiving dish, but the feedback on it from the posters was hysterical. "Bob, it's a freaking cat. We can get more", rofl. Loved all of it, not the least of it was the cat itself. Anyone who lives w/ cats knows how they are, and its just like a cat to say "Screw this" and chuck himself under the wheels of a car.

I got an idea now too....how about they put cameras on all the pigeons in NYC, and have them signal to base? If we only would have had those on 9-11!!!

I dont know about the cat thing....I mean, the cat is listening in to the Mayor and the biggest crimelord in the city, a deal is going to be made, and then they hear....

HACK....HACK.....HAAAAAAACK....HAAACKKKUUUUMP.....

and bing, you have the first super secret cat hairball. Would that be disclosed at all? I could see the Deputy Directors face at his desk in the CIA.........

I got an idea now too....how about they put cameras on all the pigeons in NYC, and have them signal to base? If we only would have had those on 9-11!!!

That reminds me of the ww2 Project Pigeon to make pigeon guided anti ship missiles.

The idea was that the pigeons would be trained to peck on a target (in this case an enemy ship) shown on a view screen inside of the missile where peck sensors would alter the missiles coarse thus guiding the missile into its intended target.

From what I have read the project was showing great success however it was just to "wacky" to be taken seriously by the military establishment and was therefor canceled.

"Sir the precision guided missiles ... ermm I mean pigeon guided missiles are ready to fire."

[sarcasm]

Most of you are overlooking how this whole operation was snuffed by KGB or SPECTRE, or Kaos.

Who was driving the taxicab? A russian or cuban immigrant? hmmm. Did anyone check his papers?

What about the cat running under a car? Russian mind control, that took over the cat and forced it to ruin the experiment and stop the research, thus furthering the "cat gap" of the cold war.

I think the cat was a patsy, a look-alike feline that was switched at the last minute, then killed in a public place with witnesses present, to counteract cries of conspiracy.

[/sarcasm]

Some geek's fantasy of a remote controlled, bionic pussy. I'm not sure I see the military application; it's not like there are a lot of stray cats, attentively monitoring forward positions on the battlefield. . . are pets allowed in missle silos? The whole thing seems jokish to me.

.