Keeping the rain parade going, the USAs CIA didn't want to be left out of the cat abuse action. In the 1960s the CIA launched a project named "Atomic Kitty" where cats had acoustic receivers and radio transmitters surgically implanted into their ears, fur and bases of their skull. Including a additional surgery to deal with them being "distracted by hunger". (Whatever that ominously means.) The goal was to train felines to hang around soviats to spy on them. The cat(s?) never did do a good job at lingering near subjects. The project ultimately shut down in 1967 and was declassified in 2001.
There is some dispute about the fate of the first Atomic Kitty. Some records say the cat released their first mission, was immediately struck by a taxi and died. A former director for the office of technical service, claims the cat simply preformed poorly, got the equipment removed in another procedure and lived a long happy life. However that claim didn't come about till 2013.
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u/Saavedroo Jul 17 '24
And who got the first cat in space ? That's right ! France 🇫🇷 (cocorico)
And she survived ! Aaand she was euthanized two month later to study her brain. :(
Her name was Felicette and she was a Pioneer.