The history of why cats never became spies

Trust me, I was there

Oct 26, 2025

A twice-monthly update from ex-CIA mystery author Carmen Amato. Find books and more at carmenamato.net/links.

#topsecret

Sometimes I look back on my 30-year career with the CIA with a warm glow of accomplishment.

For instance, has anyone used Google Translate lately? Once upon a time it was an invention called “machine translation.” I won an award for applying the infant technology to an intelligence problem.

Other times, I look back and have a good laugh.

One of those laughs came courtesy of fellow writer Linda S. F. who sent me an article about the CIA’s now declassified “Acoustic Kitty” program.

A purrrrfect plan

Acoustic Kitty was an exploratory operation in 1967 courtesy of the Directorate of Science and Technology, to turn cats into mobile listening devices. Basically, a bug on four feline legs.

A vet implanted a listening device and a radio transmitter in a cat, enabling Kitty to both record and transmit audio.

The first test of the Acoustic Kitty project was to have the cat eavesdrop on two men in a park outside the Soviet Embassy in Washington DC. Reports on what happened next differ, with some saying the cat was hit by a taxi and died, while a former colleague of mine claimed in 2013 that the project was abandoned because the cat couldn’t be trained to avoid distractions and stick to the plan. According to his account, the cat was de-bugged and went on to live a long and happy life as a civilian.

What about the genius who sold the boss on the idea which reportedly cost the US taxpayers $20 million? No idea.

Not totally illogical

Anyone who has owned a cat isn’t surprised that Acoustic Kitty was a bust, yet I can understand the reasoning behind the project. There are many places in the world where feral cats are everywhere. No one would notice one more, even one that hung around park benches with an antenna sticking out of one ear.

But let’s face it, cats do what they want and making them into eavesdroppers was a long shot at best.

Better ideas

I was the last Executive Officer for the CIA’s Office of Advanced Technologies and Programs (ATP) within the Directorate of Science & Technology. ATP was the CIA’s research and development center until it was closed in the mid-2010’s and its key elements became the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, (IARPA) an independent agency under the Director of National Intelligence.

I was proud to be part of ATP. The office had a storied history, responsible for things like tiny batteries that power today’s gadgets, including cell phones and pacemakers, and the technology that became Google Earth.

Not once do I recall anyone suggesting the use of a cat for intelligence purposes.

Tech crunch for Emilia Cruz

While I have yet to write an espionage thriller (never say never, ahem), I have worked bits of technology from my CIA career into the Detective Emilia Cruz series, including:

In 43 MISSING, a speech-to-text technique proves that witnesses have been coached.
In RUSSIAN MOJITO, surveillance video reveals the killer in disguise.
In BARRACUDA BAY, a cyber program duplicates and steals audio files.

Will there be a tech twist in the upcoming DRAGON CARTEL? You’ll have to read it to find out. (Fingers crossed for an early 2026 release.)

Check out my books

#excerpt

In work-in-progress DRAGON CARTEL, Emilia is searching for the young assassin known as El Barracuda as well as a missing Customs inspector whose colleagues may know more than they are saying, prompting a chase scene on a busy street.

The scuffle was brief; their thrashing lost in the storm of traffic noise.

Beltran was hampered by his messenger bag and breathless from the run. Emilia got his left arm twisted behind his back, wrist pinned between his shoulder blades, and her knee on his spine. Cars continued by on both sides, people rolling down windows to gawk at the wrestling match on the median.

“I didn’t do it,” Beltran gasped into the dirt. “I swear to the Virgin, I didn’t kill him.”

“Why else did you run like that, pendejo?” Emilia fumbled with her free hand to find a back pocket. Madre de Dios, but she was wearing the same yoga pants she’d worn on the flight from Lindavista to Acapulco. Her handcuffs were in the office.

“No, I swear,” Beltran croaked.

A car slowed. A tinted window slid down. The driver stared at the odd tableau of a woman kneeling on a prone man in uniform.

“Police business,” Emilia shouted at the stopped car. “Beat it.”

The driver’s eyes slid past her. The car lurched forward and picked up speed as the window rose to obscure the driver again.

Emilia glanced over her shoulder to see Silvio limping along the median, handgun out in full view of the traffic. He caught her eye, scowled and replaced the weapon in the shoulder holster under his canvas jacket before yanking Beltran to his feet.

Beltran sagged, all fight gone. His Customs uniform was streaked with dirt and the cross strap of his messenger bag was torn. “Gregorio Lastra was my friend,” he panted. “I didn’t kill him. I swear. I swear on my daughter’s head.”

Silvio gave the man a bone-jarring shake. “But you know who did.”

#friends

I love sharing talented colleagues with fellow mystery lovers. Here are some must-reads!

DEAD SHORE by Berrick Ford

The 4th installment of the Cornish Crime series featuring rookie cop Tamsyn Poldhu is out! The action takes place at a famous surfing competition. Five days of surfing, partying and hanging ten with the top surfers in the world until one of them is found dead. Find it on Amazon.

STING OF LIES by Carol Potenza

Ice Age paleontologist and poisons expert Myrna P. Lee only took the job on the sprawling northern New Mexico ranch to revive her disaster of a career, solve an environmental poisoning, and dig up a mammoth. She didn’t expect a cold case murder mystery, a hidden treasure, layers and layers of secrets and lies, or a handsome cowboy. Find it on Amazon

Crime Wave podcast with Bonnar Spring

Author Bonnar Spring interviewed me and her first question was about my CIA career. Have a listen here:

#justforfun

If Acoustic Kitty made you think it is impossible to train a cat, here’s a video of my daughter’s cat eating with her fingers.

Thank you for reading Mystery Ahead. If you enjoy these behind-the-books stories, please share with a friend who also loves crime fiction.

Until next time,

Carmen

PS: Were you looking for the Detective Emilia Cruz Starter Library and other free downloads? Find all my reader freebies here.

MY BACKSTORY— I learned a few things about danger, deception and resilience during a 30-year career with the CIA focusing on counterdrug and technical collection. Now a mystery author, those lessons play out on the page, especially in the Detective Emilia Cruz mystery series set in Acapulco. Starting with Cliff Diver, the series is a back-to-back winner of the Poison Cup Award for Outstanding Series from CrimeMasters of America. I’ve also written historical and political thrillers, essays about the craft of crime fiction, and live with a very large white dog named Bear.