5000 years of domestication, zero obedience and one failed experiment.
At the height of the Cold War, the CIA decided to use a cat to spy on Soviet diplomats. The idea was simple and at the same time quite insane: the animal had to approach the right people, sit next to and imperceptibly record a conversation. The project was named Acoustic Kitty.
At first glance, the whole plan rested not on the technique, but in the “agent”. The cat is not suitable for work, where discipline is needed. The dog can be taught to the route, team and a clear reaction. There's hardly ever like that with a cat. The animal does what is interesting to him, not what matters to the transaction handler. That is why the idea looked doubtful from the very beginning: for reconnaissance, you need an executor who will not break due to accidental noise, poultry, smell of food or a sudden desire to go the other way.
Nevertheless, the CIA tried to bring the plan to the working condition. According to the memoirs of the participants, a transmitter was built into the body of the cat and actually turned it into a live radio microphone. Then the discrepancies begin. Former CIA officer Victor Marchettie later said that on the first task the cat ran out on the road and died under the car, without reaching the target. Trainer Bob Bailey did not agree with this version. He argued that the project was not a complete failure and that the cat was able to listen to human speech, be less distracted by extraneous sounds and go through the desired route at least at least at a short distance.
In addition to these stories, modern researchers also have a CIA document published with large bills. It follows that cats really taught me how to walk short distances on command. At the same time, the final conclusion in the document sounds already without any romance: for real intelligence, the program is not suitable. In other words, the basic training was carried out, but for the special services, which needs a controlled result, this was not enough.
The reason is quite understandable, if you remember how the relationship of a person with cats and dogs developed at all. Dogs have been brought to specific tasks for centuries: forgive cattle, bring prey, help a person in work. Obescentation, attention to the team and willingness to cooperate were fixed by selection. With cats, the story was completely different. They came to the people themselves when mice and rats appeared next to the granaries. People didn’t mind because such a neighbor was useful to them. This cooperation was mainly based on this. Cats were almost not brought under tasks, where you need to unquestioningly obey the owner, wait for the team and act according to a given scenario.
Cat behavior specialist Stephen Kwandt explains the difference even easier. The dog often likes to do what a person asks. For her, the joint work itself can already be a reward. For a cat, again, the main thing is that the action is liked by herself. Alien approval is not very important to her. For this reason, the animal can perfectly understand what they want from it, and still not do anything useful. Not out of harm, but simply because there is no internal need to adapt to a person.
You can teach a cat to separate tricks. To do this, a clicker is usually used: at the time of the desired action, a click is heard, and immediately after it there is a delicacy. Gradually, the cat connects the sound with the reward and begins to better understand what behavior is expected of it. According to this principle, animals are taught for filming, shows and other tasks, where you need a repeatable, but short and fairly simple action. The method works as long as the tailwalk has motivation.
But espionage requires precision, sustainability, and control over the situation. It is necessary that the animal approached the right person, lingered next to as long as necessary, did not be distracted by passers-by, transport, smells and random sounds, and then did not disrupt the task at the most important moment. Acoustic Kitty eventually showed a simple thing: even if the technique works, the whole plan collapses when the main participant is not going to play by other people's rules. As in any other business, isn't it?
At the height of the Cold War, the CIA decided to use a cat to spy on Soviet diplomats. The idea was simple and at the same time quite insane: the animal had to approach the right people, sit next to and imperceptibly record a conversation. The project was named Acoustic Kitty.
At first glance, the whole plan rested not on the technique, but in the “agent”. The cat is not suitable for work, where discipline is needed. The dog can be taught to the route, team and a clear reaction. There's hardly ever like that with a cat. The animal does what is interesting to him, not what matters to the transaction handler. That is why the idea looked doubtful from the very beginning: for reconnaissance, you need an executor who will not break due to accidental noise, poultry, smell of food or a sudden desire to go the other way.
Nevertheless, the CIA tried to bring the plan to the working condition. According to the memoirs of the participants, a transmitter was built into the body of the cat and actually turned it into a live radio microphone. Then the discrepancies begin. Former CIA officer Victor Marchettie later said that on the first task the cat ran out on the road and died under the car, without reaching the target. Trainer Bob Bailey did not agree with this version. He argued that the project was not a complete failure and that the cat was able to listen to human speech, be less distracted by extraneous sounds and go through the desired route at least at least at a short distance.
In addition to these stories, modern researchers also have a CIA document published with large bills. It follows that cats really taught me how to walk short distances on command. At the same time, the final conclusion in the document sounds already without any romance: for real intelligence, the program is not suitable. In other words, the basic training was carried out, but for the special services, which needs a controlled result, this was not enough.
The reason is quite understandable, if you remember how the relationship of a person with cats and dogs developed at all. Dogs have been brought to specific tasks for centuries: forgive cattle, bring prey, help a person in work. Obescentation, attention to the team and willingness to cooperate were fixed by selection. With cats, the story was completely different. They came to the people themselves when mice and rats appeared next to the granaries. People didn’t mind because such a neighbor was useful to them. This cooperation was mainly based on this. Cats were almost not brought under tasks, where you need to unquestioningly obey the owner, wait for the team and act according to a given scenario.
Cat behavior specialist Stephen Kwandt explains the difference even easier. The dog often likes to do what a person asks. For her, the joint work itself can already be a reward. For a cat, again, the main thing is that the action is liked by herself. Alien approval is not very important to her. For this reason, the animal can perfectly understand what they want from it, and still not do anything useful. Not out of harm, but simply because there is no internal need to adapt to a person.
You can teach a cat to separate tricks. To do this, a clicker is usually used: at the time of the desired action, a click is heard, and immediately after it there is a delicacy. Gradually, the cat connects the sound with the reward and begins to better understand what behavior is expected of it. According to this principle, animals are taught for filming, shows and other tasks, where you need a repeatable, but short and fairly simple action. The method works as long as the tailwalk has motivation.
But espionage requires precision, sustainability, and control over the situation. It is necessary that the animal approached the right person, lingered next to as long as necessary, did not be distracted by passers-by, transport, smells and random sounds, and then did not disrupt the task at the most important moment. Acoustic Kitty eventually showed a simple thing: even if the technique works, the whole plan collapses when the main participant is not going to play by other people's rules. As in any other business, isn't it?
