CIA project tried to turn cats into spies

News tip by: Still Waters

Image credit: sxc.hu

Operation Acoustic Kitty attempted to turn otherwise ordinary pet cats in to secret listening devices

The experimental project was attempted in the 1960s in an effort to find an effective way to eavesdrop on the private conversations of foreign officials. To accomplish this, researchers augmented a common household cat with surveillance equipment including a microphone in its ear canal and a small radio transmitter in the base of its skull. The cat was then trained to go and sit next to the target so that it would pick up what was being said.

To test the effectiveness of their creation, CIA staff members drove the experimental feline to a local park and released it in the hope that it would let them eavesdrop on the conversation of two people sitting on a bench. Unfortunately things didn't quite go to plan - the cat was utterly disinterested in its agenda of national security and instead decided to wander in to the street where it was promptly run over by a taxi.

The project was abandoned soon afterwards.

The problem was that cats are not especially trainable - they don’t have the same deep-seated desire to please a human master that dogs do - and the agency’s robo-cat didn’t seem terribly interested in national security.

  View: Full article |  Source: io9.com

Awesome Cat Playground

A Quote By Abraham

 Abraham has described themselves as "a group consciousness from the non-physical dimension" (which helps a lot!). They have also said, "We are that which you are. You are the leading edge of that which we are. We are that which is at the heart of all religions."

Abraham has much to say about animals, which are referred to as "Beasts".

"The beast, like all of you, chooses freedom first. And if ever the physical condition becomes less than joyful, the beast — if left to himself — will re-emerge into Nonphysical"
--- Abraham
Excerpted from the workshop in Lincroft, NJ on Tuesday, October 15th, 1996 # 479
Our Love,
Jerry and Esther

Music For Cats!! Really!

Charles Snowdon, an animal psychologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says animals march to the beat of their own drum. Meaning, they respond to species-specific music – music that uses the pitches, tones and tempos that feel familiar to them.
When a piece of music falls into our acoustic and vocal range, and has recognizable tones and a tempo similar to the rhythm of a human heartbeat, we tend to prefer it. Music that falls outside those general parameters feels unfamiliar and tends to grate. We usually want to avoid it.
To animals, music created by humans for humans is foreign. Your dog’s vocal range is very different from yours. A cat’s heartbeat is also very different from a human’s. So it makes sense that pets don’t appreciate human music. In fact, studies show animals have a total lack of interest in it.

Snowdon worked with composer and cellist David Teie to try to create music that would appeal to dogs and cats. 

Based on cats' reactions to their compositions, Teie has started selling cat songs through a company called MusicForCats.com.
Currently there are three styles of songs for cats:

• Playful and quick “Kitty Ditties” to arouse a cat’s interest and curiosity (this one got a definite reaction from one of my own kitties)
• “Cat Ballads” with sounds of suckling that are restful and pleasant
• “Feline Airs” based on the pulses of a kitty’s purr

I just order all three types of music for $5.97!!!

Taco Surveys His Kingdom

This whole area was thick brush just a few months ago, and the rock pathway is my newest creation.
  Taco is just checking to make sure everything is satisfactory, especially his fabulous new pool-sized litter box, all consisting of lovely soft dirt and delicate little yummy seedlings.

Essential Oils And Cats

I found a very interesting and informative article on Essential Oils being used by Dr Melissa Shelton in her veterinary practice.
I've always read that you can't use essential oils on cats because cats metabolize them differently and end up being poisoned by many oils. This article is well worth taking the time to read:

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/05/14/dr-shelton-on-pets-essential-oils.aspx

 Here is a link to Dr Shelton's website:

 http://www.oilyvet.com/

Wordless Wednesday: New Comforter: $5 Taco Cat: Priceless

Dreaming of A Cat

Hmmm, since Bella disappeared Seth and I each have had two dreams that she came back. In all the dreams it's obvious that the cat is Bella, there's no mistaking that curly tail! It's been almost eight months, I wonder where my wild and crazy girl is.

Happy Easter And Remember To Keep Lillies Away From Your Cat!

Slippery Elm and Kidney Disease in Cats

Here is a very interesting article I found at Natural News that explains how Slippery Elm Bark can be used to heal or prevent kidney disease and renal failure in cats. It is especially significant for me because I eat a heaping teaspoon of slippery elm every day to soothe my intestines and it helps a great deal. I have only half of my small intestine and because of malabsorbtion they get irritated easily. Slippery elm is easy to find at any herb store, but I get mine at San Francisco Herb Co.
Here is the link:
Prevent or reverse kidney disease in cats

In Memory Of Mango

I was going to put the date of his birth, and the date he disappeared but honestly I don't know when he was born or how old he was. 
He came to us in 2000 from a family who just didn't want him because he was a "freak".  He was going to be "put to sleep".  They thought he might be 3 or 4 years old.
Anyway, he did have a strange personality but so would I if I was unwanted and treated badly.  Mango was definitely a study in extremes. 
He could go from intense drooling purrs to intense fear of the simplest little thing (like a shadow) to angrily slapping someone with his little paw to ecstatically doing "the bitey" all in a matter of seconds.  He barfed every day, just for the fun of it ( I am so not kidding here) and would think nothing of peeing right at the door if I didn't let him out when he demanded it.  Even in his old age he thought nothing of flying full speed onto my desk or bureau, knocking everything off, then immediately taking a 10 hour snooze.  What a character.
Mostly though, Mango was crazy in love with me. He was my cat, and I was his human. Nobody else ever did somersaults just because I walked into the room. I still miss him and find it hard to believe he's gone.

A View Of The Storm

Taco, Sumari and I were alone for most of the six days that we had no power during the wild November storm.  This photo was taken on Saturday, about two hours after the snow had started and before we had a clue as to how bad it would get.
   Taco and I spent the night listening to a reverberating "CRACK, THUD" every few minutes, watching the weirdest lightening I have ever seen (if that's what it was) and alternately huddling under the covers and staring out the window trying to stay calm.