• A new WCW investigation reveals invasive cat experiments funded by the Department of Defense.
• These bizarre experiments electro-shock cats to induce erections and make them defecate marbles.
• The DOD grant funding this lab cost taxpayers $10.8 million.
• Citing WCW’s campaigns, the House just passed historic legislation to stop the DOD from funding any experiments on dogs and cats.
• WCW has filed a lawsuit against the DOD for failure to comply with our Freedom of Information Act request.
• WCW has exposed DOD’s wasteful spending since 2016, when we detailed deadly beagle experiments in our landmark “Spending to Death” report.
• WCW is the only animal protection organization to shut down federal feline labs in at least 40 years.

UPDATE: May 28, 2025 
VICTORY! Following WCW’s investigation and campaign, the Department of Defense cut funding for its deadly $10 million cat constipation experiments and the U.S. Navy enacted a historic policy banning all testing on dogs and cats. 

Original post: July 3, 2024

The House has unanimously passed bipartisan legislation defunding the Department of Defense (DOD)’s use of dogs and cats in experiments. This move was prompted by a recent White Coat Waste (WCW) investigation and lobbying campaign.

It’s the first time in American history that Congress has voted to block the DOD from funding all experiments on dogs and cats.

Our exposé uncovered a million-dollar DOD-funded drug safety test that poisons puppies.

Now, we’ve uncovered another horrific DOD-funded cat lab—and this bill would put an end to it.

The University of Pittsburgh electro-shocks cats to induce erections and defecate foreign objects. And it’s funded by the DOD’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

In one of these DARPA-funded experiments, UPitt sliced open the backs of male cats to expose their spines. The white coats then implanted electrodes and fired off electric shocks—while the incision was still open—to give the cats erections.

The cats were shocked for up to 10 minutes at a time, had their spinal cords cut to paralyze their lower body, and then were shocked for an additional 10 minutes.

In another disturbing experiment, the DOD paid UPitt to attach electrodes to cats’ spinal cords, insert condom-balloons into the cats’ colons, and marbles into their rectums. Then they forced the cats to defecate the foreign objects via electric shock.

One cat had four marbles inserted. He endured the electric shocks for 11 minutes straight.

This tax-funded torture is eerily reminiscent of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ “cat-stipation” experiments. At the infamous Stokes lab, the VA slashed cats’ spinal cords and shoved bran and potato flour in their anuses. WCW exposed this lab in 2020, and after a fervent campaign, shut it down in 2021.  

UPitt’s strange experiments were funded by a $10.8 million contract with the DOD—the money will be paid through 2025.  

WCW has filed a lawsuit against the DOD for failing to comply with our Freedom of Information Act request.

WCW is a bipartisan campaign to expose and close the U.S. government’s $20 billion cat and animal testing business. You can help!