The CATS Act, short for the Cat Abuse in Testing Stops Act, is a bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in December 2020 to permanently ban taxpayer-funded experiments on cats at the Department of Veterans Affairs. It was never enacted as a standalone law. Congress instead accomplished the same goal through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of March 2024, which ordered the VA to eliminate all research on cats, dogs, and non-human primates within two years. The VA confirmed by September 2024 that it was no longer conducting any feline testing at any facility.1Office of Rep. Nicole Malliotakis. VA Halts Cat and Dog Research, Win for Animal Advocates
What the Bill Would Have Done
Representatives Dina Titus of Nevada and Brian Mast of Florida introduced the CATS Act on December 3, 2020, with 18 additional House cosponsors.2Office of Rep. Steve Cohen. Representative Cohen Helps Introduce Bipartisan Bill to End Cruel, Outdated Cat Experiments at VA The bill would have permanently prohibited the VA from conducting painful or lethal experiments on cats and kittens, including procedures that severed spinal cords, implanted electrodes, and other invasive surgeries.3Office of Rep. Dina Titus. Titus, Mast Introduce CATS Act
The scope was narrow by design. The bill targeted the VA specifically, not other federal agencies, and it addressed cats, not the dog and primate research that separate legislation and spending provisions were already working to curb.
The Experiments That Prompted It
The bill responded to research documented at three VA facilities, most prominently a lab at the West Los Angeles VA. After the White Coat Waste Project sued the VA to obtain records, reporting revealed that healthy cats purchased from commercial breeders had electrodes implanted in their brains and holes drilled into their skulls to monitor sleep patterns, and were then euthanized and dissected. The VA said the research studied sleep disorders linked to combat-related conditions such as PTSD. The agency acknowledged spending nearly $5 million on testing at the West Los Angeles lab alone.4CBS News. David Goldstein Investigates West LA VA Cat Experiments
How the Ban Actually Happened
The standalone CATS Act did not pass, but Titus and Mast folded its goal into the annual appropriations process. The fiscal year 2020 VA spending bill restricted funding for testing on cats, dogs, and primates and directed the agency to develop a phase-out plan. The fiscal year 2021 VA appropriations bill went further on dog testing.3Office of Rep. Dina Titus. Titus, Mast Introduce CATS Act
Even so, the VA tried to resume cat research. In June 2022, VA Secretary Denis McDonough wrote to Senator Martin Heinrich seeking authorization to acquire seven cats for a project at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center in Ohio. The stated purpose was to implant an experimental device to study technology intended to benefit stroke survivors and amputees, with McDonough arguing that the FDA required animal testing before human trials.5Nevada Current. Biden Administration Seeks to Revive Cat Experiments Curbed by Congress As of April 2024, the VA still listed the Cleveland cat experiments as active, funded at approximately $270,000 through September 2024, with researchers surgically embedding wires and sensors into the legs and backs of cats to test a miniaturized implant.6Stars and Stripes. VA Animal Testing Faces Congressional Mandate
The decisive step came in March 2024. Congress included a provision in the Consolidated Appropriations Act ordering the VA to eliminate all research on cats, dogs, and non-human primates within two years, with limited exceptions, and to submit a phase-out plan within 90 days. The White Coat Waste Project called it the first time Congress had enacted legislation ordering a federal agency to completely end experimentation on particular animal species.7Nevada Current. House Spending Bill Eliminates VA Testing on Dogs, Cats, Monkeys6Stars and Stripes. VA Animal Testing Faces Congressional Mandate
Where Things Stand Now
By September 2024, the VA confirmed it was no longer conducting feline testing anywhere. A VA spokesperson said the cat model for the Cleveland project had been superseded by newer standards that allowed the research goals to be pursued through other approaches.1Office of Rep. Nicole Malliotakis. VA Halts Cat and Dog Research, Win for Animal Advocates Justin Goodman of the White Coat Waste Project called the VA the “first federal agency that has completely eliminated dog and cat testing.”8The National Desk. VA Cat Experiments Halted
As of June 2025, the VA reported no active studies using cats, down from 400 cats in its research programs 19 years earlier. The department is on track to conclude its remaining primate studies by mid-2025.9Military.com. VA to End Medical Research on Primates
So while the CATS Act itself never became law under its own name, the ban it called for is in place. Anyone tracking the bill in a legislative database will find it died in committee; anyone tracking the underlying question of whether the VA still experiments on cats will find that it does not.