According to records obtained by WCW through a lawsuit, the NIH is actively funding a University of Florida (UF) lab approved to experiment on up to 119 cats and kittens in a breeding program that causes animals to develop Niemann-Pick type C1 (NPC1), a devastating and ultimately fatal disorder that robs them of their mobility, cognitive function, and ability to eat and swallow normally.
Uncovered by: White Coat Waste
According to records reviewed by WCW, the kittens at the UF lab begin enduring invasive procedures when they are just three weeks old. Throughout their short lives, they are subjected to brain and carotid artery injections, repeated blood and tissue collections, and a series of neurological and behavioral tests as experimenters monitor the progression of the disease.
As the condition advances, the cats steadily lose muscle control and the ability to eat on their own. Tragically, every cat bred into the colony ultimately dies or is euthanized after suffering the horrific effects of NPC1.
The project has already received $2.6 million in taxpayer funding and is scheduled to continue through at least November 2026, meaning more cats and kittens could be bred into the program and subjected to the same fate.
Perhaps most disturbing of all, WCW uncovered records indicating that future generations of cats will continue to be bred with the fatal disease to sustain the colony. Additional documents show that some kittens produced by the breeding program may be transferred to other laboratories for additional testing.
“White Coat Waste’s latest investigation and open records lawsuit exposes how the National Institutes of Health is still funding cruel and wasteful experiments on kittens at the University of Florida (UF), despite claiming last year it was ‘working tirelessly’ to end them,” said Justin Goodman, Senior Vice President at WCW.
“Disturbing videos and other records obtained by White Coat Waste reveal that UF is intentionally breeding kittens to suffer from a fatal disease that causes loss of muscle control, dementia, and difficulty swallowing, and subjecting them to invasive brain injections and other painful procedures before killing them. This is just one of several active NIH-funded cat labs at UF, which imprisoned 465 cats last year.
“Over a year ago, RFK Jr. promised a ‘dramatic reduction in animal testing at NIH,’ but White Coat Waste has documented how the agency has defiantly doled out nearly $150 million in new tax funding for cat and dog testing at UF and elsewhere since then,” continued Goodman. “Most taxpayers oppose the NIH’s wasteful and cruel kitten experiments and want Uncle Sam to send them to the litterbox of history. The solution is simple: Stop the money. Stop the madness!”
World Animal News (WAN) has reported on the suffering endured by animals in laboratories while advocating for humane, modern alternatives to animal testing. This latest investigation adds to growing concerns that federal agencies continue funding painful animal experiments while assuring the public that efforts are underway to reduce and replace them.
