NIH funds new cat experiments despite pledge to phase them out, watchdog reports

White Coat Waste finds $1.7m in NIH grants for cat research months after officials said they were working to end studies

The US National Institute of Health is continuing to fund new laboratory experiments on cats despite saying that they are working tirelessly" to phase out" such projects.

In July this year, Dr Nicole Kleinstreuer, the NIH acting deputy director, announced in a podcast with Dr Jay Bhattacharya, the NIH director. that she doesn't think the NIH should do research on dogs or cats. On the Director's Desk: The Future of Animal Models in Research, Dr Kleinstreuer said: I think it's unconscionable" and to phase them out, we are working tirelessly behind the scenes". However, she added the NIH is constrained under the law to leave existing grants in place.