{"id":781413,"date":"2026-06-23T09:25:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T13:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=781413"},"modified":"2026-06-23T09:39:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T13:39:31","slug":"investigation-tiny-kittens-tortured-in-nih-funded-university-of-florida-lab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=781413","title":{"rendered":"INVESTIGATION: Tiny kittens tortured in NIH-funded University of Florida lab"},"content":{"rendered":"

RFK Jr. and the NIH can\u2019t pretend to be ‘working tirelessly’ to phase out pet testing while doling out nearly $150 million in new funding for barbaric cat and dog experiments worldwide since taking office last year. White Coat Waste Project uncovered a University of Florida (UF) lab approved to abuse up to 119 cats and kittens in a breeding operation where the animals are intentionally bred with a fatal neurodegenerative disease. These disturbing tests are bankrolled by $2,639,706 in active NIH funding that is supposed to run through November 2026. This project inflicts suffering on cats intentionally bred with Niemann-Pick type C1 (NPC1) \u2014 a devastating condition that causes progressive neurological decline, loss of muscle control, dementia, and difficulty swallowing \u2014 in gruesome gene therapy experiments.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

WHITE COAT WASTE:<\/strong> In April 2025, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., promised \u201ca dramatic reduction in animal testing\u201d at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Soon after, the NIH\u2019s \u2018animal testing czar,\u2019 Deputy Director Nicole Kleinstreuer, claimed that the agency\u2019s funding for dog and cat experiments \u201cpredates\u201d her appointment to senior leadership in April 2025 and that the agency is \u201cworking tirelessly\u201d to end them.<\/em><\/p>\n

But White Coat Waste\u2019s (WCW) latest investigation and August 2025 Freedom of Information Act lawsuit have secured receipts exposing another kitten catastrophe still being funded on their watch. WCW uncovered a University of Florida (UF) lab approved to abuse up to 119 cats and kittens in a breeding operation where the animals are intentionally bred with a fatal neurodegenerative disease. These disturbing tests are bankrolled by $2,639,706 in active NIH funding that is supposed to run through November 2026…<\/em><\/p>\n

This project inflicts suffering on cats intentionally bred with Niemann-Pick type C1 (NPC1) \u2014 a devastating condition that causes progressive neurological decline, loss of muscle control, dementia, and difficulty swallowing \u2014 in gruesome gene therapy experiments… Even as the cats\u2019 health deteriorates, testing presses on. NIH-funded experimenters push the kittens to power through their pain with padded cages and feeding assistance after they lose the ability to eat independently…<\/em><\/p>\n

Every cat in UF\u2019s lab tortured in these experiments is ultimately killed \u2014 either at 24 weeks old, the typical lifespan for untreated felines with NPC1, after being kept in the lab for up to three years, or when the disease progresses so severely that the kittens can no longer function. Even cats not directly used in the project\u2019s primary experiments aren\u2019t safe. Some kittens produced in the breeding colony may be shared with other laboratories and subjected to additional testing…<\/em><\/p>\n

RFK Jr., Nicole Kleinstreuer, and the NIH can\u2019t pretend to be \u201cworking tirelessly\u201d to phase out pet testing while doling out nearly $150 million in new funding for barbaric cat and dog experiments worldwide since taking office last year… Tell Congress to pass the\u00a0PAAW Act<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>to defund painful testing on pets. SOURCE<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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