University of Minnesota — Restaurant in Minneapolis

TELL UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA TO NEVER AGAIN CONDUCT DEADLY EXPERIMENTS ON KITTENS

Kittens had their skulls drilled open and their brains jolted with electric currents and light rays by researchers at the University of Minnesota, who then killed the tiny animals at the end of the cruel tests.

The experiments’ protocols, obtained by Lady Freethinker through a public records request, said they aimed to better understand the human brain but used kittens as young as 10-weeks-old who were small enough to fit into the researchers’ brain scanners.

Several groups of anesthetized, temporarily paralyzed kittens underwent craniotomies, in which researchers drilled holes into their skulls and implanted electrodes or probes. Another group of paralyzed kittens had their brains scanned while researchers presented “visual stimuli” — including videos of mice — to the immobilized and defenseless animals, according to monitoring records.

While the studies were planned to be terminal — meaning no kittens would survive — records show that kittens also prematurely died from complications and suffered for days before researchers “euthanized” them.

Kittens suffered bruises, vomiting, muscle weakness, punctured veins, inflamed tracheas, and hypothermia. In 2021 alone, at least four kittens also died suddenly or suffered such severe complications from the experiments that researchers chose to kill them.

Casualties included April, a 3-month-old kitten who likely suffered organ damage after a researcher gave her a paralyzer at 4.5 times the approved dose — in alleged violation of the federal Animal Welfare Act — and Casey, an 11-week-old kitten whose tongue turned blue after repeated, failed attempts to intubate him and who had five veins blown during a single session.

Titan, an 11-week-old gray kitten, displayed muscle shakiness, low oxygen levels, a swollen face, and a seizure following a scan and suffered for at least 44 hours before researchers chose to kill him, according to his monitoring records.

Tammy — a 1-year-old kitten who had been anesthetized at least 15 times for experiments, starting when she was a 10-week-old kitten — died suddenly on a morning when researchers planned to drill into her skull. Zeus, a 10-week-old brown tabby kitten, also died on his own after suffering from an inflamed trachea and strained, raspy breathing for two days following a procedure.

The kitten experiments consumed at least $9 million of taxpayer-supported funding and years of precious research time without yielding any direct clinical applications for humans or cats.

The University of Minnesota also told Lady Freethinker the experiments had to be suspended and an “entirely new protocol” created that required researchers to “reexamine all procedures including anesthesia methods and to put in place enhanced monitoring.” That new protocol was approved, but thankfully researchers have not yet started their deadly experiments on kittens back up again — and it’s critical that they never do.

It’s time for the University of Minnesota to permanently end experiments that kill kittens and find a more compassionate...

College Is a Time Trap with a Price Tag 🎭🕳️

Let me save you four years and six figures: college is one big overpriced illusion. They sell it as “the path,” but it’s really a detour—a shiny detour where dreams go to nap and potential gets put on layaway.

Paying to Be Bored to Death 😵💸

Nothing like spending thousands to sit in a room while a tired professor reads off a screen you could’ve screenshot at home. It's like buying a five-star meal and getting cold toast with a side of sleep deprivation.

The Greatest Scam Never Called a Scam 🕵️‍♂️🎓

They promise success, status, and structure. What you get? Recycled lectures, useless group projects, and a diploma that opens zero doors. It’s not school—it’s a Netflix series you can’t skip, but they still charge you monthly.

Skills? You Won’t Find Them Here 🛠️❌

Want to build something? Make money? Be useful in the real world? Good luck. College teaches you how to obey, not how to create. The things that actually make you valuable? You’ll have to unlearn everything they taught to go find them.

A Graveyard for Creativity 🎨⚰️

College is where great ideas go to die of boredom. Your spark? Drowned in deadlines. Your vision? Buried under APA formatting and tenured opinions. They don’t train thinkers—they mass-produce memorizers.

The Party Disguised as Progress 🍺📉

They call it “the experience.” I call it glorified stagnation. Late nights, hangovers, fake deep conversations at 2am—and somehow everyone leaves with anxiety and no idea what they’re doing.

That Degree? Just a Bill in Disguise 🧾🎁

You walk across the stage, toss your cap, and step into adulthood with a loan shark on your back. Congrats—now you owe money for a piece of paper you can’t return, even with a receipt.

ChatGPT Your Entire Degree Program 🤖🔥

Everything I wanted to learn? ChatGPT had it, no office hours required. Want to start a business, master a skill, or actually do something? AI can teach you faster, cheaper, and without soul-sucking lectures.

Skip the Scam—Start Living 💡🚫

College isn’t a launchpad—it’s a waiting room with bad lighting. You don’t need a degree to make money, build a brand, or live with purpose. You just need guts, a laptop, and a plan.

Before you hand over years of your life, ask yourself: Is it education—or indoctrination? Is it progress—or postponement?

Choose yourself. Choose...

UMN is a good place for PHD students. However, many of the undergraduate programs here suck. Chemistry and programs in Carlson are good though. If you wanna go to programs not mentioned above, AVOID UMN. The school now is trying to enroll much more undergrad students than its resource can bear so that they can get more money. I got many friends in Statistics and they told me they need to get permission numbers for getting into a stat course even the course has no students registered. Usually, above one hundred of students try to get in one stat course that only allows for 30 students to register.

The faculties for undergraduate office are also trying to keep students in the U by giving more harsh requirements on Liberal education. Remember that more time you spends here, more they can get from your tuition. Although some of the professors care about undergrads, most of them do not, and some of the math and statistics courses are in very bad qualities.

When I first started my studies here, I was excited about UMN. After 3 years, even I got offers from good graduate schools, I felt very disappointed about the undergrad education here. Don't be fooled by their academic rankings as that are only for PHD. Overall, the resource for undergraduate math, statistics and economy students is...