What are ‘cat eyes’? TSA issues urgent warning over surge in passengers carrying banned items
More and more passengers are trying to slip through airport security using so-called ‘cat eyes’, which has led to a warning from the TSA.
Cat eyes are self-defense weapons that resemble brass knuckles, but have pointed edges that resemble cat ears.
The user sticks two fingers through two holes – the eyes – and then closes his fists so that the sharp edges stick out. This allows the person to strike others with a punch.
Some are metal and some are plastic, but most can easily be attached to a keychain and cost only $10.
“It is disappointing how often we see these items in carry-on baggage,” said Bart R. Johnson, TSA’s Federal Security Director for 13 airports in New York state.
Pictured: A mix of ‘cat eyes’ confiscated by the TSA. Some are metal and some are plastic
He continued: ‘We encounter these types of items on a daily basis. It slows down passengers who have to stop and wait for our officers to remove the offending item. It also makes the line longer for other passengers.’
The TSA has been aware of the increase in cat eyes since last year, when the agency a line changed to classify cat eyes as a kind of knuckle duster.
Brass knuckles, like cat eyes, are not allowed in carry-on baggage, but may be stowed in checked baggage.
If a passenger is found to have cat’s eyes in their bag during security checks, the passenger will be taken aside and searched.
They can put the weapon back in their car, hand it over to someone not traveling with them, or hand it over to an officer to destroy.
“Our officers are diligent in their duties and are adept at spotting these weapons using the technologies at our checkpoints. I commend them for their continued vigilance and urge travelers to be diligent themselves and leave these items at home when packing for a flight,” Johnson said.
Cat eyes are certainly not the most dangerous contraband the TSA encounters. In 2023, someone packed a pair of vintage-style throwing knives in their carry-on luggage. They were quickly discovered by TSA agents at Boston’s Logan Airport
Also last year, TSA agents at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport confiscated four replica rockets from a passenger
The TSA said KTLA that cat’s eyes are now also found at other airports in the country, not just in upstate New York.
Recently, TSA agents have had to seize a record number of weapons that came into contact with 6,737 firearms last yearOf that total, 93 percent of the weapons were loaded.
In 2013, the agency intercepted approximately 1,800, meaning that nearly three times as many firearms have been found at airports in the past 10 years.
“We continue to see far too many firearms at TSA checkpoints, and what is particularly concerning is the number of loaded weapons that pose an unnecessary risk to everyone at the TSA checkpoint,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. “Firearms and ammunition are strictly prohibited in carry-on luggage.”
But finding guns in people’s bags isn’t even the most unusual thing TSA agents encounter.
In late 2023, the TSA published a list of its “best catches.”
Passengers have attempted to board planes with throwing knives, rockets, a stiletto hidden in bread and marijuana in a diaper.