--- title: "VA Department Staffer Blames Cat Jumping on Keyboard for Server Outage" description: "A cat is said to have jumped on a VA technician's keyboard, deleting a trove of US government-held medical data." date: "2023-10-08" modified: "2023-10-08" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/va-department-cat-server" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "medical records" - "pets" - "the digest" - "us government" --- # VA Department Staffer Blames Cat Jumping on Keyboard for Server Outage ![A cat is said to have jumped on a VA technician's keyboard, deleting a trove of US government-held medical data.]() *London, UK, June 28, 2014 : A new toy every day for the little one. \Image: SBS via Getty Images\* ## Out of the Bag A four-hour outage in a Kansas City, Missouri Veterans Affairs Medical Center's (VAMC) computer system may or may not have been caused by a cat-on-keyboard situation, [*The Register* reports](). Per the report, the system malfunction in question took place in mid-September. Shortly after that, as the *Register's* source claims, it was explained on a "regular weekday call" held by the US government's Department of Veterans Affairs and its CIO that the outage occurred while a "technician was reviewing the configuration of a server cluster." A cat, the source said, hopped on the technician's keyboard, accidentally deleting the server — and the government-held medical records that it contained. It's not quite "the dog ate my homework," but it's certainly in the same pet shop. Speaking of, Kurt DelBene, assistant secretary for information and technology and CIO at the VA department, responded to the incident report during the call by saying something along the lines of "this is why I have a dog," according to the *Register's* source. ## Paw Patrol The US government department confirmed that the outage took place, though abstained from commenting on whether a feline friend was indeed the culprit. "On September 13, 2023, the Kansas City VAMC experienced an issue with image transfer within Vista due to an inadvertent deletion of server profiles," VA press secretary Terrence Hayes told the *Register* over email. "The issue was quickly identified and the system restored within four hours." "There have been no further issues," Hayes added, "or direct impacts to veterans from this incident." However, when specifically pressed on the cat's involvement, the spokesperson declined to answer. Hayes' reluctance to confirm or deny certainly feels like it speaks volumes, and this wouldn't be the first time that a kitty's love for tromping across a computer keyboard caused some IT grief; as the *Register* notes, dozens of online message boards feature [aggrieved netizens]() asking how they might restore various [cat-deleted documents]() and [digital libraries](). However common, though, it's just not something we generally expect to happen in a situation involving government-retained patient medical records. Consider this a friendly reminder that even the most unexpected of digital systems can be victim to deeply absurd and mundane mishaps — and the next time any of the VA's cat-owning technicians are tasked with moving said patient records around, we might recommend that they momentarily lock themselves in a cat-free room. **More on cats:** [*Scientists Discover That Cats Simply Do Not Give a Crap*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()