What are 'cat eyes'? TSA issues warning over uptick in passengers carrying prohibited item to checkpoints

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC/NEXSTAR) — An increase in the number of “cat eyes” being carried through airport checkpoints in Upstate New York has prompted a warning from TSA officials.

“The frequency in which we are seeing these items among carry-on items is disappointing,” said Bart R. Johnson, a federal security director for the TSA, said in a statement included with a recent TSA news release.

Cat eyes are a weapon similar to brass knuckles, albeit with points shaped like a cat’s ears. Users place their fingers through the “eye”-shaped portion of the weapon — often kept on keychains for self-defense — and close their fists so the sharp edges are pointed outward, allowing one to slash or gouge with a swing of their fists.

Like brass knuckles, cat eyes are also prohibited from carry-on bags. In 2023, the TSA also clarified that cat eyes are classified as “club-like items” in response to TSA officers confused over their permissibility.

“Clarifying that TSA considers cat-eyes to be a type of brass knuckle will simplify training and operational requirements and provide clarity to the public,” reads a section of a 2023 amendment to a larger interpretive rule regarding prohibited items.

If discovered in a carry-on, passengers can either choose to re-pack cat eyes in a checked bag, return them to their home or car, or surrender them to the TSA.

But, also like brass knuckles, cat eyes may be illegal to carry in certain states or jurisdictions.

“Should the bag need to be opened for some reason and there is an illegal item in the bag, TSA will be required to report it to local law enforcement,” the TSA writes in its rules surrounding brass knuckles.

The TSA said the cat eyes discovered in Upstate New York are either made of metal or hard plastic, both of which are banned from carry-on bags.

“Our officers are diligent in their duties and are good at spotting these weapons using the technologies at our checkpoints,” said Johnson. “I commend them for their continued vigilance and ask travelers to be equally diligent themselves and leave these items at home when packing for a flight.”

A representative for the TSA could not confirm the exact number of cat eyes detected at Upstate New York checkpoints as these types of items are "not individually tracked," but that the agency is seeing "a lot" in Upstate New York. They are also "common elsewhere," she added.