Certificates Of Accrual On Treasury Securities - CATS

Certificates of Accrual on Treasury Securities, or CATS, were a type of government bond that were sold really cheap, and then redeemed at maturity for a face value that was meant to have insurance built in. They came about in the 80s and stopped being sold sometime in the 90s, following some sexy financial scandals and bank mergers.

At the time, there were actually a few government securities that adopted the names of various members of the cat family. Turns out that the names of felines and jungle creatures are used for more than just sports teams and strippers.