In (n,n′&ggr;) experiments performed at the University of Kentucky 7.0 MV accelerator facility, the low‐lying, low‐spin level structures of several even‐A stable Cd nuclei have been systematically studied. Level lifetimes have been determined with the Doppler‐shift attenuation method. Initial results from110–116Cd generally support the interpretation of these nuclei as anharmonic quadrupole vibrators with low‐lying intruder structures, although the details of the low‐spin levels of114Cd and116Cd remain puzzling. © 2002 American Institute of Physics