Disecting Cats

nurse2be2007 · Aug 19, 2004

I dissected a pig fetus in 6th grade and I havent the slightest clue how I didnt have to dissect anything in highschool. I will have to dissect a pig fetus in Bio this semester and I am actually looking forward to it. We have to do a sheep's brain, cow eye and a cat in A&P 1 and I am not happy about the cat but I can do it. The cow eye is another story, that is going to be harder for me than dissecting the cat. If I want to be a nurse, I will do it! I just hope we dont have to skin the cat....Please dont let me have to skin this cat! :rolleyes:

Sheleigh7 · Aug 20, 2004

I'm sorry.I'm not meaning to be a b*&^%. However, "Just because it's going to get us into nursing school" isn't going to work for me. Haven't our leading scientists always been rebellious? It's not going to affect your grade if you approach your teacher regarding animal rights. If you're going to respect your own beliefs, which will make you a better nurse, stand up for what you believe in!!! How can people say "I love cats" yet randomly dissect cats because their teachers are listening to the administration which tells them "It's cheaper to deal with animals"? Hello. If a doctor prescribes a drug that you know is going to kill a patient, aren't you going to question it? The same thing goes with dissection. If Community Colleges don't have the $$ to care for human cadavers, but can have the $$$ to use cats and refrigerate them, don't they also have the $$$ to care for human body parts (which you can get for studying particular systems) that are going to be more accurate than those of a cat? As nurses, we should value all life. Human beings who give their bodies to science do so willingly ( I should know my mother has chosen to do this) animals do not!! Period!!!

TinyNurse, RN · Aug 20, 2004

We had to dissect cats in AP of my nursing program. I sent PETA letters to my instructor every day. He understood my position, and also understood that i would be a nurse someday........... as long as I knew my anatomy I was OK.

I gotta tell you, the cat didn't help me one bit....... I would have rather looked at human models.

xo Jen

Energizer Bunny · Aug 20, 2004

I actually enjoyed the dissection of the fetal pigs and have no problem with using animals for this purpose. I don't feel like any software would compare, but that's just me. I wish we had a cadaver, but I'm just in a small CC.

DZcarrie · Aug 20, 2004

i've dissected 3 pigs, a cat, a worm, a crayfish, 2 goat brains, 2 cow eyes, a frog, some kind of heart......

my anatomy and AP biology teacher in high school was a hands on person i guess because i dissected more stuff in high school than i did in college!

i was actually surprised to find that i nearly passed out from the cat. that was the only thing that really bothered me. i think that it was all that fur. it's hard to have pets and be cutting one up in the same day....i would have much rather been done with the pig. i've never been too attached to a pig :)

ever hear of nursing students getting a kadaver (sp?)?

my friend is in med school and was assigned her person on the second day! talk about jumping right into things!

Roseyposey · Aug 20, 2004

I just finished dissecting a cat in Anatomy in summer school; we also had to dissect a lamb's brain and a cow's eyeball. The cats came whole; our first task was to skin them. Working with the cats was the most disgusting thing I've ever done. I don't feel like I learned anything on them that I couldn't learn on the plastic models. The eyeballs were so decomposed that they were mush inside and squirted when we cut into them...and talk about the smell. People would say this would help me to be a better nurse. I say...I intend to care for live people, not dead cats! I can think of no situation in my life when I will ever need to dissect a cat. If for some reason the need to use these skills arises, I will come back and eat my words!

...Also, they say these were pound cats, strays - I say bull. The group working at the table in front of me got a very fat, declawed, neutered cat that was obviously a well-loved pet.

OBRNinTN · Aug 20, 2004

We didn't dissect any animals in A&P 1 or 2. We were fortunate enough to have cadavers.

When we asked our instructor at the beginning of the semester if we would be dissecting cats, he said, "Why...are you going to be veteranarians? The class I teach is called Human Anatomy and Physiology."

I was so relieved. I love animals. Cats especially. And the cadavers were so interesting. But, I do understand that at some schools, there isn't a choice. And that there are a lot of people who have problems with it. In my class, there were quite a few people wh were upset about having to cut a dead human as well. The difference is I suppose, is that these people donated themselves to research so that we could learn...which is incredibly noble. The cats, well....I'm just glad I wasn't put in that position. :crying2:

Christy

EyesForward · Aug 20, 2004

I totally agree -- I have to respectfully disagree with those who have said there's no value in dissection. I learned a great deal from being able touch and feel tissues and seeing how they "behave." It made the physiology real. And that's just not possible with simulated materials.

Me too. Contrary to priori statements cat anatomy is actually very similar to human anatomy, and I found dissection enlightening, and profoundly interesting. I will never forget the wonder of the urinary system, the positions of the organs in the body, the miraculous liver, the ______ing brilliance of the circulatory system, and the complexity of the digestive system. I am grateful to the kitty who gave himself up so I could remember him every time I think of the pancreas, the spleen, the blue veins vs. the red ones, the ureters attached to the ever-fascinating kidneys, etc. They are images that will stay with me a lifetime, and I do consider anatomy dissections as having contributed significantly to my appreciation and understandinng of the human body. Thank you, kitty, I'll remember you forever, and will consider donating myself someday, so hopeful medical students can gleen such appreciation. See you in heaven.