dissecting cats

[tessa45]

Anyone have any advice on how to get through A&P with the dissecting of cats? I am a huge cat lover and am already stressing over this. Surely someone else has felt this way. There are no other schools around here that use anything else except for cats. Any advice would be most helpful. Thanks.

[yelle418]

I guess Im lucky - at my CC we get cadavers. But we only have 2 per semester. I must say it is so fascinating - i cannot imagine having to dissect cats!

[cardschicarn]

I must say the cats used for cadaver purposes are not local strays. They are bred to be killed by biotech companies. I would much rather dissect a human cadaver than a cat. It work be more applicable & I know the person wasn't killed for the sole purpose of A&P students which half will fail anyway.

[prmenrs, RN]

I really learned more when I dissected the "freshly killed" (chlorform) mouse because the colors of the internal organs was soooo much better, i.e., normal!

In high school, we dissected worms, fish and frogs. Grosss, just gross. But I did learn one useful thing. The teacher dissected one of the frogs, freshly killed, placed the frog's heart in a beaker of normal saline--it kept beating for ~ 4 days. Whenever I see a baby that really should've gone to heaven, I think about that frog's heart.

[tessa45]

Wow! Really interesting comments. Some were comforting and some didn't make it any better!:) I appreciate all of the comments because for some of us it is hard to do. I could do a cadaver much easier. I too work with animals so I have that special attachment. But, all said and done I will not let my group name the cat, I am greatly appreciative for getting into a program, I will hold my nose for the smell and convince myself they were going to be put down anyway. I won't be taking it until next semester and I will survive:bluecry1: Thanks for the support!

[benegesserit]

Cadavers chose to donate their bodies to science- that's a huge difference for me. I'd love to be at a school that uses cadavers in non-med school A&P! That would be really amazing.

Same here, both for the moral and educational reasons. It's not the fact that the cats are dead that bothers me, but the fact that they were killed (and possibly bred) specifically to be dissected by A&P students.

At our school, we got one cat per group, and one of my labmates was eager to do the honors, so I let her. I'm sure I could have coped if necessary, but I was happy not to have to. I did still watch and occasionally poke around at things, just not do the actual cutting.

[itssarayay]

You could always politely ask your teacher if there is some sort of assignment that you could do instead or if you could just opt out of lab that day. At my school, we are not forced to dissect anything (we only dissect fetal pigs and only if we want to and feel comfortable doing so) and our instructors upload pictures online so we can study for lab exams.

I wouldn't dissect a cat for purely moral reasons. They are bred for the purpose (most likely in sad conditions) and aren't able to chose their fate like human cadavers were able to. I have no problems with people who can dive right in, though! More power to them!

[FireStarterRN, BSN, RN]

My group's cat was an orange tabby. He had pinker meat than the other cats in the class.

The cats were euthanized at the pound and donated to the school

[robynv]

My 2 cents, since I just finished this last week.

I have 2 kitties whom i love dearly. It was hard. No other way to say it. There were days I just knew my babies (my cats) knew what i was up to. they were on their best behavior too! it was like "please mom we were so good today!) :)

The hardest part is the first day when you have to open the cat and it well looks like a cat. I had to put a paper towel over his face and that way i could pretend it was something else. After that it was a bit easier (not much).

The funny thing is I have no problem with the human cadaver. None. I could examine him all day...

[ToxicShock]

Wow, jlsrn, I'm sure that made th OP feel sooo much better.

[txnursingqt]

It wasn't a big deal for me at all. But I fully understand how some people feel. Our school allows you to opt-out of dissections if you have a problem with it or if you are pregnant (our teacher said pregnant women shouldn't be around the fumes). However, if you do opt-out of the actual dissection you still have to come and look at the cat after the dissection because you are still responsible for the parts on the lab practical.

[back2thebooks]

My group's cat was an orange tabby. He had pinker meat than the other cats in the class.

And this is relevant to the OP's concern in what way? Just curious.

[back2thebooks]

I'm also a cat lover (animal lover in general), and I will try my hardest to remember that this is necessary for me. Hang in there!