dissecting cats

tessa45 · Nov 7, 2008

"Pinker meat than other cats?" That is really graphic, and what is the point in saying that? However, I do like Robyn's suggestion for covering the cat's face with a paper bag. That for me is a great idea. And at the school I will be taking it at, there is no other option but using a cat. All of the schools around here use cats. I will suck it up when the time comes. Everyone gets their own cat also. How I wish it was a group dissection because I am sure there is someone who would gladly take the lead. Not me.

I love my cat! · Nov 7, 2008

We had to dissect cats. I hated it and I didn't get anything out of it except, maybe, the anatomy of a cat.

Nursing schools really should use a Cadaver if they really want us to learn about the human body. I'm a Nurse not a Vet.

cpkRN · Nov 7, 2008

I thought I was going to have problems with cat dissection and was terrified of crying my eyes out. Please forgive me if I sound crass, but I am also a cat lover and the following examples really helped me through my cat dissection:

1) The cats came in a large box from a scientific supply company. Seeing that alone helped me begin to separate my thoughts of it being a living creature and "just a scientific tool".

2) I could tell it was a cat, but it was all prepped by the senders for us to study. Just one example: Ours had all the veins and arteries dyed in very bright blue and red, almost cartoonish - it didn't seem real.

Hopefully, yours will be similar because these 2 things really helped me through it. I just had to hug my kitties more than usual when I got home.

You can do it!

Metalmannequin · Nov 7, 2008

being a vegetarian and animal rights advocate, i just refused to do any animal dissection. I'm not grossed out at all by cadavers (animal or human) but i just explained that it would violate my morals to participate. They kind of have to give you an alternative assignment if you explain yourself in an intellegent manor. Never do anything that you feel is wrong, there's always a way around it.

As others have already mentioned, cat anatomy is fine for a highschool introduction, but it really is a waste of time for a nursing student.

suanna · Nov 7, 2008

Thety don't purr, or lick your hand, or play with string- they just lay there- real stiff hard and cold. I doubt they will remind you in any way of the pets you have loved. If they do- get over it- Nursing is a tough profession. You are going to be taught to do many painful and embarrassing proceedures to patients that remind you of you mother or grandfather. Getting used to setting your personal feelings aside to get the job done is part of nursing education- start with the kitties.

liteskin_qtee · Nov 7, 2008

For me the hardest part was the smell...my teacher didn't provide or suggest vicks for under our noses, the fumes gave me a headache by the end of the class...but dissecting a cat is a "necessary" evil required to get u to ur ultimate goal...if u think of it that way hopefully it can get u thru it...I love cats too but I didn't think of the cat as a pet I thought of it as a specimen...

C_K_GrodeckLPN · Nov 15, 2008

I had a similar experience dissecting kittens in a biology class long before my nursing school. Cried my eyes out!!! :cry: They were twins, dubbed "Pete & Repeat". How CRASS!!!!! I now have 7 kitties - a mamma 4y/o & six 5-1/2 month olds. I appreciate every one of them!!!:paw:

donsterRN, ASN, BSN · Nov 15, 2008

I hope you all don't mind one more post on this...

I, too, am a huge cat lover. When I was made aware that my A&P class would be dissecting cats (among other things), I really considered changing my mind about nursing school. I just knew I'd have difficulty cutting into one of these beautiful animals. But, my desire to study nursing overrode any unease I felt about the journey. So I decided to "man-up" and just do it.

It wasn't horrible. It's not something I want to do again, but you know, the experience wasn't horrible. A previous poster said that the cats are not like any cats you've seen or are used to seeing. They aren't cute and cuddly and furry and purring. My cat was more like a tree branch... hard, long and cold. And I know the cat didn't have a choice in his being euthanized and prepared as a laboratory specimen, but his death allowed me to study a body and its structures and functions, like veins and muscles and lungs. I'm guessing my program couldn't afford a human cadaver and the cat is probably the closest thing to human anatomy they could get. I truly learned a lot from the cat (whom, I'm ashamed to say, we named).

I wish you much luck and success in your school.

lildiamond · Nov 16, 2008

Yeah the more I think about it, the more uspet I become. Cats cannot choose to give their lives for the education of future nurses.

I have chosen to take Anatomy at a school that uses HUMAN cadavers. This college will be a longer drive for me, but I don't think that I can ethically dissect a cat that was killed for this purpose.

It's too bad shelters don't turn over the euthanized strays..they have to be bled, then packed in formaldehyde...the shelters don't have the time or resouces to do this, sadly. Hence why companies exsist to provide cats to colleges. Hopefully, someday, this will not be the standard for Anatomy classes.

I find it disheartning that some other people say to "buck up" and that as nurses we will see many sad and disturbing things. I could not disagree more. First off I think that as nurses we should seek to help those in less fortunate positions...what is more innocent than a cat killed for a HUMAN anatomy class?? I work at an animal hospital and see sad and disturbing things; it has NEVER gotten easier...and if it does, that is the day my compassion and empathy die...

It's true that we will see many sad and disturbing things as nurses, but I know I won't ever see a person killed for medical school students to dissect! Life is sometimes very difficult and full of sorrow, but we should seek to lessen this as nurses, not contribute to it...

Just a thought! :bugeyes:

Stratiotes · Nov 16, 2008

I was told that ours were donated? I don't know.

There were some people in my class who were pretty upset, but you just have to keep your mind off of anything but the things you are looking for. The cat is dead whether or not you are there dissecting it or not, so opting to avoid it doesn't save it somehow.

I'm not trying to be callous--I love animals too and I "HOPE" they weren't killed for our class. But regardless, they are already dead and I had nothing to do with it, so I just focused on doing what was required of the lab and keeping my mind from wandering what happened to the cat or other things that tried to enter my head.

HeatherTN · Nov 16, 2008

I am also an animal lover and have a huge soft spot for cats....I don't remember a time in my life when I didn't have at least one cat....currently I have two that I have had for over ten years so yes the cat dissection was tough for me also....the worst part for me was skinning it, so my lab partners and I decided to divide up the work. One of the other girls skinned it and once it was skinned it was so much easier on me...like several of the others have said it looks less like a cat at that point and was more technical. So after it was skinned we divided up the muscle groups and then I labeled them and photographed them for our group......and before I knew it A&P I and the kitties were behind me thank GOD!!!

Our class was also chosen to go to a cadaver lab for human dissection and to be honest that bothered me less.....b/c they got to choose to donate their bodies to science so that was more interesting to me and wasn't so sad for me.

Just wanted to wish you all the best!!!!!

Heather

lildiamond · Nov 16, 2008

Actually I do think that it does matter (in the long run) if people "opt out". Indirectly, we are all responsible for how the animal died, as we are using it for dissection.

If more students refused to do the dissection or if students chose classes that did not use cats, schools would be faced with having to make decisions. If only two people out of a class of 40 actually agreed to dissect the cat, schools would buy less cats to dissect. Over time, school programs would change...

I work at an emergency and internal medicine vet hospital. I know FOR A FACT that vets CANNOT BY LAW (in CA) donate any euthanized cats to school programs. THis is against the law, and unless a vet is doing this illegally and packaging the cat himself (or herself), it is a lie the professor told you. Don't believe me? Please ask the professor or college to let you see documents shouwing which vet 'donated' the cats...My money is on the fact that this won't hold water...

It is tempting to not think of how or why the cat on the table in front of you died. Many people go along every day and only think of what directly affects them. All I am trying to do is challenge people to think in a wider frame of reference.

THe facts show that students do not learn anymore from dissecting a cat than from using a computer model or a human cadaver. In that respect, then I feel we should all care why and how this cat died.