HUGE A&P Dilemma, object to dissecting cats, any options?

HillaryC, RN, CRNA · Oct 3, 2004

I'm happy to hear there are others out there with compassion for non-human animals. Please check out these two websites I've posted below. I'm sure they can help you figure out how to handle this situation. It's certainly not as easy as "just sucking it up and doing it", but sometimes listening to your conscience isn't easy. When I took A&P (Human A&P, by the way), I kindly asked the professor at the beginning of the semester if she used non-human animals for dissection in her class. I explained to her that I had ethical objections to using non-human animals and it was something I would not participate in. I was fortunate that she was pretty understanding and said she primarily used the very expensive ADAM computer software that the school had just invested in. There were also countless hands-on plastic models of human anatomy and physiology. I was able to simply skip the occasional test question that involved an animal part (sheep's brain, for example), but I was still able to get an A in the class. If I'd had a different instructor, I may have had to make more of an effort, and might have had to go through the administration and research my rights to abstain.

The reality is that you don't need to see a dead organ to learn it's parts and functions. It's one thing to have MDs dissect cadavers (people who died naturally and had a say in whether their bodies would be used in research). MDs have to know the human body inside and out, in way more detail than RNs. These days, we have amazing computer software and great plastic models of human parts. We can look at pictures of cadavers (there are some great photo atlases). We can watch videos of human dissections, autopsies, surgeries. There's absolutely no need to hold a dead cat in your hands in order to learn about the human body.

Frankly, I think some people continue to use animals in dissection simply because that's how it was done when they were in school, and because we have this common attitude that using animals is excusable because we can benefit from it. I've always thought that was a really lame excuse. There are a lot of ugly things we could benefit from doing, but we don't do them because they're simply wrong. We could learn a lot more to benefit humans from experimenting on brain dead, vegetative humans who would feel no pain (compared to the 100% functioning nervous systems of the non-human animals we experiment on). We don't do it because it's wrong. We continue to use non-human animals because most people prefer to just accept it as a necessary evil and give it no further thought (after all, the reality would be very upsetting to the majority of people in our society who consider themselves pet lovers). People also like to say that these animals are already dead, so what's the harm? The truth is that these animals are sold to labs and dealers because few people speak out against the practice of killing them. Unfortunately, things aren't going to change until people start to stand up for their beliefs. It may not feel like you're making a difference, but if everyone started standing up individually, you'd eventually see change. In the mean time, at least you can feel good about not taking part in a practice you believe is wrong.

I think it's really sad that there's such a pervasive attitude in this society that using animals for human gain is just a necessary, justifiable evil. I'm disheartened to see so many posts from "animal lovers" or people that have cats in their own family who seem to think that there's something different about the cats used in research. These cats are no different from the cats in human families; in fact, many of the animals used in research labs have been seized from animal control and were once family pets. As people continue to speak out in opposition to the practice of using non-human animals, fewer animals will be killed simply because their bodies are worth a few dollars to animal dealers. Now, the millions of dogs and cats that are "euthanized" in shelters each year are a different story that I'm not going to even touch here. That's a whole different problem to address.

Good luck with your class. Take care.

Hillary

Vegan RN

New England Anti-Vivisection Society:

http://www.neavs.org/

American Anti-Vivisection Society:

http://www.aavs.org

Being an animal lover I was appalled to find out that the A&P class I will be starting this spring dissects CATS in their lab. I find this very offensive. I would like to know if anyone has had experience with this and if there is a way to opt out of participating in the mutilation of dead cats and still get through the class?

TexasPoodleMix · Oct 3, 2004

Our professor said the first day "If you are a PETA person, this class isn't for you" . I'm certainly NOT a "peta person" but I do love cats and very disturbed that these cats are possibly bred for dissection. That is horrible !

bonjovigirl · Oct 4, 2004

I am going to do my own research now, because you have peaked my interest, but I don't believe cats are bred for dissection. We were told they were from shelters. I believe that only because of economics. Isn't it cheaper to get cats that were already killed in every town in every state to the tune of what 1 million a year? Could it even be feasible for some guy in mexico to go house to house stealing cats, avoiding homeowners and fences and livestock or whatever, to collect as many cats as are needed for schools? Then what do they do with them? bring them live to a lab for a few pennies each in cages so they can be put to sleep without trauma, wrapped, shipped across the border (aren't there laws against transporting animals across borders, or it is only live ones?) When we kill hundreds of thousand more cats than we need right here, already in cages, already the cost is going out for euthanasia. There is a kill shelter a few miles from my house. Who knows what their numbers are? I just can't believe that the majority,at least,of science cats are stolen or bred. When it all comes down to it, that just seems like way too much effort to be cost effective.

I hope I don't sound too cold, I am a huge, animal lover who volunteers at an animal shelter (no kill).

Gompers, BSN, RN · Oct 4, 2004

We also had cats in our A&P class. I am a HUGE cat lover and have had many cat loves throughout my life. But, i sucked it up and did what i needed to do. Sure its sad...but thats the way things are. Cats are killed everyday and just thrown out....well at least these are being used for our learning. Thats the way i had to think about things in order to get through it.

My thoughts exactly. I know there is a thread somewhere else on this board about one school whose cats were born and raised SPECIFICALLY for dissection, and that did bother me because there are so many homeless cats out there euthenized every day in humane societies. My school got their cats from the shelter - whether we dissected these cats or not, they were going to be put down.

Just pair up with someone who really wants to do the actual dissection, and you won't have to touch the cat. Most instructors are fine with this. You refusing to do the dissection isn't going to change the fact that the cat is already dead and will be used for the lab. Sad but true. Good luck!

Q. · Oct 5, 2004

Strange....I'd rather dissect a cat than a human being :uhoh21:

Yeah, that is weird that people would prefer to dissect humans than cats.

I didn't particularly enjoy any dissection, but I did what I needed to do to learn.

EmilyCCRN · Oct 5, 2004

I'm a cat lover, but I did participate in cat dissections during A&P I. Beyond any animal rights issues, I felt that it was not very useful to dissect cats when our future patients are all humans.

I took A&P II through Eastern Oregon University's distance learning department and was under the impression that we'd be using software to simulate the dissections. (Silly me--I believed what was written in the course description!) You can imagine my surprise when I received a dead cat in the mail the first week of class. They actually expected us to perform dissections in our houses! Who has the facilities for that? I wasn't about to throw the cat on my kitchen table and start cutting away, so I donated it to a local college. I still got an A in the class because I watched the dissection video and studied the structures by looking at pictures. Oh, and to make the situation more "amusing", the school screwed up and accidentally sent me a SECOND dead cat a few weeks into the term. That one got donated to a local college, too. :rolleyes:

Jo Dirt · Oct 6, 2004

You refusing to do the dissection isn't going to change the fact that the cat is already dead and will be used for the lab. Sad but true. Good luck!

Yes, I'm well aware that cats and other innocent animals will be killed and dissected everyday regardless of whether I choose to participate or not. It doesn't make it any easier to accept for me, it is more personal, I guess. I would just find it very disturbing to do this.

It would be even more disturbing to do this on a human, I don't care if it was their wish, I just find it very morbid, however, I do realize that people who are giving enough to want their bodies donated to science are helping facilitate the discovery of life saving cures...but I think using helpless animals for this purpose is just wrong.

I heard one nurse joking one day "When I was in A&P we were each given a cat and through the semester our cat kept getting smaller and smaller....blablabla..."

Call me a PETA freak weirdo but I failed to see the humor. And I don't think whether you are a PETA freak or not should affect your ability to be a good competent nurse.

Energizer Bunny · Oct 6, 2004

I guess I kind of think of it this way (and I really can see your point, OP)......

In nursing we are going to have to deal with many clients that we don't agree with their lifestyles, etc. In many instances, we will have to set aside how we feel about these issues and treat them as we would anyone else. Dissecting something that I don't agree with would give me practice in this area. BUT, I reiterrate that I can see your point. I like animals just fine but it didn't bother me to do any of my dissections.