Oh geesh, classes have just started and ALREADY I have a problem.
You see I'm a vegetarian and my lab for Anatomy and Physiology has a part to it that is dissecting a cat. Problem is I have a respect for life and am a strict vegetarian (no leather, meat of any kind, etc.) This is part of the reason why I want to become a nurse - to help the world not hurt it. If I dissect a cat then I will be directly responsible for that cat having been killed. What should I do? The lab (as a whole) looks like it is one third of the final grade. I've already emailed the dean of students, and I'm waiting to hear back from him. I can't imagine that I'm the only one to ever have had this problem. Nursing schools weigh GPA very heavily. I want to kick ass.. any suggestions?
I can look in on others doing a dissection (as that is their own choice), but if I do it myself then I become responsible. Sigh.
It just seems very weird that they were all huge in size (never seen a domestic cat that big), all black and white, yet we're told they weren't raised for this purpose. I didn't buy that reason.
I think that it is, forgive the expression, "luck of the draw" on which cats go where. While I suppose it is possible that someone is breeding cats just for this reason, the cost of raising the animals would far outweigh the profit from selling them for anatomy labs - fee per animal is minimal, at best.
Our class had mostly small cats, @ 6 mo old... 2 were very large, well nourished adults. Fur was already removed.
The cats have been "put down" because there are too many in this society, not only for anatomy class.
I think if we did not have overpopulation of pets, we would see this practice discontinued.
We had to buy our cats... part of our lab fee was $16.50 and that counted for 1/4 of the cost of the cat. We were told that the fee was because our cats had the veins and arteries injected with color as well as coming pre-skinned for us. We were told that we did not buy the cats but rather the material that was used in them to make our learning easier. All of our cats were well over a year and many of them were into later life. None of them had been spayed/neutered (would be hard to learn the reproductive system if they had)... Our cat was probably around 5-6 judging by the dental plaque and general condition... although I do not imagine that the cats had an easy life. We did not know exactly where our cats came from... but I do know that one of the cats had 2 ticks on his head as well has dead fleas on his body (the lower legs and head was all that had fur on them)... so my guess is that they were taken from a feral situation and euthanized.
Oh geesh, classes have just started and ALREADY I have a problem.
You see I'm a vegetarian and my lab for Anatomy and Physiology has a part to it that is dissecting a cat. Problem is I have a respect for life and am a strict vegetarian (no leather, meat of any kind, etc.) This is part of the reason why I want to become a nurse - to help the world not hurt it. If I dissect a cat then I will be directly responsible for that cat having been killed. What should I do? The lab (as a whole) looks like it is one third of the final grade. I've already emailed the dean of students, and I'm waiting to hear back from him. I can't imagine that I'm the only one to ever have had this problem. Nursing schools weigh GPA very heavily. I want to kick ass.. any suggestions?
I can look in on others doing a dissection (as that is their own choice), but if I do it myself then I become responsible. Sigh.
Thank you in advance..
Maybe Im insensitive but I dont see your problem. One, you didnt kill the cat, they bought it from wherever they buy them. and two you dont have to eat it. So Im sorry, I guess I dont understand.
I dissected 2 animals in 2 different A&P classes. The first was a cat--bore no resembalance [sp] to any 'Fluffy' I've ever known. HUGE, stretched out, stiff as a board. I don't even remember if I could tell what color it was--not sure it even had a tail. The tissue was gray, and stiff--not very lifelike. It also reeked of formalin. I could in no way feel much of anything for that poor cat.
The second time, I dissected a small, freshly killed white rat. That was a great learning experience. The tissue was lifelike in color and feel--and, in those politically incorrect 60's, I couldn't feel too sorry for a rat.
It is a learning experience--you will get something from it, if nothing more than to learn to distance yourself from difficult situations that you need to deal with--and there are plenty of those in nursing.
Maybe Im insensitive but I dont see your problem. One, you didnt kill the cat, they bought it from wherever they buy them. and two you dont have to eat it. So Im sorry, I guess I dont understand.
Perhaps she has a soft heart where animals are concerned. Nothing wrong with that.
It is a learning experience--you will get something from it, if nothing more than to learn to distance yourself from difficult situations that you need to deal with--and there are plenty of those in nursing.
That is one thing I am going to have to learn. Not to allow myself to get emotionally involved with my patients problems and lives. I think that is one reason I definately do not want to work in pediatrics. I would identify too much with the parents.
It is a learning experience--you will get something from it, if nothing more than to learn to distance yourself from difficult situations that you need to deal with--and there are plenty of those in nursing.
Ohhhhh.. I like that! Thank you!
wanted to add, I go to school in California, and we were told that the cats were specifically raised for anatomy classes, were never pets.
I am not the op I just helped him out with advice. The reference I made to peta in a post was purely in a satrical way to the person who posted cats are meat and tada people are meat. :rotfl: I can't help but laugh at that every time. Geesh the logic out there is scary . I just seen the post above yours and I am wondering if peta should be called about cats being raised just for anatomy classes.
Did you contact PETA yet? If yes, What did they say about it? :) Good luck :balloons:
. I just seen the post above yours and I am wondering if peta should be called about cats being raised just for anatomy classes.
SusanJean
463 Posts
I think that it is, forgive the expression, "luck of the draw" on which cats go where. While I suppose it is possible that someone is breeding cats just for this reason, the cost of raising the animals would far outweigh the profit from selling them for anatomy labs - fee per animal is minimal, at best.
Our class had mostly small cats, @ 6 mo old... 2 were very large, well nourished adults. Fur was already removed.
The cats have been "put down" because there are too many in this society, not only for anatomy class.
I think if we did not have overpopulation of pets, we would see this practice discontinued.
SJ