a class cat disection prob.

luna · Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2005 4:59 pm Post subject: a class cat disection prob.

in a class i have the guy wants us to disect animals like pig babies and hes also talking about disecting a cat which i really don't want to do and really dont think i could. i told him that i couldnt disect a cat but i think he might make us anyway. im thinking about dropping it and going to a diff. class (the class isnt required) but i dont know what to do.

shnen · Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2005 5:22 pm Post subject:

your prof should be sensitive to your request - I'd see what you can do about it. I'm not sure if you are in college or highschool or university, but I'd see the head (VP, Dean) and see what you can do about it. If you don't want to support testing on animals, it's your perogative.

They may tell you just to not take the course, but since you are already in it you may as well give it a shot.

good luck.

luna · Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2005 5:51 pm Post subject:

im in high school. i had to disect on in 7th grade science and it was horrible at lest in second grade it was optional. i got the whole "if its for science its a good thing lecture" but how can it be a good thing if an animal has to die for it?

Mary_NH · Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2005 7:03 pm Post subject:

if it's something you are uncomfortable about - don't do it. I tell my junior high school age son this. If you don't intend to go into a career that requires you to disect creatures why should you have to be subject to doing it.

lunaguy · Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2005 8:28 pm Post subject:

Luna (great name, love your sig too Smile

), check out this site:

http://www.cutoutdissection.com/

I couldn't imagine having to dissect a cat, or being anywhere near anyone dissecting a cat. Sad

Good luck.

miss_maddy2007 · Member Joined: 01 Sep 2005 Posts: 27

Hey Luna...
I am also in high school (11th) and last year we had to disect baby pigs which was horrible for me because not only are they animals, they were small babies...I was there for it but didn't do anything...i did the writing....ha

But I think you should talk to your teacher and see if you can be omitted from it or maybe you could do another assignment in place of the disection. If he/she still says no and you have to do it, I would definitly talk to an administrator or maybe the principal...but you should try not to drop the class...unless you really have to...

good luck...

Sarah

faeriedust1127 · Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2005 11:32 pm Post subject:

I took an honors biology class in 8th grade and i was required to dissect a whole range of things. A fetal pig, starfish, shark, sheep's eye, heart, leopard frog and probably a few more I can't remember. I've decided to go into nursing and am currently in a college Anatomy and Physiology lab class that is going to require dissection later in the course. I can't verify for you(sorry), but I have been told in the past that the animals they use for the dissection, such as cats and fetal pigs, (not sure of the others), are animals that were already gong to be euthanized anyway-cats, and that the fetal pigs were from slaughter houses where the pregnant female pig was either slaughtered or had miscarried. I honestly don't know if that's true or not as I've never investigated it, tho I can see it being true for at least the cats. There are sooooo many cats euthanized in shelters everyday that it would be easy enough to get them from there already dead.

The first couple times I had to do a dissection, i was grossed out-it does stink, but after a little while you get used to it and you have a job to do and you get it done. Wear gloves tho, lol. I try to look at it, not as a dead cat, but as a big puzzle and i'm learning all the pieces and how they work and fit together. In the process you do learn a lot even about how your own body functions and your cat's body. Unless you have a super weak stomach where you faint at the sight of blood(btw, they aren't really bloody), then I would really try to tough it out and take the opportunity to learn something from it....especially if you plan on or have any interest in any sort of medical profession. The computer dissecting is cool and interesting, but it's really not the same as the real thing. And if you wanna work in a medical field, then you have to be able to handle it.

Good luck! Your the best

shnen · Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2005 2:41 am Post subject:

I don't think for me it would matter how it died... i could never dissect a cat, pig... I had to do a worm in grade 9, and I barely got through that!

You do what you have to... you know your boundaries.

vene · Super Senior Member Plus Joined: 25 Mar 2004 Posts: 4267

That's definitely and issue you should take up with your instructor. I remember having to dissect frogs, pigs, cats, and learn from already dissected cadavers from junior high to college. Whenerver one of my classmates could not go through with it, there was either a special assignment given or when we worked in groups, that person was to watch and learn rather than do the dissections. Well, I think this is a good lesson in finding out whether or not you want to go into the health field, or related fields. I've never recovered from doing the dissections. I still remember the smell of formaldehyde and each of the bodies I've encountered. And needless to say, I could not eat meat while I worked on them. Good luck whatever you decide!

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3437

I took comparative anatomy in college (my major was biology) and had to dissect a cat (among other things). Maybe I'm a horrible person, but it didn't really bother me. Although learning how they get the latex in the veins did bother me a little (it's not really cruel though, just not all that pleasant to think about/imagine).

I know that in high school, we always had the option to opt out and I believe that in biology we did too (but why would someone take the class if they couldn't deal with the dissections? It was an elective for a biology degree)

wildflower_131 · Member Joined: 08 Feb 2005 Posts: 154 Location: Sydney

wow! a cat?? and a pig?? for high school????

When i was in Year 12 at high school we dissected a rat, a sheep's eye, a heart, a kidney, but never a pig or even a cat!

I mean, even at university the largest we ended up dissecting was a cane toad and some small shark. But i was doing a Science Degree. I think it is odd for high school... it is unheard of in Australia. I don't know if they even do rats anymore at high school. And i was a high school science teacher for 2 years!

Its really odd, i think anyways. i wouldn't do it and if i decided not to do it i shouldn't be marked down. I think it is a choice a student should have if they want to participate in a dissection or not.

At university i think it is different. Ok, there are some limits, but what if you were studying VET science. then its a bit of an exception, but high school!! that bit is a bit worrying.

sunset05 · Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2005 2:09 pm Post subject:

I agree you should tell your teacher that you are not able to handle disecting a cat. A teacher should not make you do it. You or your parent could go to an authority above him and make you issue known.

When my daughter was in high school, she knew she could not disect anything and she didn't have to.

rcrgal31 · Senior Member Joined: 13 Jul 2004 Posts: 613

most schools now have programs where professors are required to give you another project to complete if your beliefs do not include diseccting baby animals..

kyles101 · Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2005 12:01 pm Post subject:

woah you guys sure did have to cut up alot of things! at my high school we only cut up a frog or rat each and watched the teacher cut up a liver and brain from either sheep cow or pig. why youd need to go any further than that is beyond me. the stuff you guys have mentioned are reserved for the veterinary field courses!

luna · Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 5:10 pm Post subject:

i did talk to him again and he said that he would think of somthing else. but he did mention earlier that wed be doing other animals not just cats and im not sure if he ment just the cats or all of it. in 7th grade we were told that the frogs we did were grown on a farm for dissection and thats not right. just to be raised to die. i cant see why they do that. if the animal died natualy of a disease i can see a vet doing it to find info about the disease to help other animals, but otherwise its just wrong. what if animals decided to disect humans? how would we like it?

thanx for the help and the website i didnt no that

lucidity03 · Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 5:43 pm Post subject:

I agree with you. When I was in high school I refused to dissect a rat. My teacher offered me to complete a packet in a different room (they day they did the dissection).

I wasn't punished for deciding not to do it.

Teachers should be understanding and I hope that you do get an alternative. It sounds like things should work out for you, though.

Good luck!

luna · Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 5:52 pm Post subject:

thanks, i hope i can do domething else.

bellack1 · Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 11:36 pm Post subject:

yeah in 9th grade honors biology we dissected a rat and a worm and some other things and that was kinda hard for me- my partner did it for me, but last year (11th grade) for Human anatomy we had to dissect a cat. We were told we had to or we'd fail the class. There was basically no option. Luckily I had a good partner and she did the dissecting and I did the writing. My teacher was a big jerk though so maybe thats why we had to do it. We even worked on the bodies after they started smelling really bad like they were decomposing. We worked on them for like 5-6 weeks. It was almost unbearable at the end. I'm sorry you have to go through this too. Maybe you're teacher is a little nicer. If you cant do it ask your partner if they can cut and you write. I'm sure they'll take the offer of not having to do anything but cut. EWWWWWWWWWWW

pomlover · Member Joined: 17 Aug 2004 Posts: 106

We had to dissect a pig in 6th grade. We had ALOT of the girls not wanting to so he paired up the ones willing to do it with each other and the ones not wanting to do it had to do another project instead. I have never heard of any teacher doing a dissection with their students at such a young age. My science teacher was a bit weird so maybe it was his idea to have us do it so young. Who knows.

Glad to hear they will work with you!

faeriedust1127 · Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2005 3:46 am Post subject:

I'm also glad to hear they have an alternate plan for you, since I'm sure you aren't the first student to have reservations about it. I think I'm in the minority here since I am definitely more for toughing it out and taking advantage of the opportunity, but thats just me. I don't think that makes me morbid or anything tho, just maybe a little more curious about things than most people. I saw much sadder and grosser things that kept me up at night when I worked in a county Animal Control clinic, than a controlled classroom dissection. They definitely do their share of dissecting in the animal clinic. I will never forget my first experience helping with a decapitation on a dog for rabies testing. THAT was sad because of the surrounding circumstances, but at least you know they are dead and they aren't feeling any pain at all. It definitely tests you on what you can stomach, that's for sure. Either way tho, you learn better if you are interested in what you are doing, so good luck with whatever alternative assignment they give you.