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Fortissimo

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So I am taking Anatomy Physiology in high school. I joined this class to help me better understand human anatomy( I want to be a forensic sculptor), knowing that I would have to dissect an animal. When I did my scheduling, my counselor warned me that we would dissect a fetal pig. Other students taking the corse before me also said they had to dissect a fetal pig. This I had no problem with, and I felt confident that dissecting a pig would be a good learning experience since the anatomy is similar to a human. Well the new semester rolls around and the teacher that I was suppose to have was on medical leave, so I am in another teachers class, a teacher I have never heard of. When I asked her about dissection, she told us that we would be dissecting cats; something I have a huge problem with. I told her this and she said that many students have a problem with it too. After a few weeks I thought it over trying to put myself in a mind set such as

EX.1: I am a veterinarian and i need to slice open this animal in order to save its life.
EX.2: I may be dissecting humans in the future so this should be nothing.
EX.3: As long as I don't look at the out side and focus on the inside, I wont even know its a cat.

Now, I know that it is something that I would need to do eventually in order to further my studies, and I know that there is no way around it with out failing the corse, but I simply cannot get over the fact that it's a cat. You see, I have cats at home and, like most cat owners, I'm very attached to them. I explained that to my teacher, but I told her that as long as I got a cat that didn't look like one from home, I would be Ok. Her response? "Oh, it's ok, we're skinning them first!" This bothered me even more. But I guess a positive is, she told me that i didn't have to skin the cat if it bothered me that much. After the fur is gone, it won't look much like a cat. Still, it bothers me.

The dissection starts on thursday, and I am torn apart on the inside. I know that I need to get over it and go through with it, but I also can't help but think I will break down when we start the dissection. Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with this situation? Or any mental tricks I can play on myself to get past the dissection?
 

Nyangoro

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The only thing I can think to do is to make a mental disconnect in some way or form. The easiest way would be to remind yourself that the cat is already dead, so it's not like you're hurting it at all. Another way would be to make a mental distinction between this cat and every other cat that you've seen (it doesn't have to be a real or actual distinction, a made-up one works as well). You could also think that the cat deserved it (again, the action doesn't have to be real to work).
 

Random Queen

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Are you working in groups?

I had issues in biology dissecting things, but we worked in groups of 3-4 students. The bad part was it's required for freshmen at my high school so there was no way for me to get out of it.

But anyway....we worked in groups and I didn't even have to dissecting. All I did was help with the clean up and I got my points for that.
 

Fortissimo

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Yes we get to work in groups, but I can't get away with not dissecting, she's quizzing us along the way to make sure we can identify muscle groups, bones and tissues. I want to dissect, it's just i know I will have a hard time doing it since I know it's a cat.
 

Random Queen

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Yes we get to work in groups, but I can't get away with not dissecting, she's quizzing us along the way to make sure we can identify muscle groups, bones and tissues. I want to dissect, it's just i know I will have a hard time doing it since I know it's a cat.

Well......Hmm.....When you get to the class, close your eyes for a brief moment, inhale and exhale so air and try to relax.

And if that doesn't work....think of something you like alot.

Other then that I've got nothing.
 

Tenyas

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They... They use cats?
What?
Oh... Oh my go-okay that's not helping.

It's going to be skinned? Then it shouldn't really remind you of a cat. It'll be like the pig fetus, all pink and fleshy, only with longer legs and tail. Are you going to be using gloves? Be thankful, when I had to dissect a king toad and a squid, all I had were my bare hands and a scalpel. Also, I think it would help you if you focused more on the organs then the outside of the cat. Trust me, once you're inside of an animal and see its organs, you can't even tell what it is anymore. Oh, and try to stay out of the class when they're bringing them out in the baggies... Anything carried out like that will give somebody something to worry about.
 

ROXAS_32

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you are taking anatomy in high school..... im taking it this semester in collage...

its already dead but i can see where you are coming from... we did pigs well baby pigs. you just gotta hype your self before the class and dont think too much of it.
 

Nyangoro

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They... They use cats?
What?
Oh... Oh my go-okay that's not helping.

Cats are very common when it comes to dissections. They are basically the next step up from what most people are used to.
 

Wintertide

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You know I don't see why they force( because if you don't like you said you fail the course) you but then again, you might do this so....tough luck.
 

Ryu

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they 'force' him because he was the one who joined the fucking class, so grow some fucking balls and deal with it
 

Fortissimo

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they 'force' him because he was the one who joined the fucking class, so grow some fucking balls and deal with it


I'm a girl, just for the record...

When I joined, I was unaware that we would be using cats. I was told we would be using fetal pigs, but things change weather we like it or not and now I'm stuck with dissecting a cat. You're right, I need to deal with it, and I am trying, but its difficult and I need some help in dealing with it. So far I have been getting some good ideas. Thanks guys.
 

The Fishman

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So I am taking Anatomy Physiology in high school. I joined this class to help me better understand human anatomy( I want to be a forensic sculptor), knowing that I would have to dissect an animal. When I did my scheduling, my counselor warned me that we would dissect a fetal pig. Other students taking the corse before me also said they had to dissect a fetal pig. This I had no problem with, and I felt confident that dissecting a pig would be a good learning experience since the anatomy is similar to a human. Well the new semester rolls around and the teacher that I was suppose to have was on medical leave, so I am in another teachers class, a teacher I have never heard of. When I asked her about dissection, she told us that we would be dissecting cats; something I have a huge problem with. I told her this and she said that many students have a problem with it too. After a few weeks I thought it over trying to put myself in a mind set such as

EX.1: I am a veterinarian and i need to slice open this animal in order to save its life.
EX.2: I may be dissecting humans in the future so this should be nothing.
EX.3: As long as I don't look at the out side and focus on the inside, I wont even know its a cat.

Now, I know that it is something that I would need to do eventually in order to further my studies, and I know that there is no way around it with out failing the corse, but I simply cannot get over the fact that it's a cat. You see, I have cats at home and, like most cat owners, I'm very attached to them. I explained that to my teacher, but I told her that as long as I got a cat that didn't look like one from home, I would be Ok. Her response? "Oh, it's ok, we're skinning them first!" This bothered me even more. But I guess a positive is, she told me that i didn't have to skin the cat if it bothered me that much. After the fur is gone, it won't look much like a cat. Still, it bothers me.

The dissection starts on thursday, and I am torn apart on the inside. I know that I need to get over it and go through with it, but I also can't help but think I will break down when we start the dissection. Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with this situation? Or any mental tricks I can play on myself to get past the dissection?

If you really can't do it, can't your instructor give you another assignment? I remember back when I had to dissect a cat there were some people who were given an alternative assignment because they gave the instructor a legitimate reason for why they couldn't dissect. Reading EX. 2, I would get used to it if I were you. If you go down that career path, you'll be dissecting more animals than cats, a lot more. Just think of it as a learning experience that will prepare you for the future. In my opinion, I would be more apprehensive about "dissecting" a human than dissecting a cat. I can tell you really like cats and can't see yourself doing that to a cat, but remember it's dead.

All I can say is, good luck and I hope you get over your fear. To tell you the truth, I can't relate to what you're going through because I don't the way you're thinking about it now. Not to be mean or weird, but I like dissecting animals because I learn more about the functions of each organ with respect to the rest of the body and relate that to a human while getting to see the actual organ itself and the structure of each organ right in front of my eyes. It's really amazing when you think about it, especially if you're interested in that kind of stuff. What I think about when I dissect animals is that they're dead and will be used for my learning experience. I kind of block everything else about the animal and focus in on the task at hand.

I would say the hardest part would be skinning the cat, so just stay away if you can't deal with it. Again remember, it's dead already and full of preservatives, it's not like it's alive and you're mercilessly killing it.

I hope you get over your apprehension and learn more about different organs. Surprisingly, not to gross you out or make you feel even more apprehensive, the organ structure and placement of organs in cats is about the same as that in a human
 

Izayoi

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Honestly, just remember that it's already dead, will feel no pain, and that it probably won't look all cute and fluffy in the way that makes you feel so bad in the first place.

Odds are you won't be mutilating it either.
 

Ryu

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whats your problem?
------------------

my problem is that if someone wants to attend a class like this or pursue a career in forensics, a dead cat won't be the worst mental problem you'll deal with. Just go in there, stab the thing, cry yourself to sleep over it after if you feel like it, but the more you do it the more you start to think of it in perspective and the easier it gets. Shit like "pretend its a very mean kitty" doesn't help. If anything you should be asking your professor for more cats to dissect.
 
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