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Cat experiments

Tuesday, May 29 at 11:53 AM

Alison Maynard of Denver writes:

I am writing about the experiments on cats being conducted by Moshe Solomonow at the University of Colorado at Denver, Health Sciences Center, reported on by the News on May 16. It involves cutting the cat’s back to expose the spinal cord, and applying pressure with a machine to simulate a cat carrying load on its back. The cat is then euthanized. A local veterinarian, Jeff Young, noted that a cat’s back has little in common structurally with a human’s. Thus, these experiments do not even have practical value for humans.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has a videotape it says was provided by a technician, showing that a cat was not anesthetized properly—the experimenters were using an old drug—and was conscious throughout the procedure, going into spasms and throwing up.
Whether or not PETA’s videotape is authentic, the fact remains that these experiments are being conducted, under the aegis of our state university. These cats live miserable lives in fear, loneliness, and captivity, and then suffer a painful death. Treating these intelligent, sensitive animals as if they are objects simply to be used up and thrown away is barbaric. I thought experiments on cats (and monkeys) were part of the Dark Ages and no longer done. It appears, unfortunately, that they ARE still being done at UCDHSC.
It is time to stop experiments on cats, dogs, and monkeys. It is a blot on the human species generally, that we feel we have the right to do such things. In particular, it gives UCD a black eye. The experimenter is a sick man and his “work” should not be conducted in UCD’s laboratory.

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