I've done plenty of dissections, but I didn't enjoy them much. I do agree that they are necessary to learn anatomy and how different animals work differently. I do think, however, that certain ages are a little too young for a cat. My 6th graders freaked out with worms, I would hate to think how they would have reacted to a frog, let alone a cat! Sheesh, I would have had irrate parents out the ying yang if that had happened.