Now come on. We dissect PEOPLE! So what's wrong with dissecting cats? They're dead. You're learning. They can't feel it. They weren't killed just so that you could dissect them - they would have died anyway.

Just do your best to think of your cat as an object and not as a pet while you're doing your work. Block it out of your mind. Once the skin has been taken back, it will be OK. Maybe you won't have to participate while it still looks like a kitty. Maybe you could get out of that part - call in sick or something! Then when the hard part is over, you'll be shocked at how easy it is.