National Antivisection Society
Differences between cats and humans
. Updated: 14 April 2011
Experiments at Oxford University have included stitching up the eyes of kittens and implanting electrodes into kittens’ brains. Unlike dogs, cats are rarely used in toxicity tests and few experiments are required by regulations. At London’s Institute of Neurology, holes were made in cats’ skulls and electrodes inserted into their brains and spinal cords to study a potential anti-migraine drug. Drugs with a similar mode of action had already been clinically evaluated in humans and found to be ineffective. Cats do not suffer from migraines.
What a Waste
- Cats have been a favourite animal for sight deprivation experiments, yet vision in cats differs greatly from ours.
- Cats’ spleens differ in structure and function from humans’.
- Cats are deficient in a liver enzyme, and consequently ‘metabolise’ (break down, and excrete) many drugs more slowly than other species and so are more susceptible to their toxic effects..
- Morphine calms people and rats, but causes excitement in cats and mice.
