An instructional course at Heartland Health is sparking controversy from People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals or PETA.

The pediatric life support course uses live cats to educate medical providers and students. A Heartland spokeswoman said the hospital received an email from PETA asking them to stop using live cats in the intubation portion of the course.

Heartland officials say using live animals is vital. Mary Kieffer, a Heartland employee and mother, says her baby's life was saved because of the information students learn in the pediatric advanced life support - or "PALS" course. her baby was not breathing and was saved by trained medical personnel.

The program uses live cats to teach students how to place a breathing tube in an infant's airway. The hospital says the airway of a cat is almost identical to that of an infant. The cats are fully anesthetized , and their vital signs are monitored by a veterinarian throughout the process.

Critics like PETA say use of cats should be stopped because training mannequins can be used instead. Heartland instructors say the cat vocal cords and reaction to the procedure is much like a human infant's and it is much better for teaching the procedure.

24 cats are used per year, but they are each only anesthetized once. After the one day class, they are adopted out.

Justin Goodman, a PETA research supervisor, says the organization voiced their opposition after receiving a letter from a concerned citizen stating the use of cats during a Heartland medical course. Goodman says PETA's primary objection is the use of live animals. Goodman says he hopes PETA and Heartland can work together to replace the use of live cats for training purposes.