Gosh I’m sorry to hear all of this. Yes it sounds weird on a lot of levels. I used to work for a vet and when you’re used to doing it, nail trims are pretty simple. Especially on cats.
I have a cat only vet and I LOVE her and her staff. I trim kitties nails myself, but I have heard them quote people $12 for a nail trim, and I live in a very high cost of living part of the USA (northeast).
I do have an asthmatic kitty who has been known to turn into a little tiger at the vet, and she gets gabapentin when they need to do extensive stuff like blood pressure (cause it’s the only way to keep her still enough). I wouldn’t let them sedate my cat for a nail trim, definitely not without a 2nd opinion.
When Tessa’s asthma was uncontrolled, she threw up and passed out. It was really scary. This was of course on a Sunday so I took her to the ER. By the time we got her there they said all of her vitals were fine, but they could sedate her and do X-rays, bloodwork, etc. That would have cost me literally thousands. Since they said her vitals were all good, I opted to wait til Monday and take her to her regular vet. She ended up getting much better treatment for far less money and stress on her little body. Sometimes I think the bigger corp vets tend to go overboard.
If you can find a cat only vet I highly recommend trying them. In my experience they just handle cats so much better.
Maybe you could find a tech who does nail trims on the side? When I worked at a vet a lot of my friends and family would pay me like $5 to stop by and trim their cat or dogs nails.
I have a cat only vet and I LOVE her and her staff. I trim kitties nails myself, but I have heard them quote people $12 for a nail trim, and I live in a very high cost of living part of the USA (northeast).
I do have an asthmatic kitty who has been known to turn into a little tiger at the vet, and she gets gabapentin when they need to do extensive stuff like blood pressure (cause it’s the only way to keep her still enough). I wouldn’t let them sedate my cat for a nail trim, definitely not without a 2nd opinion.
When Tessa’s asthma was uncontrolled, she threw up and passed out. It was really scary. This was of course on a Sunday so I took her to the ER. By the time we got her there they said all of her vitals were fine, but they could sedate her and do X-rays, bloodwork, etc. That would have cost me literally thousands. Since they said her vitals were all good, I opted to wait til Monday and take her to her regular vet. She ended up getting much better treatment for far less money and stress on her little body. Sometimes I think the bigger corp vets tend to go overboard.
If you can find a cat only vet I highly recommend trying them. In my experience they just handle cats so much better.
Maybe you could find a tech who does nail trims on the side? When I worked at a vet a lot of my friends and family would pay me like $5 to stop by and trim their cat or dogs nails.
