(Clarification just in case: When I say trimming nails, think of it as cutting your own nails. I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT DECLAWING.)
I (29f) have 4 cats. Two kittens, one technically adult but barely out of kittenhood, and a 4 yr old. I can trim 3 younger cats’ front nails. They wiggle around a bit but they’re manageable. The oldest is the most skittish because she used to be feral so I leave her alone.
My roommate (30f) has 2 cats of her own and she’s always complaining that hers play scratch her. She was complaining as I was trimming cats’ nails so I just said "that sucks" to focus on my cats.
My roommate watches for a few minutes and ask if I can cut her cats’ nails. I initially say she can watch me and learn. She says no because she’s "afraid of getting scratched." So I said I’ll do it for $10/cat per trim. Then my roommate gets mad saying "how hard can it be????" I finally look up, let my cat go, and said "Says the one who’s afraid of grtting scratched. Groomers charge more for nail trims." (I know because I used to work as a pet bather.) Roommate is still seething and complaining about me wanting to be paid for it.
AITA?
Nta. She knows it’s not easy, otherwise she wouldn’t ask you. I’d just avoid doing it altogether now and recommend her a pet groomer, if she’s being unreasonable
NTA – she’s weaponizing incompetence by making her look like the victim and you TAH because you already know how to trim a cats nails. Guess what? At one point (like her) you didn’t know how but learned because you are a responsible cat parent. She’s not. End of story.
NTA
If she’s so afraid of getting scratched, why did she think a cat would be a good pet?
NTA. You may as well be giving the cat a bath. Trimming their nails is hard! It’s almost a two-person job.
Plz ignore anyone saying YTA.
Roommate, spouses, or family does not equal free labor. Grooming any animal is immense effort. Especially ones who are know to scratch and get defensive.
If she doesn’t want to pay she can do it herself. She shouldn’t have cats if she can not care for them. You offered to show her which is nice enough. She could have just watched a YouTube video.
NTA, at all.
Hey uh fyi the first judgement in a comment is the one that gets counted, so you should change it to Y.T.A or something similar, because you clearly think she’s NTA.
NTA she wants it to be both too hard for her to do, and of no monetary value if you do it. Now she’s seething? Yikes.
NTA.
You offered to show her. You quoted her a very low price.
Depending on the grooming salon, I pay between $30 and $50 including tip for nails, for my cooperative dog who won’t struggle or hurt the groomer. Ten dollars for a cat who may claw to get free is a bargain considering the potential consequences of a scratch. Cats carry a lot of bacteria on those paws.
There are definitely more important things to worry about in the world. Tell your roommate to be a responsible animal owner. Their grooming isn’t your concern because your cats needs were met. Being roommates doesn’t equate to “you got that, I get it too.”
So she’s fine with you getting scratched, just as long as it’s free?
Yeah fuck all of that.
NTA. Not your cats, not your problem. I struggle to cut my cat’s nails because he knows if he hisses and squirms or gets a single claw in my I’ll roll over. Anybody else tries and he just lays there and whines. If roommate is afraid of getting scratched and won’t learn to do it, she has to pay. Hell, I’d pay you $20 per cat for the simple reason that you don’t have to transport them.
Fellow bather here. NTA. Really, who gets mad at this? Your roommate needs to pony up and grow up.
Exactly why does your roommate have a cat if she’s “afraid of getting scratched”?
>She was complaining as I was trimming cats’ nails **so I just said “that sucks”** to focus on my cats.
I love that.
Also, NTA
NTA. Tell her the offer to watch and learn is available the next time you need to trim your cats nails. And if she keeps saying it’s not that hard say you take that as accepting this offer. Don’t forget to remind her $20 isn’t that much if she declines again. Ignore the YTAs. Pet grooming isn’t a shared chore unless it’s a pet you got together and agreed to share caring for him/her jointly.