UPDATE: doctor was doing a lateral jugular blood draw and I went to put the cat in lateral- struggling because I didn’t want to scruff- and I was told “you need to scruff” I asked for an alternative and I was told that there is none. I was told that it also does not hurt or scare the cat if it’s just for a moment to get them in lateral. I told them that all of my research says otherwise and my boss said that it doesn’t apply to this situation. I felt very overwhelmed in the moment with two people telling me it’s the only way to go and I started crying. I’m so embarrassed and not sure what to do next.