It was true he had some affection for the cats that he would never be able to own thanks to his own limited food supply. However, she was certainly no cat. And she didn't have any place telling him what he did and didn't like. "Not half dead ones and not ones that suddenly break into my home," he finally retorted. Not that he ever actually had a cat break into his home uninvited by the rare table scraps he did have. He usually didn't care about what was the safest thing to say, but with her it seemed important every now and then. Misunderstandings weren't an uncommon thing between them.
And half dead might've still been an exaggeration, but she didn't look very healthy by any means. She had a talent for surviving through others, but apparently not much of a talent for taking care of herself on her own. "When's the last time you've even eaten?"