Trigger warning: Animal abuse, child abuse

When I was a child I had 3 cats. One day, the female of the 3 ended up pregnant. As we awaited kittens, my father remarked offhand how he would cut them from her and drown them in a bucket. Of course, I erupted in tears. Later, he told me I should have known he was “kidding” and I didn’t need to “overreact.” How would anyone take what my dad said as a joke? Though looking back, he was an uneducated, negligent, abusive red-neck. So, no, I agree. I wouldn’t have tuned into your husband’s remark as a “joke.”