put double faced tape at the base of the plant (or anything you dont want cat around) cat hate having their hair stuck… after a few days they wont touch that place anymore… you can take the tape of
But do we see the mom with High Heel? I dont recall, but it would indeed enrich the joke instead of just pointing at it
You are right the suble violence against women theme was well done in that scene. And it work. Too bad they went a less subtle road later on. May be that the crux of my critics, they didnt trust the audience. And felt the need to spell everything out