Not everyone in my life has to like my various animals, but they do have to respect my feelings about them and not go around trying to get a rise out of me using my pets. That is just not a way to communicate. Good friends should agree to disagree out of respect for one another, if there is an issue such as what you are talking about. I don't have time/tolerance for drama and mistreatment in my life, I would personally break off contact if things didn't reach an adequate level of comfort for me. Set up some boundaries.