@Madcat6204
I wouldn't say she is
crippling her daughter's social development
and certainly not
This is the woman who hasn't been here this whole time while Yuki's been living alone and dealing with everything
. All I see is a mother who is deeply concerned for her daughter's well being, but also very supportive towards her daughter's self esteem. She may be a more cautious parent, but she also has had a different situation compared to most families. Yuki is extremely rare. Not only is she a catulus, but she was one even before she was born (also her breed is possibly rare too). She has never once been an "average human". So it is reasonable to expect a certain level of isolation from society, as she never got the chance to make friends before her change, unlike how just about all other catulus did. Children are sometimes some of the meanest people because they are unintentionally, brutally honest, and sometimes quick to judge others as being different (not necessarily in a bad way, but they bring attention to differences, which some people are self conscious about, which Yuki especially was at the time).
If you look back at the first few chapters, you can see just how far she has come. Partially because she herself is very introverted, but also because she naturally draws attention to certain areas of herself, people focus on her and she would get very uncomfortable when speaking to them. So as a caring mother, who obviously noticed this, her reaction to Yuki getting a job working as waitstaff in a Catulus themed cafe, could seem like the business is exploiting her, and that because of her history of being shy and uncomfortable around people, she likely believed that Yuki had trouble saying no and was dragged into it (which honestly, she kind of was at first, even though it worked out).
At one point her mother does say
you need to stop trying so hard to make friends
. However, I think she meant it that Yuki was overly aggressive with trying to make friends. And that since she ended up getting a few rejections for various reasons, some were not good, but also, some were actually legitimate reasons (significant cat allergies), she should just let it happen more naturally. Let others approach her first, then try to become friends. Because while it is unfair, she is fighting an uphill battle more so than others.
Yuki actually has some people who she can't be around due to being a catulus. People with cat allergies (which is actually fairly common) can't spend a lot of time near her. Others are just either discriminatory, or just not interested in her because she has her speech impediment, which makes talking to her difficult (she ends up coming off as being either annoyed or scary). Also, at any moment she could suddenly become a cat, in other words, she would eventually be naked and/or in "fairly stylish" underwear, in front of them when she changed back, which would be super embarrassing/awkward. It isn't really her fault, but she has less control over her transformation than others it seems.
Her mom obviously loves her very much, and would want the best for her. However she also knows how difficult it was in her childhood with interacting with others. Now that Yuki is older, she likely worries that shady people will attempt to manipulate her into doing things she does not want to do, promising to be her "friend" if she does them. The two do not talk often. They live together, but between her work and Yuki's schooling/work/gaming, they don't interact a lot. They are still fairly close though.
I admit her mom comes off a bit controlling, but honestly I think she is just worried for Yuki. She has been rejected A LOT apparently. And now that she has "friends", she worries that they will suddenly abandon her, which honestly would likely destroy Yuki's self esteem to a massive extent. It would be incredibly painful to the both of them. So she just wants her to be sure that she is considered their friend too, and that this is not just a 1-sided friendship.
