I find it interesting that the proprietary software industry has tipped its hand - they understand, and are very happy with, the fact that their software is a burden to their customers.
Our best counter to the kitten argument is that the whole point is for the software to be a boon, and we allow the user to do whatever they have to to make their software a boon, even if they wish to fire us as their vet, groomer, trainer, and breeder.