If it was a bad film, it was a bad film. Nothing complicated about that.
It was a bad film, for many reasons (it was bad as a musical compared to the original, it made bizarre changes to the original story, shallow as it was, and so on).
I was referring specifically to the way the characters were created/animated. For aesthetic reasons, the movie was deeply weird, and went deep into the Uncanny Valley.
I said that furries specifically didn't like it because many people seem to think "oh God, those monstrosities on-screen. This must be every furry's dream", while I argue that the movie doesn't appeal to furries because it deeply misunderstands what works about anthropomorphic animals as characters. Furries like that kind of stuff, and this movie did it horrifically badly, so furries might arguably like the movie LESS than your average Joe. So it slightly annoys me that "Cats" is labelled as a furry movie, while I think nobody dislikes the movie AS much as most furries.
As to "furries would like anything with fur" and it being condescending - I love furries and the furry fandom. I do. But I don't think our reputation for being cringe AF came out of nowhere. Tastes of furries vary wildly, as do the tastes of any group. But there is plenty of art out there that's bizarre, extreme or just plain bad that gets a pass from large numbers in the fandom. I do legitimately consider "this movie was too bad for even furries to get horny, for the most part" to be a valid point. Furries are into some weird stuff (including the original "Cats" musical, which I personally think is delightful, but from what I understand many musical theatre connoisseurs in general consider just plain bad, for various reasons, despite its fairly broad appeal). "Cats" the film seems to have been just too much.
YMMV. Being a furry (and pretty proudly a weirdo about it) and having met more than a few furries, I don't consider it insulting to say that furries can get plenty weird, in a way that would make most people uncomfortable. It's not a value judgment (even if it's mixed in with some wry amusement). It's how I perceive those more... esoteric interests of the fandom.
If you think saying "furries will like anything" with the implication "anything bad" is unfair to furries, I can rephrase it as - furries enjoy some pretty weird flavours in their entertainment diet. Flavours that are an acquired taste at best. "Cats" (the film) proved a bit too spicy for most of us.