language mishap

I think one of the biggest challenges of living in a different country is learning the language. I have prayed and continue to pray, that God would help me hear the different tones and remember words. My vocabulary is increasing daily and so my driver is very fortunate, because I practice my new words in the car with him. I learned how to ask how someones mom and dad are and "if they ate the meal?" (which I guess is like us asking about the weather) So yesterday I asked my driver how his mom and dad were. I asked him if he had a cat. I asked if he had a little white dog. I asked if his dad had a little white dog. I asked if his dad had a cat. (Can you tell I learned animal names?) Our Ayi was in the car with us and since she speaks some English she was doing some translating. When I asked if his dad had a cat, it turns out that his dad had many cats, and cats of different colors. Using my words...I said he must like cats. The driver then explained (and my Ayi translated), that people would move and leave their cats behind, so his dad would take them in. I then thought, using my stellar Chinese, I would exalt his dad and say that he was a good person. I am not sure my Chinese came across exactly right, because both the Ayi and driver started laughing. Later, I found out that I either told my driver that his dad was a "good woman"or what would be equivalent to calling someone a "good catch" or a "hottie" in the states. So begins my speaking of the Chinese language...