How to entertain a cat!

[PyreneesPlot]

One of the semi-wild cats we feed, the mum to all local cats (now neutered - interferring busy bodies that we are) arrived yesterday evening with a gaping hole in her abdomen. She has been duly stictched back together but we have to keep her in for at least two days.
She is an outside cat and not house trained, although she used the litter tray when shown it.
But she is so miserable, just crying and pacing around from window to door, scratching and clearly wanting to get out. She doesn't play, isn't a lap cat, and will tolerate being stroked for a minute or two only.
Anybody have any tricks to keep her amused. Or anything we can add to her food to help keep her calm? Gin?!
After she was steralised she was kept in a large wooden box with a bed and litter tray in the shed for 24hrs and she just slept. Are we better confining her again?
Thanks all.

[wizzbang]

I think somewhere without a view would be better. If she can see outside she will just hanker after escaping. Put her somewhere comfily confined with everything she needs, where it is quiet and she cant see out. Then hopefully she will sleep. A full tummy should calm her enough, no need for medicine to do it. I have been in the same situation myself many moons ago and know exactly what you are going through with her pacing and not settling. Much praise and respect to you for taking the time and trouble.
Lynne x
Lynne x

[PyreneesPlot]

At the moment she is crashed out on a chair. Quiet reigns! We'll pop her in the bathroom if she gets restless again.
Thanks for the advice.

[veggiechicken]

Would she like a big cardboard box to hide in - a den of her own?

[scarey55]

Can you get hold of any catnip, that might help calm her.

[WendyC]

Do you have any seedlings. My kittens entertained themselves when left alone for about a minute this morning by decapitating all four newly emerged cucumber seedlings just out of the propagator on the way to the greenhouse.
Seriously I think the suggestions of a room without a view are good ones.

[dogsbody]

Give her somewhere to hide and feel safe. Perhaps a ball of tin foil or an old shoelace, first one tossed second dragged around might entertain her (my 3 prefer them to any expensive cat toys). Good on you for being concerned enough to look after her.

[Jardiniere]

when we took our cat to england at xmas she was confined to her cat basket in the back of the car in the dark for about 10 hours and she just slept. Same on the way home. She is a total outdoor cat.
We havent bought her to england this time (we are in england au moment) because she hated it here.I think the dark room with absolutely no view is the best option.

[Feral007]

A room without too much sunlight, but if there is a chair or a box or something with a blanket over it so she can hide in it. My friend has a cat that is a bit timid, and it hides from the toddler in the computer room. They have a spare chair with a blanket thrown over it. She either hides under the chair behind the blanket, or curls up in the chair under the blanket.
We gave our cat some medication to settle her when we moved. It made her 10 times worse! She yowled like a banshee for 6 hours. The dog and I were wrecked by the time we got there, and then the cat was wonky for a few days. Had no balance, and fell off the kitty litter every time she sat on it. Sounds funny, but looked quite sad as she was mystified by it all.

[PyreneesPlot]

So far so good.
She was fine in the bathroom overnight - it has just a single high opaque window - but yowled banshee style as soon as she could hear us moving about. She wouldn't eat when shut in there so we've fed her in the house.
After four hours of pacing and crying she has crashed out again on a chair. We have a tucked away box, a cat igloo and a blanket covered chair all of which she has ignored!
But she has left the bandage, dressing and stitches alone. Ditto all my chillies, tomatoes etc etc etc which are scattered over the kitchen floor as its blooming freezing, lashing with rain and snowing on the hills above us. Why would she want to go out in that?
The catnip hasn't germinated yet and she doesn't like the catnip treats!
Oh, and one of the other cats manage to projectile vomit all across the deck and (glass) back door, too.
Very fetching blue bandage Ambling past the space for all the tomatoes etc before we brought everything in

[Alison]

Whatever you do don't invest in Happy Cat or something like that, it's a spray thing that is meant to calm cats and make them feel chilled. We were recommended it when one of our cats was recovering after a road accident and was not happy being kept in and frantic every time he heard traffic. It didn't really have much effect on him at all (he resigned himself to staying in for a while and made himself a den in the box room after a day or so) but our other cat went totally mad like she had taken a dodgy tablet and gone to a rave - maybe it was too much for a cat that was basically happy already but the amount of damage she did that day running round going mad was something I wouldn't wish to repeat.

[PyreneesPlot]

Blimey. Cat at a rave - great image!

[Alison]

Blimey. Cat at a rave - great image!

Hmmmm, not in when it's in your own house it's not!

[wizzbang]

How is she doing? I have only seen the pic today. She's gorgeous isn't she.
Hope she is well on the mend by now and has regained her freedom.
Lynne x

[PyreneesPlot]

We let her out this morning after tidying up the dressings, which was not much fun as all my scissors are pointy and she wriggled! She followed me all round the garden but has now set off on her normal rounds. It'll be interesting to see when she comes back as she normally sleeps in a neighbours barn. She always has breakfast here but is a terrible thief - sausages and entire joints of meat have all been stolen from various houses...