post-surgery kitties

hey everyone - i was wondering if anybody had any advice on cats after surgery? my cat's leg was fractured in a bunch of places the other day and he just had surgery on it. he came home today, and he has to be immobilized for a long time (no jumping, running, etc., obviously), so we have to keep him in a sizable cage. we've put a lot of blankets and stuff down to pad the cage and make him more comfortable.

the problem is that he flails around and throws his lower body all over the place, no doubt because he has no idea how to operate and move with huge bulky casts on his back legs. i'm worried he's going to hurt himself, and one of his bandages already came off after he threw himself into his water bowl. i've tried to just sit with him and pet him, which he seems to like and calms him down for a while, but he'll inevitably try to get up and begin thrashing around again.

i just dont want him to get hurt worse. how can i help him relax and be still? is there anything i can do?

You might have to put him in a Carrier instead.

When QT broke her back leg (from falling off the roof), she was in a cage until she started complaining. She had to be assisted when it was time to go out for toilet. When the complaints got bad, she was placed in a room (wooden floor) by herself with food, water and cat litter on a shallow pan. The room was void of furniture or anything that would make her want to climb or jump on, no cage or carrier where she would have to stoop or squeeze in.
It was scary at first as she wobbled and fell often but after a while she learned to move around with cast and ecollar. QT was my sister's cat then. My sister would assist her during QT's adjustment period.