Foster being kept too long in isolation - we are both bored!

I have been fostering Chérie since she was trapped after roaming the streets and believed to be pregnant. I have the perfect space in the cellar for a mother cat to give birth and raise her kittens which was the reason that Chérie was allocated to me in the first place. It turned out that she was simply overweight so no babies. But she had to have an operation on her tail so solitary confinement was not such a bad idea. We had many trips to the vet but she is now fit enough to be moved to a more suitable home, temporary or otherwise. A home was found for her and I immediately acquired 3 motherless kittens needing to be bottle fed. I set them up in my living room so that they got used to being with a family. My own 3 cats are not socialized and all have problems with dominant cats but are easy-going when it comes to babies.

My problem: too many cats and too little time. My own cats and the kittens are all doing well and I feel they are all happy. Chérie is not affectionate - she seldom allows me to stroke her. If I give her a few titbits she will let me brush her - but only so long as she has something to eat. 

I visit Chérie first thing in the morning to feed her and clean the litter tray. My partner sits with her at lunch time - he reads the newspaper and throws toys for her to catch. I spend some time in the afternoon with her (30 minutes) and an hour in the evening.

But we are both bored! The best game is football with a table-tennis ball, or else I throw a lightweight ball high over her head which she tries to catch. But time goes by very slowly for me and I don't feel that she's enjoying herself either. She is always looking towards the back door and up through the window to the trees outside. I feel I'm letting her down badly. I am not optimistic that the Cat Rescue Group will come up with a solution in the near future - the kittens will no doubt find new homes before she does.

Has anybody any ideas - how to bring some added-value to the time we spend together? I have no alternative space for her (we are overcrowded already) and I cannot let her outside as a) she is not my cat and b) the road is much too dangerous for cats.

Thank you so much for all you are doing for these cats!  It is such a lot of work.

Keep in mind that Cherie may never be a true lap cat.  In my opinion, you are spending plenty of time with her, so it may be that she is one of those cats who can take or leave human interaction.  As long as you pay attention to her (and the games are an excellent way to do this), she will remain socialized.

Also, she may be bored because she is intelligent.  Perhaps you can use some of your time together to teach her tricks.  She can be taught to sit up, beg, perhaps, roll over.  People think cats can't learn tricks but they are very easily trained.  (After all, they can train us easily enough, right?)

If there is room in her area, she might enjoy interactive toys (the Cat's Meow, those plastic circles with the tracks where she can chase a ball, etc.)  Have you tried the laser pointer with her?  Maybe some boxes or one of those fabric cubes will entertain her as well.

If I recall correctly, Cherie has had surgery previously, too?  It may also be taking her a little extra time to heal psychologically to the point where she is a playful kitty again.  Hang in there - everything you do with her and for her makes a difference!

Your encouragement is very much appreciated Ondine, thank you. Sorry I didn`t reply yesterday, but things were quite chaotic. One of the kittens manages to jump out of the kitten pen and I couldn`t get them to settle down for the night. Tonight they will all be free to create havoc in the living room - I`ve packed the pen away for more cooperative babies!

I am sure Chérie is an intelligent cat (I had huge problems with her medication) but she is difficult to train as she is rather jumpy. I wouldn't say she is a nervous cat - under most circumstances she's very self-assured. Usually she is willing to play and after each attempt to catch a ball or toy will place herself in the middle of the room ready for the next throw. If I have to go near her to retrieve the ball, she will sometimes take a swipe at me (but she's no longer using her claws). Occasionally, if I have to go past her, she will attack my leg. If I offer her my hand, she will sometimes rub her head against it but she can just as easily grab it with her claws and then run away. I make sure I handle her everyday - she is glad to see me when I enter the room and allows me to pick her up, sit her on my lap and stroke her head till she jumps down of her own accord. I stroke her when I give her food. If I try to touch her at other times she may turn on me so I have to watch her carefully. I try not to be nervous myself which is easier now that I can read her reactions better and know that she no longer has her claws out when she hits me.

 If there is room in her area, she might enjoy interactive toys (the Cat's Meow, those plastic circles with the tracks where she can chase a ball, etc.)  Have you tried the laser pointer with her?  Maybe some boxes or one of those fabric cubes will entertain her as well 

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She has plenty of room in her area and toys, including a plastic circle with ball which drives her mad! I tried unwrapping a large parcel with her - she showed little interest and the empty box did not produce the expected reaction. (I'll try it again as she could have been suffering the effects of her operation). Unfortunately, I gave my laser pointer away - my own cats ignored it completely once they realized it was only an Image and nothing to get their claws into. She is very interested in knitting wool but I am worried that if she gets caught up in it, she will panic and I will have a dreadful job catching her and entangling her before she injures herself. I have already had one bad experience with a cat and a fish on a fishing line. The cat tore the toy out of my hand, managed to get caught up in the line and panicked, running through the house. Fortunately, it all ended well with a very frightened cat and the toy in the trash.

So, thank you for your help - I'm not giving up on Chérie - she is definitely a challenge but somehow more interesting than some of my other more friendly fosters who only wanted to be stroked till they fell asleep! I just have a bad conscience for keeping such a cat in captivity for so long.

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Then I wouldn't worry too much about it.  She's safe, has food, toys and a potty and a human to pay attention to her.

I, too, would avid the knitting wool.  My friends had a cat who stole a ball of wool and ended up in surgery - she had swallowed some and it got tangled in her intestines.  She came out of it OK but it was scary.

You've got your hands full, for sure!  Those kittens sound like fun!