When I used to watch a friends cat, I would stop by and watch TV. She (my friend) would leave me a bottle of wine and I'd plan to spend an hour or so just hanging at the house. That kept me from rushing in to feed the cat then immediately leaving -- I'd sit and give her a lap to sit on. I figured it was as much normalcy as I could provide! I would even lie down on the couch so the cat could curl up and having someone to sleep with a bit.

Loved that cat