She holds a cat that's hurt (6)
I believe the answer is:
scathe
'hurt' is the definition.
(I know that hurt can be written as scathe)
'she holds a cat' is the wordplay.
'holds' indicates putting letters inside.
'she' enclosing 'cat' is 'SCATHE'.
'that's' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for scathe that I've seen before include "Carpet" , "Harm, injure" , "To scorn" .)