Outdoor Cat

I would transition him to an indoor cat. It is very dangerous to be an outdoor cat. They fall prey to so many wild animals , could be run over, could be poisoned, etc. It's just dangerous.

We got a cat from the neighbors once. It wasn't our idea. The neighbors moved, sold their house to her son, and decided to let the cat stay with the house. The cat, however, didn't like that family, and they didn't care much about him. So he moved to our yard. He turned out to be a nice guy, but he didn't get along with one of our indoor cats (she was territorial), so he stayed outside. That's a long story in itself, but it was, well, interesting. He lived with us for several years, finally passing away at the ripe old age of eighteen.

A neutered male cat can be easier to manage than an unneutered one. Ask how long to keep him under wraps and when he can wander again.

Outdoor cats do wander, but they have their own territories. What will keep him coming home to your family? Probably food! Most cats are foodies. Feed him as your vet recommends. If you can leave dry food out for him all the time, he'll come home to nibble.

Give him a little room of his own in your garage - a large kitty or small-to-medium doggy crate will do (you might be able to get a second-hand one at a thrift store). You don't have to close him in. Line the inside of it with blankets or towels, and you might put something on top of it, too. There are special heating pads for cats, which go in their crates (under a blanket or towel) and turn on only if the cat is on it. You might check those out, because you do get cold weather sometimes.

Check your garage to make sure there isn't any rodent poison, antifreeze, or anything else dangerous he could get into. Cats are very adventurous and will climb, so you may want to tidy and rearrange for his safety.

Talk to your kitty a lot. Let him talk to you. See if he still likes catnip toys - some still do at his age.

Once he can have more freedom, is there a place outside the garage where you can also leave him some food and water? He may like that in nice weather. I used to put food and water on our picnic table, along with a towel or blanket for Doots to rest on. You'll lose a little food to birds and squirrels, but it won't hurt them.

Cat door? Up to you. We decided not to do that, because we thought squirrels would use it as well. I would let Doots out in the morning - or open the back garage door. If the weather wasn't freezing, he always wanted to go outside. I would let him back in the garage when he wanted to go back in, if that door wasn't open. He was a weather forecaster; on a nice winter morning he'd suddenly be meowing for the garage, and two hours later we'd be having a blizzard.

All this to say: your new kitty will train you very well.

If he marks the garage, you may not notice it. But if you do, get some Nature's Miracle, and also a little black light to find where the mark is. He won't mark it when he's sure it's his.

Is it an option to transition him to an indoor cat? Once you have him neutered he should lose any desire to spray and should adjust well to being inside, especially if he likes your family. My mother rescued two male intact brothers who's "owner" moved and just left them. They were probably 4 or 5 years old and always had been outdoors. Once they were neutered they transitioned quite well to living inside.

Also get him a tag for his collar.... you know, with his information/name & your phone number on it in case he gets lost.
Pet stores have this.

Get him neutered.

If he is bonded with you all he probably won't run away.
My cats were outdoor and indoor cats. They never "ran away."
But, some cats are known to also be friendly with other homes/people. And they make their rounds.... getting food/treats from other homes too.

Or, keep him in the house. An indoor pet.

If he is not neutered, yes he will spray. Even if it is his own home/garage.
They spray anything.
So get him neutered.
Pet stores have odor removers.

A pet/cat door in the garage or to your home, seems great.

My cats are indoor/outdoor and I've only had one leave us when he decided that the people around the corner had much better food. I wouldn't put a collar on him because they can tangle in things. For fleas and ticks I'd just apply front line on the cats once every 3 weeks. I put out food and water at around 7am and bring in the bowls at 6pm. If I leave the food out all the time I get a lot of critters coming around at night and there's nothing worse than trying to take the dog out to pee at 11pm and finding a skunk on the porch.

Once he's neutered he may or may not spray. If he does use a enzyme cleaner such as nature's miracle to clean the spots. I personally wouldn't put in a cat door because I'm sure the critters in my area would make use of it and I'd end up with a zoo in the garage. If you go on line you can see different shelters people have made for feral cats.

First things first..... get him neutered. If he's not, he has been making hundreds of kittens and that's not good.

A flea collar is a definite no. They are toxic for cats, and can become too tight or get caught on a branch and strangle the poor cat. He needs a collar with a quick-release tab so if it gets stuck on something he doesn't get strangled.

If I were you I'd bring him inside and let him live safely with you. Outdoor cats don't last very long and it's a rough life for them. Cats are domesticated and not wired to live alone outside.

Once he is neutered, he should not spray. Until then, however... vinegar and baking soda should take the smell out.
As for keeping other animals out of his food- we feed our outside cat on our deep freeze. She can get on it, but nothing else can (we live in the country) the dog also help keep other animals out. A kitty door is not a bad idea, since most can be locked.
As for him not wandering away- who knows. I would definitely give him a couple of months to adjust and get to know the family. Once he makes the connection, he should stick around.

My vet suggested and this worked. I have 3 outdoor cats. Put them in a kennel...which I bought three of the wire kind at yardsales. Leave them in there for 10 days...food, litter box...water...bed. Feed them there and don't let them out til the 10 days is over. Move the kennel to different places around the yard to get them acustomed to their new surroundings. I also had installed a cat door on the side door of the garage. Good luck....but I would seriously get him neutered as soon as possible...that will save alot of heartbreak!The cat door was installed on the side storm door and it has a lock. I just shut the inside door and no other animals can gain entry. Cat collars...I had them made for all 3 of mine...but they were soon lost. So no collars...not even flea collars...they can get hung up in something easily and the cats can get hung. Not a good idea!

My first advice, being a cat owner for over 30 yrs now, is to get him neutered as soon as possible. Cats, especially males, that still are 'intact' tend to roam more looking for mates & yes, they will spray. When they're neutered, they don't really have a reason to run off so much. Now, our newest cat is a female and was a stray. We took her in when my beloved cat died at age 11 (who was strictly indoors). Well our newest is restless sometimes b/c she's used to being out but b/c we live in an apt, we really can't let her out. If we get our own place again then we'll let her out more. But when she was roaming as a stray, she'd always come back to us, we found out she was already spayed so that may be why she'd come back to our home. But please do get your new cat neutered as soon as possible. It's cheaper to fix males, also, there are organizations that offer free or low cost neuter/spay if cost is something you have to consider. Getting him fixed will help you tremendously, it should keep him from spraying, keep him closer to home & will keep him from "caterwalling" (calling for a mate) at all hours of the day & night. As far as the pet door, if you get him microchipped or if he's already chipped, there are doors that strictly work off his microchip so only he can get in. They're pricey but worth it if you don't have a fenced in yard & are worried about other animals getting in your garage or in his food. There are also those that will have a slide lock or some type of lock to keep animals out but you hafta keep locking/unlocking it to let the cat in/out. If you have a back porch, that's a good place to put his food too if you feel no other animals can get to it. It may be better to transition him into an indoor only cat or perhaps indoor/outdoor cat but having him neutered will help if he wants to go outside. Hope this helps, Good luck!