How long to wait to try and make outdoor stray an indoor only

So some of you may know, a new stray had moved into the crawl space of the building where my friend has his business. This is the same crawl space where we took Cali and her kittens from last fall. We now also know he is a already neutered male. So obviously had once belonged to someone, cause his ear is not tipped and that's whats done to the TNR ferals in the area. We named him Buddy


After about a month of feeding him outside, he was slowly coaxed into the basement and has actually at this point stayed for hours in "the shop" where my friend has his business. He is an extremely loving kitty, has used a litter box, has his meals now inside. All this time the door to the basement has always been kept open for him to escape if he felt threatened or got scared. He is still a bit jumpy at noises and any other people. Then my friend would close up for the night and Buddy would go back to his crawl space. BTW all the junk you see is from the pig tenants who lived in the apt above the shop who where kicked out and left Cali behind (my other story), who then had her kittens back there. But that's all been cleaned up now.  My friend is unable to take Buddy in to his house, but still has fallen in love with him, and would like to keep him as his shop cat. Which I say/think is great. So much better then the way the poor thing has been living all these months.


Buddy also has fallen in love with my friend. But still wants to run out when he gets frightened. During the day there are people in and out. New tenants moved in upstairs and they have children, and all this makes Buddy head for his crawl space. But when all is quiet Buddy has become quite at home in the shop.


He has better beds atm then when this pic was taken



He's playing with some wire


We think he got a booboo on his thigh at some point which looks to be healed and his fur is now growing back, hence the white spot. Shop is quite a mess LOL. Which in a way Buddy is a blessing to me, cause it is now forcing my friend to clean up. Ok so all this is good right? My question is this, right now we still prop the basement door to allow Buddy to flee if he feels he has to. I'm not in favor of this. Where the shop is located is not a safe place for any cat to be outside. I know he has survived this long, but it's a busy outskirt of a major city. Do you think it's too soon to just close that door and keep him in? We are also trying to get him to a vet soon to be checked out. We did manage to get a sample of stool checked and like I completely suspected, he does have worms, so started his treatment for that today. I think a vet visit will be possible by the time his next sample is checked. By then I believe we'd be able to get him into a carrier.

Is his crawl space in the shop or outside? I think the key is that as long as he still has some safe spot to claim as his own, then this cat may be quite happy staying inside. As you say he's not feral, but a stray whether abandoned or lost, he has found your friend and seems to be settled in quite nicely. If the current run away is outside, but instead he has a little area that is his and he can feel he is hidden, try that first before closing the door?
 

Crawl space is outside just to the side of the cellar doors. And there are plenty of hidey holes in the shop. As I said it's a mess and packed with box's ect.


So anyway the decision was pretty much made today to close him in. We had some rough weather here today that made keeping the basement door open not a great idea. Buddy was already spending the day in and so the door was closed up, not giving Buddy a choice in the matter lol. He did great! Ok so does it seem such a bad idea to keep him as a shop cat? Unfortunately it is a business, run by my friend alone, but he's closed on weekends, though able to stop in to check on Buddy anytime, he's not there 24/7 or even full 8 hour days.

I agree with Aerides. Do make Buddy an official nice, cozy hidey hole inside. Such a one where you can reach him if necessary, but you usually do not. He shall know he is safe there, even from you.

Another hidey whis usual cozy sleeping place, where you are allowed to come and pet him some, if you and he wants.    (but you of course dont pet him there if he shows he prefers to be let alone).

You can also use a Feliway diffuser, or even spray.  Spray on in situations he can feel unsecure.

Including immediately before you shall take him into the carrier to visit the vet.

The idea of having him living in the shop isnt bad. Your friend can have him officially as the Shop Masquot.  Part of the Promoting is you wish.

You mentioned you began the deworming.  What preparate do you use?  Some of the prescription free preparates to buy in the Pet shop arent safe - some may even be directly dangerous for cats. 

Others are OK, so you must know which you do buy.

Good luck!

The dewormer was from the vet that tested his stool and not from a petstore, I believe it is Drontal. Vet was very accommodating in testing his stool and prescribing the med without seeing the cat. Given the area they are located, I believe this is not unusual for them. They had to guesstimate his weight.

Thank you for the ideas for keeping a couple hidey holes for him in the shop. I think we may open the door for him in the mornings still for a bit and keep him in at night to start out with. As he is neutered and now being fed regularly, I don't think he is wondering away much anymore.

It's amazing the transformation in his acceptance of my friend over the past week. It's like a switch went off. For weeks he would not even peek his head out of the crawl space if my friend was near by, even for food. Then poof! out sniffing his hand and that was it. Now bonded to my friend and barely leaves his side, accept when something spooks him. Before that, my friend swears he's seen him around the area months before, and possibly it was him that was even around when Cali and her kittens lived in that crawl space(9/12-10/12). We think it was him sneaking in and eating the left overs when she and the kittens didn't finish off their food. It may be how and why he moved into that spot. Cause otherwise we can't figure out how he found it at all if it wasn't him coming around. I'm not a religious person, but I do feel something sent Buddy to my friend right when he needed him. Our having to adopt out Cali after months of working with her to try and get her to blend in with my cats, and that failing, broke my friends heart. I had tried to get my friend to make Cali his shop cat, but at the time he didn't think it was a great situation for a cat. And in Cali's case he may have been right, she needed more attention and a real home of her own. Buddy seems to fit the bill though. And if he had taken in Cali, he'd have no room for Buddy now. So..devine intervention?

Another problem we're having with Buddy atm is his claws. They are VERY long and are getting caught on everything. We got him one of those corrigated boxes, but he just lays on it. We just got him a post, which he semi tried out, but he really needs them clipped. We're not sure how old he could be and though it appears he must, at some point, have belonged to someone, I'm sure he's never had them done before. How do you introduce doing a procedure like that to an older cat who's never had them done? My kitties have never had theirs done either, but they grew up using scratchers and never needed it.
 

Try with a perhaps meter = yard long piece of a real tree, if you can find some sort which isnt too hard by itself.  And set it up like that / 

Cats in nature use such trees as their scratching trees.  

It is not necessary instead of clipping. But scratching somewhere is itself good for cats and their wellbeing.

oh great idea! will give that a go thanks!
 

Well we have had success. Buddy is indoors totally now and doesn't seem to mind one little bit. He has made no effort at all to go back out, is using his litter box and is also using the scratching post regularly. I have noticed he is not getting his claws as caught up on things as he had been previously. He has a new hidey hole that he can take refuge in, in the basement. He picked it out himself, it was a filthy spot, but when we saw it was where he wanted to be when the shop had customers or workmen were around, it was quickly cleaned up lol. He now has a second bed in there and it is carpeted. Already he is being spoiled to no end. Thanks to everyone for the tips and advice. Buddy thanks you too