Temporarily Caring for Unnuetered Tomcat

I found a very friendly stray cat in a local park, completely unafraid of people and always looking for cuddles and pets. I left him there for about a week (thinking he may have already had an owner, seeing he is so friendly, and was just passing through) but after that, I thought I should try rehoming him. I took him to a vet, he had a few problems, but nothing antibiotics and meds couldn't handle. I'm now starting a round of vaccinations for him, but annoyingly, the vet won't castrate him until all the vaccinations are finished. So we are talking like a month of having an unneutered tom in my apartment!

Is there anything I can do to stop him from spraying? He is still a bit immature (vet estimates a bit less than a year) and I only caught him spraying once, when I was giving him a bath. I do have other cats, but they are all spayed so no problems there, it is more that I don't want my apartment smelling like a vets office!!!

.....also, Feliway isn't available in my country right now, so.....I have to think of some other method.

I was going to suggest Feliway, but I guess I would look for another vet and get him neutered.  Or call your current vet and explain that he is spraying and you need him neutered ASAP.  The spraying may not immediately stop as it takes a few weeks for the hormones to settle, but I wouldn't want him spraying either.  He is marking his territory and may be fearful of your other cats.  Cats mark/spray to calm themselves with their familiar scent.  Can you order from Amazon?  They sell feliway.

I've never personally found Feliway to be effective in calming down my very anxious cats, or aggression between cats, though I know others swear by it. Maybe it works for some cats, but not for others. In any event, I doubt it would stop an unneutered male cat from spraying. His hormones are just too strong and he's doing what's instinctual for him.

Has your vet given you a reason for why he won't neuter your cat for a month? I've honestly never heard of any such thing, and can think of no reason for it. Some vets require that pre-surgical bloodwork be done before a spay/neuter surgery to make sure they are healthy enough for the anesthesia, but really, with a male, he would only be under sedation for about 10 minutes since neutering is a simple, quick procedure. I  suggest you call a few other vets and try to set an appointment elsewhere, because this sounds bizarre.

We recently (beginning of the year) took in 2 intact males (separate occasions.) One was about a year old, the other around 3/4. Both had medical issues to tend to before becoming candidates for neutering.

The 1 yr old was kept in a room by himself, and, aside from some vocalization, strong urine smell and 2 marking incidents, did really well. We had him for 5 wks before he was neutered.

We had the older cat for 6 weeks before he was neutered. He was crated for a total of 12 wks (severe injury/semi-feral/abused) and we had minimal trouble from him.

It takes a good 60 days for all the testosterone to get out of their system.

But, if this boy is friendly, it's quite likely you will not have many problems. I would confine him to one room if possible. That way you have a limited area if he marks. Get a good enzymatic cleaner (Nature's Miracle is good) to have on hand, just in case.

Lots of play time should help too!

I can understand a vet wanting to wait two weeks for the first round of vaccinations to start kicking in,so he would have some protection against common illnesses, but as @MsAimee said, neutering is very quick and he would not have to spend the night in the hospital, exposed to other cats,  You could have him neutered in the morning and bring him home that afternoon.  That's what all our mobile spay/neuter clinics do here in the USA.  You didn't say what country you are in, so perhaps the norm is different there, but under the circumstances, I would opt for the quick neuter at least 2 weeks after his first shots.  I do think your vet is just being very cautious without thinking how hard it might be to have a full male in a small apartment.  I suspect someone probably raised him from a baby since he's so friendly, and then left him in the park when he matured because of the smell and spraying and not knowing what else to do, maybe hoping someone like you would take care of him.  You would be amazed at how many people have no idea that neutering can change this,  Education is a very important part of rescue.  I can't tell you how many home situations I've saved just by telling people to neuter their male and giving them the card for the mobile vet who only charges $30 for a neuter.  The other home saver is teaching people how to clip claws.