HELP, need advice on bringing a stray into our home.

Let me first start by saying that I have never owned a cat but there's a stray that has stolen my heart.

This cat has been "visiting" our house for about 3 weeks now.

We have lived here for 2 years and I have never seen him out and about until recently.

I have asked around in the neighborhood but no one knows who's he is. My assumption is that someone dropped him off here, but you never can tell. He appears not to be neutered (hence my fear of bringing him into our home-spraying).

He came right to me when I first saw him and had no problem with me feeding him and petting him while was eating. =)

 He wasnt emaciated, although he was on the skinnier side,  and his fur looked to be in good shape.

I have been feeding him twice a day for the entire time since I first saw him. I did make him an outdoor shelter with a rubbermaid tub, I cut a hole in it and provided warm bedding inside. I placed this below our sreened in porch area of the the deck to keep him from the rain as best that I could. I tried to introduce it to him by putting treats inside, he went in and ate the treats,and walked back out of it. I seriously doubt that he sleeps in it.

As soon as I come down to get my morning coffee I always run to the window to look for him and he is coming from the woods most of the time. When he leaves (for short times) during the day,  I come back out to call him he comes nearly immediately, and its from our woods (he visits several times a day or lays on the basement patio area). I do believe that he is living inour woods.

He is SUPER loveable, loves to rub my legs, sits on my lap and snuggles right in, nuzzles my face and wants love and attention nearly the entire time of our visits. We have a dog- a chunky chi mix (he's lived with a cat before). My husband introduced the cat & dog on the driveway the other night and the cat had no real fear and rubbed on the dog. We lso have a 2year old daughter that he loves too and is very affectionate with.

We live in Cincinnati, and winter weather is already starting to move in and temperatures are dropping during the evening. I tried to bring him in the garage last night. I made a bed, had a litterbox reay for for him etc etc. With the weather change he's here nearly all day and sometimes sits at our basement door staring in and meowing at times (this happens at night too).

I did make him an appointment to neutered for Monday bc I want to bring him in sooner than later.

I figured that i would bring him into the garage in the evenings (until the neuter time), providing him with a warm bed and  a safe place to sleep at night. Last night I called him and he came (from the woods) and followed me up to the garage. I sat down and he immediatedly fell asleep on my lap, after a bit I showed him his bed and he setteled right in (as if he was completely exhausted). I went to put the garage door down and it scared the living daylights out of him and he ran out of the garage, coming back a few mintues later. He did come back after a few minutes, I tried wrapping him a towel and holding him while I pused the garage button again and he escaped my arms and ran once again. I eventually gave up, left the garage lights on , left his bed in place and left the garage door cracked in case he chose to come back and sleep for the night.

I was going to give the garage thing a try again this evening but Im pretty confident that he will run out again. My husband is currently out of town for work, so it's me trying to do this alone.

I also considered going ahead and purchasing a carrier to possibly place him in while I put the gargae door down and letting him to roam the garage once the door is back down.

We also have a portion of our basement that is unfinished that we also considered placing him until he gets neutered. The basement area is relatively large and i wasnt sure if that was the best idea as far as spraying goes. There are lots ofplaces to hide but I do thnk that he'd come out immediately when I called him.

HELP! I'm not sure what to do here.

Also any advice for after the neuter? I figured the unfinished part of the basement would be best for him to be for a few days (of course with lots of visits from me). We dont have a door on our laundry room so leaving him in there is not an option and our spare bathroom contains the only bath tub for my 2 year old so that isnt an option either. We do have a spare bedroom but I was concerned about  the litter box training and spraying.

I was also curious what items I need to purchase for him. I dont mean to sound dumb or oblivious and I do know the obvious, but I have never owned a cat. My husband has but like I stated h is traveling for business and he informd me that this is "my project" to get started while he is away. I have read some articles and realize that a scratching post is necessary. Should I purchase the cat  condo type of thingy? Do I need 2 ltter boxes? We dont have an endless supply of money to spend but i want to accomodate the cat the best that I can w/o spending a fortune. Any advice would be much appreciated!!!!! THANKS!!

Sorry for the typos-typed most of this with a 2 year old on my lap.

Welcome to the forums and thank you so much for rescuing this sweet boy.  You are already on the right track with getting him neutered ASAP.  Recovery for a male is quick!!  He should be feeling fine within 48 hours after surgery.  Be sure to get all of his shots as well as a deworming too. 

Are you planning to keep him as an indoor cat only?  He may resist at first, but it truly would be best for him especially with winter approaching.  I know all about Ohio winters as I am in the Columbus area.  I currently care for 3 ferals on my deck.  I brought one of them inside last year.  He has adjusted nicely.  The 3 outside have warm shelters and heated beds.

As far as what you will need.  I would assume since he is so friendly he was probably once owned.  He should know about a litter box.  It's best to start with 2 boxes.  You could put one in the garage and see if he has any interest.  If he has problems using the box, you can try to mix the litter with garden soil (since he is used to going outside) or you can get a product called Dr. Elsey's Litter Attract.  You can use it straight and/or mix it with litter.  It contains special herbs that attract a cat.  I have used it numerous times and within a day, the cat is using the box.  As far a litter box, don't get one that is covered.  I find the best litter box to be a large sterlite container.  They are roughly 22' long x 15" wide x 5" tall.  They are cheap and work very well.  It gives the cat lots of space to do his business.  Also be sure the litter is nice and deep.

Most cats love cat trees.  The best prices are usually online.  I find Amazon to have great prices. 

You might want to get a feliway diffuser to help him adjust to indoor life. Place it your unfinished basement when you first put him there.  It will produce a calming scent to him.  When he moves out of the basement you can move the diffuser too.  Amazon has the best prices.

As far as the basement, you might want to see if you can make a smaller space for him.  If that isn't possible, do block off all hiding spaces.  He may get scared and try to hide in a small space.  For recovery purposes you could borrow a large dog cage and place him in there with a small litter box.  If he does not spend the night at the vet after surgery you will need him to remain calm for the remainder of the/day night.  You would not want him roaming around.  If he stays the night at the vet, he should be ok the next day. 

As far as spraying, not all cats spray.  Unneutered males spray to mark territory.  His urine will have a strong scent for a few weeks as the hormones are shutting down.  So don't confuse the strong urine odor with spraying. 

You are off to a great start.  He is so lucky to have found you.  Does he have a name?

Thank you so much for the advice!

This boy is an absolute sweety and we have developed quite the bond over these few weeks.

We have named him "Briar" seeing as he came from the woods =)

I did purchase some toys, a scatching post and we do have a disposable litter box in the garage.

I'm thinking that i should purchase a carrier this evening to transport him into the garage and that'll keep him contained until the garage door goes down.

*Providing all goes well with getting him in the garage, should I keep him in the garage until his procedure Monday morning?

Or, do I let him roam free during the day and lure him back to the carrier each night and take him back to the garage?

The vet (OAR) is keeping him overnight on Monday.

I am trying to borrow a large dog cage for the day after his pocedure.

Do I move him to the back basement for a couple of days after the procedure to let him adjust to indoor life?

Our home is roughly 2700 sq ft (basement included) and I've heard too much area at first can be overwhelming?

Definitely get a cat carrier as you will need one to transport him to and from the vet.  As for keeping him in until the procedure, I would go ahead and set up a place for him in your home now.  Why wait?  You want to be sure he is there for his vet appointment on Monday.   The space should be the size of a small bedroom or so, but if it's bigger it's ok as long as it is safe.  You don't want him to scale the walls and get into the duct work.  When I brought the feral inside last year, I used a spare bedroom.  I picked the bed off the ground so he couldn't hide underneath and blocked all areas under dressers and behind book cases.  I put 2 litter boxes in the room and then had a feeding area.  I also put the cat tree by the window.  I did put the blinds up and wrapped up the cords.  My guy had to stay confined to this room for awhile as he was on the feral side.  I do believe he had a home at one point, but I also know he had been living out on his own for about 2 years so he had reverted to feral behavior. 

Briar sounds very domesticated and should not have too many problems adjusting to inside life.  You also could use a small bathroom.  You just want to be sure he is safe. 

I think your main concern is that he will spray.  He might or he might not.  Yet when you neuter him, it takes 3-6 weeks for the hormones to shift.  His urine will stink for awhile.  Yet it will gradually get better.  Just clean the litter box often and this will keep the odor down.

I really appreciate all of your great advice! We did bring him in the basement and he's in heaven

What a great story and a gorgeous cat.

Yea!!!  He looks so happy and content.  Hopefully the neuter goes well and he can join your household soon.  Keep us posted.

Briar is doing great! He has been inside/outside during the day but at night he has been in the basement (family room and unfinished part). I'd like to introduce him to therest of the house. He has 2 litter boxes in the unfinished part of the basement. There's no real spot for one on the first floor but we discussed putting one in the master bath. Do we need a third litter box on the 2nd floor or will he be good with 2 in the basement? Also, when we let him have "full reign" any advice for keeping him off of the counters?

I'd put one on each floor to be on the safe side.

As for counters, we have an article about it that's pretty good

It is a lovely story.

Did he get neutered yet?  If so and he is recovered, I would go ahead and allow him supervised free roam of the house.  I would keep the litter boxes downstairs and then put one upstairs for him too.  Be sure he knows where it is.  He is one lucky boy!!

Briar did get neutered and he has healed well. However, today he was outside for a bit, I let him back in and I was
going about my business working out. As i stopped to grab my weights he came over and grabbed my leg with both front paws and bit me (not a hard bite, but it scared the heck out of me). Any idea why he would do this? It's made me fearful of him. He likes to be outside for the majority of the day but comes in a few times and heads back outside. He hasn't been back yet to be let in and honestly I'm scared to let him in, in fear that he will do this again. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I would guess that he was just playing and/or the weights scared him.  Is there a reason you are allowing him to go outside?  It would be a great thing for him to become an indoor cat only.  When you allow him outside, he is subject to fights with other cats as well as other animals.  He can pick up illnesses too. 

Have you been working on socializing him?  Do you play with him?  Does he have a cat tree or a place to call his own?  Is there a spot for him to look outside and enjoy the birds from a window. 

If you show the cat fear, he will pick up on it.  Cats grabbing onto your leg and nipping is a form of play aggression.  He needs to be shown how to properly play.  Do you have a da bird toy or other wand toy? 

Check out Jackson Galaxy's site on playing with cats.

I hope your fears will not set Briar back outside.

First off, being an outdoor cat he probably doesn't need a litter box or even know what it is. 

Let him go outside, it's easier for you too.

Motorized garage doors terrify most cats, so that's nothing unusual.

My cat is still scared of car engines. As soon as I turn the keys she runs even though she experiences it everyday.

Cats don't like startling noises. I guess that's all there is to it.