I posted on asklemmy the other day asking for advice on how to catch a stray cat, and I am now posting the fruits of my labour. Huge thanks to everyone in that post for taking the time to give me step-by-step instructions, telling me their own experiences with strays, and just being concerned about both mine and the stray's wellbeing!
Here he is at the vet for a check up after I caught him. Honestly, he seemed so happy to be indoors and somewhere warm and safe that I teared up a bit! He is currently in my garage sleeping on a heated cat bed and couldn't be more content as I try to figure out next steps.
That old man looks happy to have someone to care for him. Once he clears his FeLV and FIV tests and is dewormed I'm sure he'll be thrilled to live inside.
He has a microchip, but the vet had no luck getting in contact with the owner yet, sadly. They're hoping to at least find a vaccine record associated with it so they can clear the FIV/FeLV faster.
A reminder to everyone to make sure your cat's chip ID is registered to you in relevant databases, as this is not necessarily done automatically. And to make sure your contact information there is kept up to date.
Hope you find the owner, and great that you took in the little guy :)
What's the danger of FeLV and FIV to humans, so that the cat couldn't be let inside even if it had these?
No danger to humans, only other cats.
So, why keep the cat in the garage?
I have a cat that is not vaccinated for FIV/FeLV because they don't do that in my country for single, indoor-only cats. The garage was the only space I had where he could be comfortable (don't worry, it's a winterized garage with a heated storage room, and that's where he stayed the night).
I'm not the OP so can only speculate but my sister-in-law has garage cats because her husband is allergic.
And in this case it could also be that they aren't sure how litter trained the cat is and don't want to risk the house just yet.