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.
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.