We keep our cats inside. Too many Birds of Prey, Bobcats, Coyotes where we live in the sticks.
We're on cat 3 and 4. First cat was actually our neighbor's cat when we were living in a townhouse. The neighbor had 4 cats, 3 dogs, and 5 kids. My partner and I would sit on our patio and smoke / drink during the summer.
I called the cat over and it hopped right in my lap and went to sleep. Every time I'd go outside the cat would do the same. Eventually it came right in the house and we started feeding it. The Cat's original name was Dew as in Mountain Dew. We renamed it Tooty and it moved with us to Missouri. I told the neighbor when I saw him that his cat moved into our house. He didn't care as it was 1 less mouth to feed.
Tooty was my cat, I'd wake up with him sleeping on my chest in the morning with his paws on my face. He would hop into anyone's lap though. I'd have cat conversation with him. He passed away (liver failure) and is buried out front of our house.
We briefly had a kitten that found it's way to our door. Kitten was sick and didn't last long, also buried in our pet cemetery.
Currently have 2 male cats Claude (Russian Blue) and Basil (Maine Coon mix). My partner found Claude at a Pet Smart. They have rescue cats and Claude was talking to Brad as soon as he opened the cage. Claude then wanted to be held. Claude is Brad's cat. He walks across me to get held by Brad. Only way I'll Claude in my lap, is if I make a hammock out of a blanket between my legs when sitting.
Our other cat was a Barn Kitten. Friend of ours posted a picture of the litter of kittens he had and tagged each kitten with our names. We picked out a male fur ball and named him Basil. Claude actually raised Basil - bathed him, etc. They are now best buds and sleep on top of each other plus ambush each other. Basil is not quite a lap cat, yet. He doesn't like getting picked up, he does come running for treats and loves to be pet.
Regarding litter boxes - cats seem to have an instinct to use them. Just got to keep em clean.
L to R - Claude & Basil:
Use a condom.