Town/city cats

[Brocollili]

I grew up in the countryside, always with at least 2 cats. They came and went as they pleased via the cat flap and (presumably) did their business in the far reaches of the back garden or in the woods behind. Don't recall a litter tray being used except when they were tiny kittens.

Now living in the city and contemplating getting the first cat of our own. We have a garden and our area is very residential with no big/fast roads nearby but obviously much more densely populated.

Is it still OK for a cat to be free to roam and to poo outside? Is there any way to encourage it to poo in our garden (preferably in a particular spot) rather than the neighbours'? I'm not sure I could cope with a litter tray indoors permanently..

And what else do I need to think about?

Cat would most likely be an adult rescue btw.

Thanks for any advice!

[Wolfiefan]

You can cat proof your garden. Our cats free roam but are shut in at night. (Accidents on the road more likely at dawn and dusk or when dark.) We always have a litter tray.
Our old cats used a certain part of the garden (behind a tree) after I put a little of their used litter there.

[Brocollili]

Thanks Woolfie. By "cat proofing" do you mean the little plastic spikes for the top of the fence?

[PinkSparklyPussyCat]

We're in the process of cat proofing the garden by putting netting on the top of the fence to stop him getting out. DH is doing ours but have a look at protectapet.com/. There are others as well.

Those spikes on the top of the fence a cruel in my opinion.

He's kept in at night so we always have a litter tray down in the bathroom for him to use. I'm not keen on it (mainly due to the room it takes up) but it's part of having a cat.

Looking forward to seeing pictures when you become a cat slave!