When we finally got cats (I was around 11 years old and we lived in the suburbs), they were allowed to roam outside as they pleased. At that age I obviously assumed that my mom knew how best to deal with cats so I just followed her lead.

Of the 8 cats we've had over the past 16 years:

one died a few days after getting neutered (we hadn't had the chance to let her roam outside, so not very relevant)
one died after getting sick (vet suspected poison), she was allowed to roam
two went missing, both allowed to roam
two died after being attacked by a dog, again both allowed to roam
one escaped on the way to the vet (mom couldn't afford a cat carrier), she was allowed to roam but not very relevant in this case

We have one surviving cat (she's around 15 years old), and now that I know better at 27 years old, she is only allowed out into the enclosed courtyard. She used be allowed to roam and I can see that she wants to go further than the courtyard and give the chance she will but I've made a point that she stays within those specific boundaries.

My brother and his wife have three cats that they've kept indoors since they were kittens and my mom once made a pearl clutching comment of 'can you believe that they have never touched grass'. Yeah, that got a big eye roll from me.

Edit: formatting

[–] JayTwo@hexbear.net 20 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

All the people I know of who had outdoor cats, most of them, the vast majority, like 90% met bad ends.
Getting poisoned somehow, hit by cars, seriously or fatally injured by local animals, accidentally falling off of high surfaces and killing or permanently injuring themselves, and the most common but arguably the worst because it doesn't provide closure: leaving and never returning one day.

Local wildlife decimation aside, I can't get myself to let them out both because I care about them too much but also because I can't handle one of my babies just up and vanishing one day.

[–] CarbonScored@hexbear.net 7 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I'm very much the opposite, I've known of many outdoor cats and none of them disappeared or met bad ends. Whereas 2/3 indoor cats I know of escaped then got lost and/or met a bad end.

[–] spacecadet@hexbear.net 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

But what if one year of outdoor living and exploration provides more positive experience to the cat than a lifetime of indoor life? Obviously not a provable thought, but something I consider... a ship docked is safe etc etc

[–] booty@hexbear.net 7 points 3 months ago

My cat was a lot like yours currently. I'd let him outside under supervision but he was really unsatisfied being confined to the fenced in yard, and would often hop the fence if we weren't physically stopping him. Toward his last couple years I stopped letting him into the yard at all because he would just run and hop the fence immediately.

What's interesting is that I think his life as a mostly-indoor cat gave him some kind of agoraphobia or something. I knew he wanted to explore so I tried a few times to bring him further outside on a leash or in my arms or just accompanied in general, but he was absolutely freaked out by the wide open space out front. I guess cause the back yard leads to other back yards and to a small access road with a hill on the other side, he'd never really seen anything as far away as the houses across the road out front. And I can't exactly accompany him as he scurries, terrified, under the bushes along the side of the houses. So, yeah, he ended up as an indoor cat.

Anyway, he died of kidney problems at around 15 or so, so idk whether he lived longer than he would've as an outdoor cat. Probably better for the birds though.