The average life expectancy of an indoor cat is 18 years. The average life expectancy of an outdoor cat is 18 months.
Every day, I read a new story about someone’s cat who badly injured while outside. Or worse yet, went out and went missing. It’s a big cruel world out there. People are evil. In my part of the world, Coyotes are rampant.
I’m in the fortunate position of having my own private back yard. I’ve used Cat Fence In to create a barrier at the top of the fence so my cats cannot climb over the fence, and other cats cannot get in as well. Bt if I did not have this luxury then I simply would not let my cats outside. Yes, they’ll make your life miserable for several days after you make the ‘no more outside’ decision, but they’ll get over it.