"..people who never let a cat outside better have a damn good number of reasons........ and there aren't very many!"
Feline leukemia, feline AIDS, ringworm, coyotes, cat-hating dogs, alligators -- need I go on?
It's not about how many reasons there are -- or whether or not you approve of them -- it's about the health and safety of our cats. If you have a problem with that, I suggest you take it up with a vet.
No....... don't go on. It's mostly all baloney.
These declawed cats here were indoors in the city of Pittsburgh for five years previously. I gave them absolutely no vet care when they got here ....... I gave them only THE WORD ...... I said, "stay healthy, eat the grasses out in the yard....... and don't get in a fight with a raccoon."
So far so good. Vets are great folks, don't get me wrong .......... but most of all that medical stuff is fear related baloney, and cats usually get ill because they are not fed and loved correctly. (jmo)
Crushed cantaloupe, olive oil, carrot babyfood in tuna, and a few other little secrets have kept all our cats vet free for generally over 20 years each. Our last five kitties died well into their 20's.
Really!
Talk to them...... and rub their spine in a meaningful way. And for the ones who have excessively thick coats...... give them a little piece of butter every other day or so.
It's very easy............... it's mostly ALL VIBES!
Actually as Rightfoorforward stated there are a good number of reasons not to let cats outside.
Not only do we have coyotes, dogs running loose and ringworm to possibly contend with. We also have a large contingent of stray cats that are fed by different people around us. Cat fights while not fatal can result in severe abcesses.
Many of the kittens born to the feral cats don't survive kittenhood because they are born with some type of disease which causes their nasal pasages to become so clogged up they suffocate. These same kittens will have eyes they can't open because they're so matted.
I'll keep mine inside where they don't come into contact with disease or die by dog or coyote.