At the end of the day the choice is yours, we all have, and are entitled to, our own opinions, we all must make our own decisions based on our own location and circumstances and we must also be prepared for any consequences of our decisons and we should not question or criticise the choices of others. If you keep your cat in and it becomes unhappy, stressed and has behavioural problems, are you willing to accept that and deal with it? If you let her out and she goes missing, is injured or, worse, killed, are you prepared to cope with that?

Personally we are very lucky in that we have been able to completely enclose our back garden so it has become a huge cat run and ours get the chance to have free access to it all day long, bask in the sun or the shade, get wet in the rain or stay dry inside or in the chalet, climb and play on the various outdoor climbing frames, run about, it is a restricted freedom, yes, but still more freedom than being kept totally indoors. And we have peace of mind that we are not going to come home to a missing or seriously injured or dead cat on the road. OK they could still fall from a climber and injure themselves or get stung by a bee or a wasp but that is the worst that could happen and that, in theory, could still happen if they were totally indoors. I am not pretending it is ideal, none of the available options actually are 100% ideal, but it is the best compromise between outdoor access and safety that we can provide for them here.

Is something like this a possibility for you?

Outdoor Cat Enclosures - Outdoor Cat Enclosure

Good luck in whatever you eventually decide to do.

Carol

Sorry have to disagree with your comment about outdoor cats only interested in their owners when they want food and a place to sleep. My boy comes into the garden to keep us company and be near us when he hears us out there, he loves to sleep next to my head at night, waits until I get up and then sits on the stairs until I go down, follows me when he hears my footsteps, sulks when I go away for even a day, he has never been a lap cat but that's just the way he is but he is as affectionate as any other cat and we love him to bits and I know he loves us

Well, that's why I said 'in my limited experience'. Of course there are going to be anecdotes which would support my experience and there will be other anecdotes (such as yours) which don't.

I just think it's worth considering when deciding whether to keep a cat indoors or not because, generally, once you start letting them out they're not happy to be kept in if you change your mind.

unfortunatly a cat enclosure is not possible as we have a garden which is approx 150ft long, which would be way too expensive

For some jaw dropping pictures of cat pens, take a look at .......

Cat Enclosures - Outdoor Cat Runs - Many Cat Enclosure Pictures

__________________
The Thread Killer.
Post and be damned!

Sassypoo ... I think perhaps your only option is securing your garden. I do believe it can be done at a fairly reasonable price, and you have almost a year to save for it, or do it bit by bit.

I'm afraid in the situation you describe I would never recommend letting a cat out otherwise. I've been through the heartbreak of losing cats to the road a few times, and that was when we lived on a quiet country lane. I could never tell someone it's OK to let them out now, busy or quiet road, makes no odds. The pain you feel when you imagine what your cat has gone through when you find them on the road is unbearable. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

__________________

I disagree too. My previous cat was an outdoor cat (and lived to 17) and he was the most affectionate cat I've ever known.

Anyway, the decision needs to be made on what's best for the cat, not on whether it'll make them more or less affectonate towards us.

I will let my cat out when I think she's big enough to cope. I won't let her out at night and only when one of us is home, though.

I must say, reading this does make me think, "hmm should I really let her out?"