My first cat, Amber, was a stray. No matter what I tried, he was NOT willing to be an indoor cat.

So we compromised, and I bought him a harness and leash. He was furious at first, but got used to the idea. For the 8 years he lived with me, we HAD to gout and walk around the apartment building, twice. Rain, snow, ice, sleet, hot, cold, he HAD to go out. He would stand at the apt. door and meow until I showed him the harness; then he would jump up on the sofa for me to put it on.

Twice around the building; NOT once, NOT 3 times, TWICE. Got it, yet?

I had to walk at the very end of the leash, as far away from him as possible. If my sneakers made a sound on some stones on the parking area, he would stop and look at me over his shoulder. It was "that look," the one every cat owner has seen at one time or another, the one that says, "could you just be INVISIBLE please?" (I imagine anyone with a teenager has seen the same look. )

When I bought this house and moved, we got Dazzle. I didn't get the fence up in the back yard quickly enough, and he left the yard; a coyote got him. Once the fence was in, I could let the 3 who want out back there, and sit with them, and they were safe. Technically they could climb out I guess, but they were never that athletic. They kept looking for ways UNDER the fence. I knew they would, so it goes a bit into the ground.

So work out some system which keeps all of you happy, and keeps the kids safe. Collar and tag like someone said? Great. Timed outdoors? Good. Whatever works for all concerned.