katladyd,
just wanted to say, don't let "country" fool you. Our area is rural, it was even more rural than it is now back when we had our other cats when we first moved here. They still got killed on the road.
Other things to consider when you are in the country are things like coyotes, hawks and eagles. Hawks will take kittens and smaller cats, as will eagles, and coyotes are a threat to cats and small dogs. We have all 3 of those predators here where I live in South Jersey.
I'll never have another outdoor cat again unless we can afford to build some kind of enclosure.