"Inside ONLY!!! I've lost to many cats as a kid to the traffic, and I don't want to loose any more !My house is large enough for playing!!"

EXACTLY the same thing here. When I was younger, and not really able to make any rules haha, my parents always wanted the cats indoor/outdoor, cause thats just how they always did it, and theres no litter box to clean, and they stay healthy with all the exercise, and they just love it outside, which is true. But! We've had 3 cats disapear, and 2 cats hit by a car, one killed, the other (Felicity) is still with us, THANKFULLY, but after a 5 hour surgery, and quite a few problems (she has an EXTREMELY sensitive digestive system, and throws up often, and her tail used to be held straight up, but now it kinda curls funny over her back). So once we moved into the house we are in now, 2 Novembers ago, we kept them indoor for a while, like we always do when we move, so they can get used to the new house and stuff, and not get lost when we let them outside again. So since we had to get a litterbox for that, I finally just decided/was able to con my parents into letting me, keep them indoor only. And even though we've had the number of loses we've had, my parents still think they should be indoor/outdoor... *sigh* Luckily Im in charge of the kitties now, and what I say goes with them! But our backyard is fully fenced, 6 feet, so I let them out (always supervised) as often as I can, cause they love to explore, and smell the smells. Felicity is declawed (also a decision I didnt make ) so I dont worry about her climbing out, and Felix is too skittish, so I know he'd never even want to leave our backyard. I dont think he ever did when he was an outdoor cat at our old house! Our backyard was huge there too so he didnt really need to leave it. lol

Anyhoo.. thats just my experience! The way I see it is its better safe than sorry. I mean, if you think its just not gonna happen to your cat, well, it IS highly possible! I mean, just look at how many of us on PT have had it happen to us! And we arent even the majority ya know? Tons of cats are killed by cars, disease, other animals, etc by being outdoor cats all over the world, its just a fact. I mean, is it even worth the chance??? This is your beloved kitty's life you're gambling with, ya know? They have outdoor enclousers you can buy for them, or you can build them yourself. You can get a cat door and have it lead out to the outdoor enclosure so they can still go potty outside, and play outside, but still be safe. I mean, its just not something that should be questioned, in my opinion anyway.

But as I said, I have been in the situation where my parents were in charge and I didnt think I had any say. But back then I wasnt fully aware of the arguements for indoor only. No one was telling me, ya know? And I dont think I ever associated us losing 4 cats to them being outdoor! lol I guess I thought it was just they way things were, ya know? So, if any of you are in that situation, fight back! lol Tell your parents you dont think the life of your beloved pet is something worth gambling with, and please please can s/he stay indoors from now on?? And be sure to promise (and followthrough! lol!!) that you'll clean the litterbox. Because s/he's worth is right?!?! Thats what I thought! hehe