Well, aren’t you the obliging one? Thanks!!

I’m so torn about this issue (when I think about it!). It’s good to know that my cats are safe inside, but I know that at least one of them (*cough*Rizzo*cough*) wants OUT. Or at least, he thinks he does (actually, he’s a big homebody and panics if he manages to sneak out). Seeing him sit at the window for hours on end, with big longing eyes, and then watching him bolt for the door every time someone opens it makes me sad. My husband believes that cats are better off outside. He thinks indoor cats are more trapped than pampered. Doesn’t think it’s natural. It’s not an issue between us, because we live in an apartment complex, with a parking lot directly below our front windows. People drive through there like idiots, and most of the neighbors own large dogs (who are USUALLY on leashes, but things happen, you know). So it’s not a safe area, and even if we were inclined to let the cats go outside, we wouldn’t do it there!

But there are so few really safe areas. My husband thinks his cats growing up had the life. I think he’s deluding himself. His family lives in a semi-rural area, with a lot of land (comparatively) and plenty of rodents for the chasing. They had a clan of outdoor kitties, most of who were very sweet and liked their people and each other. They all came to bad ends. Most were hit by the family’s own vehicles in the driveway or garage (they mostly lived in the garage). Some were killed by dogs. There were three left when I came into the picture. The wonderful old matriarch died of old age alone in the cold, on the hard garage floor. It still makes me miserable to think about it. Then White Fang, the wild man of the group, literally had half of his face torn off by a neighbor’s cat in a fight. He died. Then the last, Gorilla, whose sweetness and adorable grey cuteness are legendary, disappeared. That was a couple of years ago. My husband’s parents and baby sister just got three new cats. I get heartburn thinking about it.

So, um, I don’t quite know what I think. But I do know that I envy cat owners with nice, enclosed back yards!