Sorry, down vote away, but I've had many cats throughout my life, they are MUCH MUCH MUCH happier living a life of freedom
Happier is a separate question than lives longer (and a lot easier to misread due to projecting ones own beliefs about what should make them happy.) The claim upthread was that outside cats are happier, healthier, and longer-lived. The part I took issue with in the grandparent post was "longer lived", and that's all I addressed.
So go about locking up your cats, feel safe and happy about that.
Actually, I prefer (when I live in an area where its not particularly unsafe for outdoor cats, worse than the norm) to allow cats to be indoor/outdoor, despite the statistics on lifespan. (Right now I don't, but I live in an area where aggressive raccoons, feral cats, and other threats are particularly problematic, and the indoor/outdoor non-feral cats are at a very high risk of being killed or chased off.)
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Happier is a separate question than lives longer (and a lot easier to misread due to projecting ones own beliefs about what should make them happy.) The claim upthread was that outside cats are happier, healthier, and longer-lived. The part I took issue with in the grandparent post was "longer lived", and that's all I addressed.
Actually, I prefer (when I live in an area where its not particularly unsafe for outdoor cats, worse than the norm) to allow cats to be indoor/outdoor, despite the statistics on lifespan. (Right now I don't, but I live in an area where aggressive raccoons, feral cats, and other threats are particularly problematic, and the indoor/outdoor non-feral cats are at a very high risk of being killed or chased off.)