Do Cats Like the Outdoors?

Many "cat" people will say that cats should be kept indoors only and that letting them outside is a negative thing, or even outright immoral. I know people who have had to lie to shelters, or other places where you obtain feline companions, about their plans for letting cats outside in order to obtain said cats. People of this opinion reference the fact that indoor only cats have substantially longer life expectancies.

According to the Humane Society "on average, cats who are allowed to roam outdoors often don't live to see age five. Cats that are always kept safely confined can live to be 18 to 20 years old."

According to CatTime.Com, "An all-indoor cat lives an average of 10 to 14 years, whereas a cat who’s allowed to roam is likely to survive just two to five years."

And finally, Catster.com claims that indoor cats live an average of 16.9 years while outdoor cats live an average of 5.6 years.

Based on the wildly different numbers here, my guess is that the methodologies were all wildly different and there is probably a fair amount of BS here. The Human Society seems to be openly using the low end for outdoor cast and the high end for indoor cats, which is just disingenuous. That having been said, it is obviously safer to be inside.

Based on this argument, I believe after this pandemic has run its course, and shelter in place orders are lifted, humans should continue to stay indoors only. Nearly 500 people die in the US every day from preventable accidents. We would all be much safer if we became indoor only people.

All jokes aside, cats are at greater risk outside than we are. From fleas, to rabies, cars, and other animals, little domestic cats are at greater risk from going outside than we are.

But after watching these little bastards try to wriggle their way under slightly cracked windows, now that they live on the first floor for the first time in their lives, I can't imagine not letting them venture into the back yard. Maybe in harnesses first. And definitely not at night.

UPDATE: The orange one escaped, chewed on all of the landscaping, and then threw up. He is no longer allowed outside.