Whether to keep cats indoors or allow outdoor access is a complex welfare decision that involves balancing cat welfare against wildlife welfare and individual safety.
The indoor-outdoor decision involves genuine welfare trade-offs that cannot be resolved by a simple rule. Outdoor access exposes cats to real risks — traffic, disease, fighting, and predation — that cause pain and death. Indoor confinement without adequate enrichment causes boredom, obesity, and stress-related disease. Wildlife populations are harmed by free-roaming cats at scale. The most welfare-positive approach for most cats is a managed outdoor experience — either supervised garden access, a catio, or leash training — that provides environmental enrichment without the mortality risks of full outdoor freedom and without the wildlife impact. Enriched indoor environments can also support excellent feline welfare for cats that adapt to them.