Outdoor access for cats improves behavioral welfare but introduces mortality risks, and graduated access strategies can reduce risk while preserving welfare benefits.
The indoor-outdoor welfare debate for cats involves genuine trade-offs between behavioral welfare and longevity. Indoor-only cats can live healthy, enriched lives with appropriate environmental complexity, but cats denied any outdoor access may show higher rates of obesity and behavioral problems if indoor enrichment is inadequate. Graduated approaches — supervised outdoor time, enclosed garden access, walking on harness — offer meaningful outdoor enrichment while substantially reducing mortality risk. The welfare optimum depends heavily on the quality of the indoor environment and the specific hazards of the outdoor environment.