The debate over whether to keep cats indoors or allow outdoor access involves real tensions between individual cat welfare and the welfare of wildlife that cats prey upon.
The outdoor access question for cats involves genuine competing welfare interests. Individual cats, especially those with outdoor history, experience reduced behavioral welfare when confined indoors without adequate enrichment. However, free-roaming cats cause significant welfare harm to wild bird and small mammal populations at a global scale. Catios, leash training, and cat-proofed garden enclosures offer compromise solutions that support cat behavioral needs while protecting wildlife. For new cats and kittens, indoor-only keeping with robust enrichment and play is increasingly recommended by welfare organizations globally.