The decision to keep cats indoors or allow outdoor access involves genuine trade-offs between individual welfare, wildlife impact, and safety that deserve careful consideration.
The indoor-outdoor cat question has no universal right answer — it depends on individual cat temperament, local wildlife vulnerability, traffic risks, and the quality of indoor enrichment provided. The welfare framework requires honesty about the wildlife impact of outdoor cats, which is substantial and well-documented, while also recognizing that indoor-only cats without adequate enrichment suffer genuine behavioral deprivation. The ethical resolution for most owners in wildlife-sensitive areas is to invest seriously in indoor enrichment and outdoor access through controlled means (catios, leash walking) rather than choosing between unrestricted outdoor access and impoverished confinement.