Outdoor cats face elevated disease and injury risks compared to indoor cats. Understanding these risks and mitigation strategies enables informed management decisions.
The elevated welfare risks of outdoor access are real and should inform rather than necessarily prohibit outdoor management decisions. Many welfare risks are significantly reducible through preventive measures — vaccination, parasite control, neutering, and nighttime curfews substantially reduce the major hazard categories. The remaining risk reflects genuine trade-offs between the welfare benefits of outdoor behavioral expression and the welfare costs of exposure to injury and disease. Informed management, not blanket restriction, provides the most welfare-conscious approach.