Whether domestic cats should have outdoor access is one of the most debated questions in companion animal welfare, with genuine trade-offs between natural behaviour expression and mortality and injury risks.
Cat outdoor access welfare involves a genuine multi-species trade-off. For cat welfare, outdoor access provides territory, novelty, hunting opportunities, and fresh air that enrich their lives. However, outdoor cats face real mortality risks from traffic and disease that significantly reduce lifespan. For wildlife welfare, free-roaming cat predation causes suffering and mortality to birds, small mammals, and other wildlife. The resolution that best addresses multiple welfare concerns simultaneously is provision of rich indoor environments with catios, window perches, foraging enrichment, and play that meet cats' behavioural needs without wildlife impact or traffic mortality. This requires more owner investment but achieves better multi-species welfare outcomes.