Systematic outdoor risk assessment helps cat owners make informed decisions about outdoor access that balance their cat's behavioural needs against genuine environmental hazards.
The outdoor access decision involves balancing genuine welfare benefits - natural behaviour, exploratory enrichment, exercise - against real risks including trauma, infectious disease, and predation. Individual risk assessment considering local traffic density, disease prevalence, predator presence, and cat personality is more useful than blanket indoor-only or free-roaming policies. Supervised outdoor access and catios offer intermediate options.