Quoth AK:
There is no right or wrong answer to this issue. In the UK where I
live cats have no natural predators so cats are not going to be killed
by other animals. In the UK it is the norm to allow cats out. My cat

True enough; it's fairly normal to let dogs out too. However, cats do
have one unnatural predator in the UK - humans; some humans simply don't
know how to treat animals. If I know that the guy 5 doors down likes to
take pot shots at animals, or I find one of my cats coming home with a
lead pellet in his or her flank, I'm not going to be entirely encouraged
to let my cats out in future.(However, I'll also be looking to move to a
better area...)

There is also the issue of feline overcrowding; simply put, there are so
many pet cats in Britain that they're having serious knock-on effects on
the native wildlife (small birds, rodents, etc), and they're also in far
heavier competition for territory than they used to be. Catfights can
get nasty - it's not unheard of for a cat to lose an eye in a fight -
and you can't always hear your cats... plus if you do the responsible
thing and have your cats neutered, they're at an automatic disadvantage
to any intact cats that come along.

Even in the UK, indoor or outdoor is not a cut-and-dried issue.

has a cat flap and he comes and goes as he pleases, we are nowhere
near road traffic, in fact we have a large lake and about 25 swans
that he has made friends with.

Ooh, I'm all envious! So is Firstborn...
--
Gwenhwyfaer (sand and green really don't mix on a cat)

some girls wander by themselves