Mack A. Damia wrote:

Dick Ballard wrote:

I think there is a cultural difference between the US and UK
regarding free roaming pet cats. I get the impression from some
sources that NOT allowing one's pet cat to free roam is considered a
form of abuse by many in Britain.

I don't know where that view comes from.

This is a very long time ago, but I recall one cat we had in Hampshire
was hit by a spade thrown by some guy because the cat was in his apple
tree. The cat suffered a while, and I think we had to get her put
down.

After we moved to the U.S. I gradually became aware of the idea that
letting a cat roam was cruel, and when I set up my own home and
adopted a cat, I never let it or any other subsequent ones roam
outdoors.

One of the problems is that they just aren't smart enough to avoid some
of the hazards. The most obvious is contact with human beings. Even a
hard-core feral can be easily baited and killed. Then there are dogs.
Antifreeze. Wild animals, depending on the location.

I've got a hard-core feral that spends most of its time when I'm awake
up in a loft in a closet/pantry area, accessible to their Skyway. That's
her place. One time I needed to lighten the load here so I left the
front door wide open for 15 minutes when I went next door. She was in
the front area on a platform when I left. She was still there when I got
back. She's afraid of me, but she is more afraid of the not-so-great
outdoors. Besides an infant room monitor to bring the outside sounds in,
they have access to the breezes and smells from outside, from behind a
lightweight plastic screen when the window is open. None of them have
ever scratched that screen even though they could easily slash it in
half. They enjoy lying at the windowsill taking it in without being
there. Just for fun I have at times in the past taken my male house cat
to show my next-door neighbors a "cat magnet". Dropped him on their side
of the fence and watched him run like crazy back around the fence and to
our door. He's not thrilled about being outside. That's the objective,
take good enough care of them so they enjoy being inside as much or more
than being outside.