Fan wrote in message . ..
(...)
I am very surprised that you didn't get a huge number of people who
equate keeping a cat indoors to abuse. Other topics such as this one
have often caused that. Some of the posters would have liked to hang
anyone who even considered this. The rational dialog is refreshing.

The reverse also applies, mind you, when the indoor-advocates are in
full-flow...

I believe that, wherever possible, cats should be given access to the
outdoors - but not at any cost, nor in all situations. This is a
casewise decision.


The statistics show that an indoor cat lives much longer than an
outdoor one because of the dangers of living outdoors.

Well, no they don't, because there are (AFAIK) no reliable statistics
that detail the longevity of indoor and outdoor cats. Feel free to
provide a cite to prove me wrong though...

(...)

My cats ONLY go out on a leash and only during daylight.

I.e., you have enough wit about you to provide access to the outdoors
for your cats. Many people do not do this, and I'm sure that some
simply cannot be bothered to.

(...)

They have a tremendous number of toys and cat friendly things to climb
on. Since there is more than one cat, they also entertain one another.
Wrestling is the number one sport here.

Well, yes, if thought is given to the richness of the indoor
environment, with sufficient space, and sufficient attention, indoor
cats can obviously have an acceptable standard of life. However, my
main issue is that indoor should not be the default choice and that
the owner should carefully weigh up the risks and benefits for their
cats, in their particular situation.

Having said that, in the OP's case I would almost certainly keep my
cats indoors, or with protected outdoor access, if coyotes had seen
some of 'em off.

I also echo the idea of having more than 1 indoor cat, especially if
the cat(s) will be alone for large amounts of the day.

YMMV.

Steve.