My mother grew up on a farm where all but one cat was even allowed inside the house. Not sure what the survival rate was there.
When we finally got cats (I was around 11 years old and we lived in the suburbs), they were allowed to roam outside as they pleased. At that age I obviously assumed that my mom knew how best to deal with cats so I just followed her lead.
Of the 8 cats we’ve had over the past 16 years:
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one died a few days after getting neutered (we hadn’t had the chance to let her roam outside, so not very relevant)
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one died after getting sick (vet suspected poison), she was allowed to roam
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two went missing, both allowed to roam
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two died after being attacked by a dog, again both allowed to roam
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one escaped on the way to the vet (mom couldn’t afford a cat carrier), she was allowed to roam but not very relevant in this case
We have one surviving cat (she’s around 15 years old), and now that I know better at 27 years old, she is only allowed out into the enclosed courtyard. She used be allowed to roam and I can see that she wants to go further than the courtyard and give the chance she will but I’ve made a point that she stays within those specific boundaries.
My brother and his wife have three cats that they’ve kept indoors since they were kittens and my mom once made a pearl clutching comment of ‘can you believe that they have never touched grass’. Yeah, that got a big eye roll from me.
Edit: formatting
We play this game in South Africa too. Not because it snows, but because the lines don’t get repainted soon enough even if they’re completely faded. And instead of snow ploughs, we have taxis (the minibus versions) that just drive wherever and however they want.