[fatnotlazy]

Outdoor cats are more likely to contract disease, get injured or killed. Also, contrary to popular belief, not all cats are hunters. Unless the cat’s mother teaches it to hunt, it won’t hunt. If it should catch something, it would be accidental, and chances are the cat won’t know what to do with it.

[Fire_on_High]

This is true. All cats have the instinct to stalk and CHASE, but being taught by momma kitty is what makes then an effective HUNTER.

Things like how to make the actual kill rather than “play it to death” are a part of this. Not so important if a mousey toy, but very important when dealing with wild prey that can escape if not quickly dispatched.

[Windflier]

Outdoor cats are more likely to contract disease, get injured or killed.

The same can be said for humans, but I'm not going to bar my kids from ever leaving the house because the world has danger in it.

I've had cats since I was married, which is nearly twenty years now. Our first kitty went missing after about eighteen months. Another kitty (her daughter) got hit by a car when she was 10 years old. We were also moving at the time, and we think the activity spooked her into unusual behavior.

Other than that, we've never had a single other kitty be injured, fall sick, or be killed because they lived outdoors.

[5th MEB]

Don’t have to worry about them getting injured or diseased out here, the coyotes just eat’em.