Question
I got a 6 months male who has been used to freely wander outside in the countryside.
I'm wondering about letting him go outside. I live at the second floor and share a balcony with my neighbor (a entrance balcony, which means that the cat could go out if someone opens the entry door). That seems dangerous for him.
I wanna point out that he's very happy cat, always playing, cuddling with me, etc. But he's also quite fierce and rash.
The thing is, he often meows at the door like he's genuinely hurt and I can't stand it, I want it to stop. It makes me feel so bad and I work from home.
I'm thinking about just letting him go, even if I live in a big city. Could that be that bad of an idea? Or could there be another way to distract him from going outside? Could castration help?
Answer
If I were in your shoes, I would not let the cat go outside. It is just my personal opinion based on safety, though - and I'm saying this as a person who thinks that indoor cats are indeed missing an important, but non-essential aspect of their lives. Also, I tend to get deeply bonded with all the pets I'm taking care for, maybe too much, or maybe not - thus my opinion is naturally biased towards sacrificing their freedom for safety in such dilemmas.
My main concern is the fact that indoor cats, on average, have a lifespan of around 16 years - while outdoor cats of only around 4 years (please see the references included at the footnote for sources). I will paraphrase what a wise person once said, in your context: a child denied of going for a meal in a fast-food restaurant, and given broccoli instead, would also act like it is genuinely hurt, trying to make the parents feel bad, sometimes also making them not being able to stand it and give up - but this is actually bad for the child itself, and so is in my consideration letting your cat outside in this situation.
I think it is okay and even preferred to let your cat outside if you are living in a village, especially if there are no wild predators like coyotes, etc. where you live - but city presents just too much potential hazards in my opinion. High density of traffic, high density of people (and not all people like cats!), dog owners deliberately unleashing their aggressive dogs to attack cats for fun - of course, all of these hazards are also existing in a village scenario - but it's just that in the city they are much more likely to happen.
Ultimately, it is your cat and your choice - but also your responsibility, thus I am happy and glad you have asked this question let us help you in your considerations. Please take note that I don't intend to mean that letting your cat outdoors is the worst idea possible; I generally think this dilemma is too complicated and multidimensional to be able to be easily summarized and answered by a single, best-solution approach. It depends on what does the owner value the most, and it naturally varies from person to person. If the owner shares the safety-number-1-priority-attitude with me, my answer might be convincing and useful. If not, the owner could decide to not agree with me and let the cat go outside - and that's fine, but it's preferred that it is a conscious decision, made after taking all the related hazards into consideration. Getting to see and analyze a point of view from a safety-oriented person, like me, is what could be regarded as getting informed about these hazards.
References:
http://www.thehumanesociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/indoors_outdoors.pdf
https://www.catster.com/cat-health-care/how-long-do-cats-live-cat-health-facts
https://pets.webmd.com/cats/features/should-you-have-an-indoor-cat-or-an-outdoor-cat#
https://www.petmd.com/cat/care/can-indoor-cat-be-part-time-outdoor-cat
https://pets.thenest.com/lifespan-indoor-outdoor-cat-8777.html
Answered By - lila