Letting cats outside

I don't believe cats should go out and roam, whether they want to or not. Harness & lead or an enclosure is an ideal compromise, enclosures can be connected to the house too so cats can be out safely whenever they like.

My friend's mom has a large cat enclosure attached to her home. It's all fenced in with an outdoor cat tree, and there is a kitty door that lets them go in and out. So, they are able to get some outdoor time, but are totally enclosed in the fence. I live in an apartment now, so cannot do that, but I think it'd be a good idea who anyone who is a home owner. 

There is special fencing so you can literally fence in your entire yard (if you have fencing) so your cats can roam around in your yard free, but cannot hop the fence. The fencing curls inward so they cant get over. But it's very expensive to get.

I trained my cats to stay by me when they go outside. There is no busy roads where I live, no dangerous wild animals, and no dogs nearby, so as long as they stay on our property they are safe. As kittens I bought them outside in my arms each day, and bought grass and leaves inside for them to smell. Once they werent nervous of all the new noises and smells, I put a harness on them and let them walk around the property smelling and seeing every area, it took a few weeks for them to be comfortable walking on the harness but soon they liked it. I always had windows so they could look out of our house front and back to get familiar with the sights and sounds, and in the nice weather a screen on our door so we had air blowing in during the Spring and Summer. Once they were close to a year they no longer allowed me to put the harness on them, they would chew it and try to get away, so I tried picking them up and when we were outside I put them down and petted them. They stayed right by me as i petted them and I bought a string out so they played with that instead of wanting to wander off. Eventually when I brought them out they would stay by me and never wandered off they sit in our yard and sleep or roll around and come to the back door when they want to come in which is about after an hour and they are happy the rest of the day inside. I dont let them out in bad weather though, like rain, snow, or thunderstorms, and they dont want to go out during that anyway!

If an indoor cat gets out by accident that has never been out, it will panic, hide, or run away. By me bringing my cats out in my arms, they got familiar with the area and it's sights and smells, and what is there "territory" aka my yard, so they had no interest to wander off my property and they had nothing to be afraid of. If they get out by accident, I just wait for them to come to my back door for me to let them in. They act like dogs in that aspect.

Its called the purrfect cat fence. I bought one and just love it its pricey but well worth it..Its hooked to the side of my house and the cats hop in and out the window as they please.. Going on its 3rd year has held up well not one of my 6 try to climb it..I still shut them in at night though..Just in case

The five dogs I found in my yard yesterday can attest to the fact that getting OVER a fence is not the only way to pass a barrier, and cats can be unusually creative in finding an escape path if they want to, and may not realize there is no return path until its too late.    The doggies btw were small but larger than my cats, and somehow managed to make themselves cockroach thin to get under the tiny gap in the fence masked by thick grass.   Wesley also somehow managed to fit under my couch when he was frightened by the construction guys hammering in the house recently, and my fist won't even fit under that gap with fingers going up vertically!  

Wesley and Buttercup used to be door dashers, but now have zero interest in venturing outside.   However, they love the sights, smells, and sounds of the outside so I open the windows whenever it is nice out and the screens I have are quite secure.  And nice thing too is that the screens keep out the insects and I don't really worry about fleas or the cats eating plants or animals they shouldn't in my yard (or possibly getting in fights with the other cats always roaming my yard thanks to my bird feeders heh).  

I'd recommend keeping them in and the desire should pass, then likewise just make nice perches for them.    For exercise, even small apartments can have a lot of virtual square footage if you build UP for them, with shelves, trees, climbers, and the like.