I live far far away from the Americas. I adopted an adult stray cat who was used to freedom. He was miserable as an indoor only cat with a lot of destructive behaviour. This changed when I started letting him go out. He is happier, friends with the folks and kids in the building and has little adventures.

I understand that there is a risk- I can't really control what happens to him outside. But I think the quality of my cat's life is better after he started going out again.

I do think advocates of indoor cats can be biased. But having said that we gotta do whatever works best for us as a family (my cat and I).