Reply #120: Well, I assume most cats live indoors in the city because in densely-populated areas

[pyoom]

outside cats have a decidely shorter lifespan than indoor cats (and actually in rural areas, too). I mean, we are talking about the health and quality of life of a cat.

In densely populated areas, there are the dangers of getting hit by a car or other traffic issues, being exposed to and maybe stolen or abused by strangers, disease (as in rural areas), and other animals such as dogs, raccoons, rats, ticks, mosquitoes, and especially other cats.

I've never had any hard-and-fast rule of my own about whether cats should be kept inside or outside. It seems to me to be highly situational, but know that a cat is happiest when it is able to spend a good amount of its time outside (the inside/outside cat). However, when the dangers outside the home pose such a risk to the cat that I can readily see it being injured or killed given years of exposure to it, I'm much more likely to keep it inside.

Cities are big and busy and in them those dangers are high. It's just my opinion, but if I lived in San Francisco and cared about the health of my cat, I'd keep it inside.