No it's not cruel it's way more cruel to go away without them, and if they have never been outside then they know no different.

My kitty is outside playing now and I am in the countryside on a golf course, when I went back to England last year for (mother was dying) I was not sure how long I would be gone and took him with me, he never left the house in 4 months and is perfectly fine.......July I am moving to Reno into a condo and he for sure will be grounded, but we have a long cat run for the balcony similar see the one below and a window seat, with a tall cat scratch post where he can also sit and look outside, a cat can miss judge a balcony and the result can be fatal.
Our move is only while we look for a house but it would be more cruel to give him to someone else rather than keep him with the his mummy he would never survive without us.
Given a choice I agree with Michael a cat should be outside but sometimes things don't work out as you expect.

Let's flip the coin, how do you know they are NOT contented!

I agree 110% with everything you say except: He's a cat, he's tenacious, intelligent, and adaptable. I'm sorry to have to break this news, with a good owner, he'd do just fine without you.

Nooo he hates other people jumps under the sofa or bed covers, bless him he is the child I never had ...anyways he is staying with me until death do us part and it won't be because of road kill or a coyote

We've lost two in the past year. One to failing kidneys/ old age, and another to anticipated heart failure (his annual checkups usually reported a noticeable heart murmur), but it was still a shock to lose him at the age of only seven.

Oh I am so sorry to hear that they become our little friends....I have heard and read that it is better to lower thier level of http://www.felinecrf.org/phosphorus.htm

She was on a kidney diet (as is the next oldest), but her teeth started to give her trouble and so she was on a "half kidney diet/ half pouch wet food" diet for the last year, ... there's not much point in longevity without quality of life, I believe.

As someone that has spent many years both here in the US and overseas volunteering for the Humane Society, I assure you a pet in a loving home, whether kept indoors or otherwise is far better off than in the home of someone that discards them when they become inconvenient. I have seen far too many abandoned animals put to sleep after their stint in the cage at the Humane Society simply because the owners moved on and there is no chance of rehoming them. What is even more tragic is that no-kill facilities now make it even harder for people to turn in their discarded pets there as they are already overloaded with the pets they already have. People walk away from their responsibility too easily and that is truly a disgrace.

No doubt these very folk go ahead and get another pet at the next location and keep it until that next inconvenience occurs. Anyone that takes the time to interact with animals will find pets do bond with their owners and perhaps that needs to be considered as more important than stressing whether that animal can roam the streets.

This will make me even more unpopular, but I feel sorry for most pets. Who would honestly want to be neutered, de-clawed, tricked into thinking another species is your pack, kept in a cage, ridden with a bit in your mouth, or whatever? Let's be honest, it's for the humans' benefit.

I previously lived in the hills of Fremont with massive open space, a creek below the hill, cows in the pasture, eagles and hawks over head, and my cat had an electronic door opener around his neck so he could come and go as he pleased. Typically around three in the morning I'd hear the sliding glass door open as he went out for his nightly stroll.

When I moved to a condo, friend who owned a house temporarily took my cat. After that we shared the cat where she had him for about 9 months of the year and I had him for three months. While he was with her, he was able to go outside so that was my preference.

Like your cat, my cat was afraid of people but what was very strange was that every time we exchanged him, he would hide under the bed as if he didn't know who we were. But by the end of the day, he would jump up on the bed and sleep at the foot of the bed and everything was ok from then on.

Yes, I do: keeping any animal locked up for your entertainment is cruel and selfish. What purpose does it serve other than to do something for you? And the notion that you think they seem contented is risible: how on earth can you know how an animal feels? Do you speak cat? Are you telepathic? Are they contented the same way as a convict is contented on death row? They are just used to their cage, nothing more.

And, yes, letting them out is risky. They could get hurt but they can, at least, hunt and explore and play the way that nature intended (well, not quite but that's another fun thread) and when they come inside it's because they choose to, not because you locked them in. How would you like being treated like that?

I guess I'll have to concede since you are obviously the expert and must have the brain of a cat.

So true.

I do think that de-clawing a cat is totally unacceptable its a disgrace. and any animal kept in a cage, I won't even go to a Circus.

bit of an insult to our furry friends Michael

I used to work for a company that had an internal on-line bulletin board and there were ads posted several times a week along the lines of "Please help us find a home for Fluffy/Fido. We're moving and can't take him with us." It was sickening.