What would all of you do in this situation please?

[Applecrumbly]

Some of you will remember me from a while back and I got great advice from all of you..so now I am back for more please.
We have 2 cats...one is just over a year old and was found on the roadside at 6 weeks old.She is a tabby,neutered and never been out.
The other one is a tabby also and moved into the back garden last November and never left.She is neutered,approx 2-3 yrs and goes out but seems to stay around the area of the house and garden.
The problem I had last time was introducing the second one into the house and trying to help the two of them to get on.They do now for the most part(odd paw swipe now and again).
My current problem is the first one who has never been outside.
We live rurally,surrounded by fields etc but are approx. 50 yards from a very busy main road.Absolutely no way of catproofing a garden etc.
This little lady seems to really want to go outside..its a nightmare trying to keep doors closed leading to the garden and she has actually escaped out twice but I managed to somehow get her back again.
Should I let her out do you think?She sits looking at the other one sitting outside in the sun and awaits any opportunity to sit at the back door.Its a constant stream of shouting at dh,teens 'don't let Cleo out,close the door quickly etc '.
The thing is she strikes me as the type of cat that will be a real livewire,very adventurous sort of outdoor cat.
I am terrified she will simply wander away or be killed on the road.
We love this cat so much.
So what to do? I would be very grateful for any advice..

I would be inclined to let her go out for a supervised mooch around the garden.

She may team up with your other cat and stay close to home.

I'd let her out, maybe before feeding, and try and get her back in after a short while. Then just keep extending the time you let her out for.

Thanks for the replies.How on earth do I let her have a supervised mooch though?She will go out and run for the hills I'd say.Open the back door and it is straight into a field almost,go left and its a ditch and go right and its a fence...round the front and its the road.I did wonder do they tend to stick together if there are two cats or would one be more inclined to say 'shove off,this is my territory,find your own'?

Go out with her into the garden. Or get a harness.

Thanks chock.I wondered about a harness.....

They tend to fairly cautious at first but if she's been looking out of the windows she'll already know the area quite well.

Always get her in at dusk says she who's cat is having handbags at dawn outside and won't come in.

I've heard sometimes a very busy road is better as constant traffic keeps the cats wary of it and they go for the fields etc, whereas a quiet road they cross often with an occasional car is more likely to catch them out.

I'd let them both out as I would put quality of life over quantity and if one cat now sees the other snoozing in the sun and hunting the hedgerows she won't be content to just watch life go by.

I know some cats don't like outside, but yours sounds very keen.

To me that risk is just part of having a technically half feral pet, free to roam as dogs cannot.

Bang the food dishes, then feed. Get her used to the noise meaning food is down. Then let her out just before food the first few times and bang dishes to help her come back. Don't panic if she disappears for a couple of hours or more. Leave the back door wide open so it is easy to come and go. Once she realises you aren't going to take her back in and lock her in she should calm down a bit.

We have a sure flap microchip Catflap that let's our two in but no others. It's brilliant. You can set it to in only so once it gets to evening they come in and are then in overnight.

Oh thanks everyone for all the tips.Should I just go for it so...no need to parade her around in a harness outside for a while first then?Oooh am nervous now !

We tried a harness with Morphy, our Maine Coon.
He was too thick to grasp the concept of walking without tying himself in a giant knot so we decided to let him be a free cat.

We found that tapping a tin of catfood before a meal helped him to come running and did this when he went out.. initially into the garden. We live on a fairly busy street but he lived 13 beautiful years before cancer took him and I have no regrets at letting him go out. I find house cats kind of sad as it is a long but not natural life .

Mostly he snored in the garden anyway!

I will be letting my new kittens out once they are (much) older..and it will scare me, but I do think it's right.

Thanks medusa.I have a feeling our lady won't be too impressed with a harness either.Am feeling a bit more confident I think