Can house cats go outside safely?

[Akiddleetivy2woodenchu]

We rescued a kitten three years ago, and she was a house cat, as we lived in a flat at the time (although she did have access to a large balcony). We’re now living in the country, and she is mewing to go outside all the time. House is on a B road, not particularly busy, but some traffic. Would it be safe to let her out? Maybe on a harness initially?

Just let her out. Of course it’s not risk free.

Would you rather live 50 years free to explore the world, experiencing, fulfilling your instincts
or 100 years only indoors and never getting the things you really want to do.

Well quite. I’ve got another cat who has never shown any interest in going outside, so appreciate each cat is different. I also had one who moved outside for the entirety of the summer and then back indoors when it got cold!

We had the same dilemma and put a Tractive tracker on her collar. I can see she really doesn't go far at all from home, but she loves being outside. It would feel cruel now to not allow her to go out!

Depends on the breed of cat. My parents cat was rehomed to them as a house cat. It quickly became apparent to them that he wanted out, he's been fine.
My cats are Persians, and are not safe to let out. They would get stolen, and are quite honestly far to thick to be out in the big wide world. They have escaped a couple of times, but fortunately haven't gone far and don't really like it.