"Outdoor cats"

CW - mention of dead animals

I have 3 cats. I love them very much, they are my babies and I wish the best for them, but unfortunately I can't give them everything I want. One of those things is safety.

Almost 4 years one of the stray cats that walk around my village found a perfect spot to give birth in our shed. We wanted to have cats anyway, so it was a perfect opportunity to adopt them. And because they were born outside and the time they spend with their mom was also not in the house my mom is convinced that they absolutely can't be kept inside. So we argue about it a lot.

I don't want them to be outside. I see cats ran over by cars more often that I wish to, I don't want this to happen to them. But no matter how much I try my mom always lets them out. I try to keep them inside, but they are not used to it so they cry and it breaks my heart. Two of them come back every night, but one doesn't. Every time he's not home I can't sleep, it's terrible.

Recently my hallucinations worsen, so when I'm outside or just look out the window, and the cats aren't home, I see their bodies at the side of the road. Originally we had 4 cats. Now we have three, because one of them died in such place. My mom is not helping - one time, when she was opening the door to let them out, she was telling me how her friend's cat got ran over and died in her arms. Also wolves showed up forest in nearby village, this info does not help!

Now one of my cats didn't show up for the past two days. It's normal for him to disappear for 1,5 weeks, so I try not to worry. If he doesn't show up I just don't want to find his body - they I can delude myself that he got taken by someone who doesn't let their cats out, so now he has safer and better life.

At this point I don't have arguments to convince my mom so we would stop letting them out. But if you do please rethink it, they won't be happier outside.