Outdoor access for owned domestic cats (Felis catus) is a divisive issue. Cat safety, mental and physical wellbeing, infectious diseases, and wildlife depredation are cited as factors influencing owners; however, the degree of consideration each factor receives has not been quantified. This study (i) analysed which demographic variables are associated with greater odds of cats having indoor or outdoor lifestyles, (ii) identified which factors owners consider when making a choice on lifestyle and any regional variations, and (iii) identified if owners consider the different lifestyle options available and recognise their associated benefits. A series of online surveys were used for data collection. Binary logistic regression models were used to generate odds ratios assessing if demographic variables were significantly associated with cat lifestyle. Quantitative analysis of factors considered when deciding on cat lifestyle was accompanied by a thematic analysis of rich-text open-ended responses, providing nuanced insight into the rationale and elucidating additional factors considered. Of the demographic variables tested, 10/12 were significantly associated with lifestyle. Variables with higher odds of indoor-only lifestyles were owners being 26–35 years old, multi-cat households, junior cats, pedigree cats or unknown pedigree status, cats with health issues, living in city centres or urban areas, or living in the United States, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand. Variables with higher odds of indoor-outdoor lifestyles were owners being 46–55 years old or 56+ years old, households with residents 17 years old or under, male cats, and cats being mature or senior. Road traffic concerns were the most cited reason for keeping indoor-only cats across all global regions. The second-most cited reason varied regionally. For Europe, it was protection from people. For the USA and Canada, the reason was protection from wildlife, and for Australia and New Zealand, to prevent hunting. Indoor-outdoor cat owners cited most frequently the benefits to their cat’s mental health. Over two-thirds of owners did not consider the alternative lifestyle for their cat. These data give insight into the priorities of cat owners with regards to feline wellbeing, feline safety, and wildlife depredation, helpful for individuals or organisations working with human behaviour change. They provide evidence that the numbers of indoor-only cats are likely to rise with increasing urbanisation. Finally, the data identify cat populations who may be at risk of compromised welfare due to unsuitable, or under-researched, lifestyles.

中文翻译：

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室内还是室外？与宠物猫的生活方式有关的所有者特征和决策的国际探索

拥有的家养猫（Felis catus）的室外通道）是一个分歧性的问题。猫的安全性，身心健康，传染病以及野生动物的掠食被认为是影响主人的因素。但是，尚未量化每个因素所考虑的程度。这项研究（i）分析了哪些人口统计学变量与具有室内或室外生活方式的猫的几率更高有关；（ii）确定了主人在选择生活方式和任何区域差异时要考虑的因素，以及（iii）确定主人是否考虑了哪些因素。提供各种生活方式选择，并认识到它们的相关好处。一系列在线调查被用于数据收集。二元逻辑回归模型用于生成比值比，以评估人口统计学变量是否与猫的生活方式显着相关。对决定猫的生活方式时要考虑的因素进行定量分析，同时还要对富文本的开放式响应进行主题分析，从而对基本原理提供了细微的见解，并阐明了要考虑的其他因素。在所测试的人口统计学变量中，10/12与生活方式显着相关。仅室内生活方式的几率较高的变量包括拥有者为26-35岁，多猫家庭，中级猫，家谱猫或家谱身份不明，健康状况不佳的猫，住在市中心或市区或居住在城市中的猫美国，加拿大，澳大利亚或新西兰。室内外生活方式几率较高的变量是拥有者为46-55岁或56岁以上，拥有居民的年龄为17岁或以下的家庭，成年猫或成年猫或成年猫。道路交通问题是在全球所有地区饲养纯室内猫的最引人关注的原因。第二被引用的原因因地区而异。对于欧洲来说，这是对人民的保护。对于美国和加拿大，其原因是要防止野生动植物，而对于澳大利亚和新西兰，则是要防止狩猎。室内外猫主人最常提及对猫的心理健康的好处。超过三分之二的主人不考虑为猫咪选择其他生活方式。这些数据有助于深入了解猫主人在猫的健康，猫的安全性和野生生物的掠夺方面的优先事项，这对致力于改变人类行为的个人或组织很有帮助。他们提供的证据表明，随着城市化程度的提高，仅室内猫的数量可能会增加。最后，