I'm not suggesting anyone kicks their cat out, but that they should be free to come and go when they choose.

All four of our cats have been free to come and go as they please, and not one used a litter tray for more than a few days after they were free to roam.

Bob, that works for some cats, a lot of cats, but not all cats. Selective breeding of pedigree cats have caused the loss of basic outside survival techniques in certain breeds. Things such as traffic sense and wariness. I have nothing against pedigree cats, I have one, but they can need different care to those cats who have been allowed to breed without human interaction. Most pedigree breeders sell on the understanding that the cat will be indoors only because of this.

Letting a cat be free to roam also depends on their surroundings. It is no longer a perfect world out there, they are not just dealing with nature - they are also dealing with sick people who target and injure/kill innocent animals. Vets in our area have advised people not to let their cats out of the house as someone has been poisoning free roaming cats, several died. Also, only last month someone beat a cat to death with a breeze block and left for their owners to find, their crushed skull still under the block.

There are threads on here about cats being catnapped, run over, trapped etc.

We may have differing opinions, but I shall carry on keeping my cats indoors with supervised outside access.

hear hear i once saw one with its tail cut off with a pair of garden shears really makes me angry

lol sounds exactly like my cat, he's an expert falling off things, I can't count the times he's gone to roll onto his back and he's generally fallen off the sofa or into the sink

Incidentally while i'm mentioning the sink, my cat is pretty obsessed with water, I thought cat's were supposed to hate it, but if the taps on he'll be under the stream knocking it with his pours getting absolutely soaked!

Anyway getting off topic I know, I've tried loads of different cat litters including all the cheap ones but they seem to be a bit of a false economy, Catsan costs slightly more but lasts an awful lot longer and seems to do a good job of covering up the smells.

I've been using that litter for a few years now. It is the least messy, and good at odour control. As you say it seems expensive but actually it lasts a long time.

I use catsan if I run out... good odour control but I prefer a clumping litter as you use less. (My cats are indoor/outdoor - so they have a litter tray at night.)

We use Litter Purrfect (it's a clumping type), about £8 per 13.6kg from CostCo. It has lemongrass and baking soda in it and masks the odours pretty well.

We too have a Maine Coon. She's an absolute darling but definitely slightly bonkers.